Cinéfranco is a a charitable organization founded in 1997 by Marcelle Lean, who is its present artistic and executive director. Through its three Toronto festivals, Cinéfranco aims at developing the mutual understanding and awareness of a common heritage rooted in the use of the French language and the continuous fulfillment of historical and cultural values of francophone communities in minority settings. Local, national and international francophone cinema with its rich talents is the focus of Cinéfranco’s year-long activities.

With thousands of participants every year, Cinéfranco has become a major francophone institution in the Toronto cultural landscape :

• Held in October, the Main Program showcases acclaimed and prize-winning films in Canadian festivals (Montreal, Québec city, Ottawa, Sudbury…) and international ones (Cannes, Namur, Paris, Lyon, Locarno, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, Marrakech, Carthage…). This program enables access to films that are not distributed in Ontario or have a limited exposure or run. This year, it will be held at the Carlton Cinema on October 5-13.
• The Youth Festival attracts over 8,500 students from over 100 schools from the Toronto area. It gives students and their teachers a wonderful opportunity to experience French outside the classroom in a playful and educational framework. The next Cinéfranco Youth Festival will take place at the Cineplex Famous Players theatre on February 19-March 6, 2019.
• The Québec Perspective festival is a window of the vibrant movie scene thanks to our partnership with Québec Cinéma. Held over three days in April, it is enriched with the significant presence of actors and directors.

In addition, Cinéfranco organizes film-related events throughout the year :

• Cinéfranco has been a partner of the Toronto Reference and Central North York Libraries for the past 7 years with free presentations of Francophone films followed by debates led by Marcelle Lean.
• Cinéfranco partners with other Canadian festivals to copresent films.
• As a community organization, Cinéfranco takes part in events such as World Aids Day (with Le Centre francophone de Toronto, Reflets Salveo, Action positive) and The International Women’s Day (in partnership with Les Français du Monde for a tribute to Simone Veil in 2018.)