For the first time in his career, it was an actress, Michelle Yeoh, who offered him a project – to tell the story of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Burmese activist opposed to the military dictatorship in her country. "I felt invested with a mission," remembers the French filmmaker over the phone. "There was no hope, when we began filming, to ever see her free. She had been detained in her house for 11 years, we had no way to contact her, she was under a very, very tough military regime. We had a mission to be honest, to try to respect the truth without having access to it. We had to constantly be vigilant."

Despite the political role occupied since the end of the 1980s by Suu Kyi, who was released during the shoot, The Lady mostly focuses on her personal life. "It’s a great love story first and foremost. We know Aung San Suu Kyi as a political leader, a strong and rather tough woman, but few people know how she became the woman that she is today. What interested me was to understand her emotionally."

A climate of violence surrounded the one called The Lady by her fellow citizens while she was under house arrest, but little of it is shown in the film. "It hasn’t been toned down," assures Besson. "What mattered to me was showing that the Burmese junta was violent, so it can be seen in a few scenes. But the film is really about Aung San Suu Kyi, so we didn’t have to overdo it. Otherwise we would have risked being accused of partisanship. We had to find the right balance."

The filming of The Lady, which took place in England and Thailand, wasn’t a holiday for Besson and his crew. "During the shoot, I was convinced that one day or another, we’d learn she had died. At the same time, I think she’s immortal, like her father [General Aung San]. It’s good that we made the film, which is circulating around the world and holds the record for piracy in Burma."

The Lady

"My first reaction was to try to talk Joss out of casting me," Ruffalo recalls of the moment director Joss Whedon told him he wanted him to replace Edward Norton as the Hulk in this summer’s mammoth comic book movie, The Avengers. "Then I started to think, if I can get past all of the baggage of the part, I could maybe do something different and cool with it."

Still, Ruffalo’s time on set was a challenge at first. "I was really nervous. My overall feeling on the set was probably not so dissimilar to Banner’s in the film. What am I doing here? Do I belong here? Look at how cool all these guys are!"

Ruffalo may now be one of the cool kids, which also includes Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Chris Evans as Captain America, but the Hulk has always been hit or miss, mostly miss, with film audiences. Ruffalo’s take, though, is resonating so much with fans that Marvel is now considering another standalone Hulk movie in the future.

The success of the character is something Ruffalo attributes to working with Whedon. "My first rehearsal with Joss was literally an hour in a room just wrestling," Ruffalo explains of Whedon’s unorthodox approach to bringing out the beast in the man. "Joss and I definitely felt that this was a continuation of the last Hulk movie, with this idea that he might have some control over it. This next version of Banner has been on the run for another three or four years, is getting into his 40s, getting tired, longing for a life, maybe a family, and has a sense of humour about himself and a level of acceptance for this side of himself. Maybe he can finally face himself."

That’s an awful lot of depth for a character who is most famous for smashing things.

Ruffalo has signed a six-picture deal with Marvel to appear as the Hulk on screen. While thrilled at the possibilities, Ruffalo, who used to read Marvel comics as a boy, is also a realist. "I mean, how much longer can I play the Hulk? If it takes three years to make the next Avengers and then another three years to make a Hulk, I’ll be in my 50s," Ruffalo, now 44, admits. "At some point, there is an obsolescence to a six-picture deal. I’ll be happy if I end up just doing three."

In the meantime, Ruffalo finally has a movie he can watch with the three kids he has with his wife of 12 years, Sunrise Coigney. "I do realize that most of the movies I’ve made, my kids won’t be able to see until they’re in their teens," Ruffalo quips. "This is something I felt like they could see. It interests me; it isn’t dumb; it doesn’t glorify violence just for the thrill of it. And at the same time, I don’t feel like I’ve compromised my artistic integrity. So it kind of just fit all the right boxes."

Perhaps Ruffalo’s integrity is intact because The Avengers is not just mindless popcorn fluff, but rather a genuine smash of a film. "Everything was grounded in character and in a reality that you really wouldn’t expect from this movie," Ruffalo states with evident pride and satisfaction in the project. "If you can bring something real and naturalistic to this totally fantastical, unnatural world, then you stand out from the rest."

