Cinémathèque québécoise

The Cinematheque quebecoise is a film conservatory located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Established on April 18, 1963, it serves as a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, documenting, and showcasing the cinematographic, televisual, and audiovisual heritage of Quebec, as well as international animated cinema. The institution also collects significant works of Canadian and world cinema to facilitate cultural and educational access. Its extensive archives encompass films, television programs, posters, photographs, historical equipment, scripts, books, and costumes, making these materials available for public use. The conservatory additionally operates a film theatre that screens rarely seen films and videos.

The institution emerged from two competing Montreal initiatives shaped by international film archive politics. In 1962, Serge Losique, supported by Henri Langlois of the Cinematheque francaise, founded La cinematheque canadienne as a proposed Canadian section of the French archive. Simultaneously, Guy L. Cote formed the Comité des 120 films, which became the nonprofit Connaissance du cinema on April 18, 1963, aiming to project films pedagogically and build independent archives aligned with the FIAF. The two groups merged in October 1963 following negotiations over a Jean Renoir retrospective. The organization was renamed the Cinematheque quebecoise in 1971. Its collections began taking shape in 1967 through a Canadian cinema retrospective during the Centennial and the acquisition of 250 silent American animated films at Expo 67. A 1968 agreement with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation further developed its animation holdings. In 1994, the mission officially expanded to include television, and by 2008 it incorporated new media forms. In 2011, the institution acquired the Centre de recherche et de documentation of the Daniel Langlois Foundation. In 2017, it collaborated with the Vancouver Cinematheque, the Toronto International Film Festival, and Library and Archives Canada on a retrospective of 150 culturally significant films.

The Cinematheque's holdings span over 35,000 films from all eras and countries, 25,000 television programs, 28,000 posters, 600,000 photographs, 2,000 pieces of historical equipment, 15,000 scripts and production documents, 45,000 books, and 3,000 magazine titles, alongside thousands of files, objects, props, and costumes. Its core specialties are Quebec audiovisual heritage and international animated cinema. The photography collection grew significantly between 1984 and 1988 through donations from France Film, Prisma Film, Jacques Lamoureux, Daniel Kieffer, and Bertrand Carriere. Equipment holdings were enriched in 1992 by Camille Moulatlet, who donated 63 cameras and 200 projectors, and between 2003 and 2007 by Moses Znaimer, who donated 289 vintage television sets. In the late 1990s, the institution adopted stricter acquisition policies, accepting only donations rather than deposits and ceasing to collect film positives and magnetic scraps.

The foundation of the animation collection rests on 250 silent animated films by American pioneers acquired at Expo 67. This was augmented by a 1982 donation from the National Film Board of Canada, which contributed most of its produced animated films. The institution's library and documentation center originated from the 1969 acquisition of the personal library of Canadian filmmaker Guy L. Cote, comprising books, periodicals, and press clippings. Initially managed by the Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec at 360 rue McGill, the collection moved to the Cinematheque building in 1981 and became the Mediatheque Guy-L.-Cote. Additionally, the institution holds nearly 1,000 scripts and secured an agreement with the Societe generale du cinema in 1985 to receive all of its scripts three years after their release.

The Cinematheque quebecoise is located at 355 boulevard De Maisonneuve East in the Quartier Latin neighborhood of Montreal, situated within the broader Quartier des Spectacles. The Institut national de l'image et du son is located next door. The building underwent an extensive redesign from 1994 to 1997 by the architectural firm Saucier + Perrotte. This architectural project earned the 1999 Governor General's Award for Architecture.

The Cinematheque quebecoise operates as a nonprofit organization and has been a member of the Federation internationale des archives du film since 1966. It is accessible to the public at its Montreal location, where it screens rarely seen films and videos in its dedicated film theatre. The institution's Mediatheque Guy-L.-Cote provides public access to its library and documentary holdings. Further information regarding programming and access is available on its official website.