The Avengers

Other films to be screened include Kivu Ruhorahoza’s Grey Matter, which is apparently the first feature film ever from a Rwandan filmmaker (Excentris, May 2 and 5); Leïla Kilani’s Sur la planche, a Moroccan film noir that showed at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes last year (Excentris, May 5 and 6); Ron Wyman’s Agadez, the Music and the Rebellion, a documentary about Tuareg musician Bombino (Excentris, May 5); Michael Kamuanga’s Faso Furie, a made-in-Burkina-Faso action movie (Excentris, April 28 and 29); and Dylan Valley’s Afrikaaps, a look at a troupe of artists attempting to reclaim the Afrikaans language via hip-hop (Concordia, May 1).

Vues d’Afrique
April 27 to May 6
www.vuesdafrique.org

"For this film I decided to let go of storyboards and to forget a bit about the screenplay while we were shooting a scene, to let moments happen instead," explains the writer-director. "It was a lot more instinctive and, in theory, we strayed from the initial plan, yet ultimately, everyone tells me that the film is like they imagined it when they read the script. Maybe because it’s more faithful to the emotions [than to the words]? In any case, it’s the first time I see in one of my films what I wanted to do at the beginning."

Non-professional Rachel Mwanza won the Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival for her utterly heartbreaking performance as Komona, a young girl from an unidentified African country (though the film was shot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) who’s snatched from her village and made into a child soldier by a local rebel faction. "It isn’t just her naturalness; she has the charisma of a big movie star," enthuses Nguyen. "It’s like seeing Brad Pitt before he was Brad Pitt."

The Québécois filmmaker is also glad he got to make a film in Africa that doesn’t feature a white protagonist, for a change. "I’m a bit tired of seeing films about African tragedies in which the person we’re made to feel empathy for is always an Occidental. That’s fine, but there has to be balance, we have to make films about the true heroes of these tragedies."

Rebelle is narrated by Komona herself, talking to her unborn baby about the horrors she experienced from 12 to 14 years old. Her tale feels both scary-real and fantastical; deemed a witch by the rebels, Komona is haunted by visions of her dead parents and other ghosts. "If we had done the film in an objective way, like a documentary, it would have been interesting, but it wouldn’t have conveyed how a child soldier can commit all those violent acts," says Nguyen. "The ghosts illustrate the influence of drugs and superstition, which are part of the indoctrination process."

The hallucinatory, mythical quality of the storytelling and the striking imagery created by Nguyen and cinematographer Nicolas Bolduc often recall Apocalypse Now as well as its inspiration, Joseph Conrad’s Congo-set Heart of Darkness. "There’s definitely a bit of homage to Conrad," admits Nguyen. "Whether we want it or not, sometimes our films mirror something universal."

Rebelle (War Witch)

"We just love horror movies and this just stemmed from that love," director and co-writer Drew Goddard tells me just a few hours before the Canadian premiere of his first feature. "We both just wanted to write a love letter to this genre."

The "we" Goddard is referring to is himself and a man he refers to as his "partner in crime," Joss Whedon. Goddard first met Whedon on the cult classic series Buffy and the Vampire Slayer and went on to work with him on spin-off Angel as well. "We just enjoy working together and we always talked after those shows went off the air about finding something else to do."

Working with Whedon again was old hat for Goddard. "We like to write fast. A lot of times when you don’t have a parachute, you leap into some very interesting places. So we locked ourselves in a hotel and didn’t leave until we had a script." When I suggest that a cabin, say, in the woods might have been more apt, Goddard replies, "I feel like we didn’t need to do any method writing."

What sets The Cabin in the Woods apart from the torture porn one might expect from the premise is the action behind the scenes. These teens, led by Chris Hemsworth and Kristen Connolly, are being chased and tormented, but by whom and for what purpose? There is a genuine reason this is all happening, something that has been sorely lacking from the horror genre for some time now. "It felt like the studios were just recycling, and whenever the recycling starts to happen, that’s when you want to do something new," Goddard explains of his motivation. "You can feel when there is no love behind them. When people making the film don’t care, it bleeds into the audience."

No matter how bloody The Cabin in the Woods gets, you can always feel the love.

The Cabin in the Woods

Shot during the summer of 2011, Mirror Mirror, a modern and decidedly fantastical take on the Brothers Grimm fairytale, stars fresh face Lily Collins as Snow White herself, current it-boy Armie Hammer as her prince and the one and only Julia Roberts as the evil queen. Beyond these new and familiar faces though, the film also showcases a great deal of Montreal talent.

Henry Fong (www.henryfong.ca) is a concept artist who started working in Montreal’s other booming entertainment industry, video games. It was good word-of-mouth that led to his work on first Immortals and then Mirror Mirror. "That’s usually how it works in the field," Fong explains to me. "You work with a group of people and if they like you, they call you back when they’re on another project."

During a pivotal scene in the film, Roberts works her magic using string marionettes. Chris Godziuk, one half of puppet theatre company Panadream Theatre, was brought on to make them come alive for the Oscar-winning actress. "I’ve seen her in so many movies that I feel like I know her," he explains of the surreal meeting. "When I saw her for the first time and when I heard her speak, she was just so familiar. It was a trip, y’know?"

Meanwhile, Montreal actress Nadia Verrucci, who runs a local theatre company called In Your Face Entertainment, ended up getting a speaking part when she was only expecting to end up in the background. She hopes this is a new era for the Montreal film industry. "For years, people have been asking how everything has been so slow, saying they haven’t auditioned for any films recently," she divulges. "Now, Steven Spielberg is coming [with Robopocalypse] and they’re doing the second Smurfs movie here. This is all really great."

Do you hear that Hollywood? Vous nous manquez.

Mirror Mirror

This doc takes us on a subjective, messy journey full of sex, drugs and loud music that proves to be both fascinating and frustrating. Jérôme de Missolz rockets through the history of uninhibited, transgressive rock, name-checking its countless casualties (Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Sid Vicious, Ian Curtis, Kurt Cobain, etc.), who appear via priceless archival footage, and interviewing such survivors as Iggy Pop, Eric Burdon, Jimmy Carl Black (Mother of Invention), Richard Hell (Television), Lemmy (Motörhead) and Jello Biafra. This could (should?) have been a 10-hour series (5e Salle, March 16 and 23).

Cinémas d’horreur: Apocalypse, virus, zombies
(Luc Lagier)
Here’s an admirably cinephilic look at the post-9/11 new wave of horror cinema, which reflects the impact of terrorism and the Iraq War on the collective unconscious the same way 70s horror echoed the Vietnam War. Featuring Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes remake), Eli Roth (Hostel), Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza (REC) and Neil Marshall (The Descent), Luc Lagier’s well-crafted documentary explores trends like torture porn and real-time horror without dismissing them out of hand like some do (Salle Claude-Jutra, March 16 and 24).

Produced by George Martin
(Francis Hanly)
Every music fan already knows the history of The Beatles inside out, but this documentary takes a relatively original angle by focusing on Sir George Martin, the venerable Parlophone label manager who signed the Fab Four (even though he initially thought their music was rubbish!) and produced all their albums. Now 86, he generously opens up about his life and career through this lovely portrait, which also features interventions from his wife Judy, his son and collaborator Giles, as well as surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. (5e Salle, March 17 and 24)

Plus:

Santiago Ruiztorres’ Sudden Flashes of Light, an "action film on the piano" featuring Serhiy Salov (Cinéma ONF, March 16); Marlene Millar, Crystal Pite and Philip Szporer’s 3D dance documentary Lost Action: Trace (Cinéma ONF, March 17); Daniel Robillard and Stéphan Doe’s Chercher noise, which depicts the making of domlebo’s new LP with 37 guest artists (5e Salle, March 20; Salle Claude-Jutra, March 22); and so much more.

International Festival of Films on Art
March 15 to 25
www.artfifa.com

Yes, I’d say Baruchel is a very big hockey fan.

Baruchel’s love (read: obsession) for the game served him well on Goon, which was directed by Michael Dowse of Fubar fame. The film shines for two main reasons, not the least of which is its authenticity and evident appreciation for the sport itself. The second reason is the film’s star, Seann William Scott. Famous for comedic parts in the American Pie series and the classic Dude, Where’s My Car?, Scott would not be my first choice for the sensitive role of Doug Glatt, a guy going nowhere and getting up there in years, who discovers his calling working as an enforcer for a minor league hockey team in Halifax, Nova Scotia. For Baruchel, there was no other choice.

"We were very lucky that he was able to do it, and I can say this now that the movie is made and about to come out, but we didn’t have a backup!" Aside from being glad it all worked out, Baruchel also has nothing but kind things to say about Scott. "Anybody who has ever met Seann for 30 seconds knows that he has a massive heart and is the most humble, disarming guy you’ll ever meet. He puts most Canadians to shame."

While Baruchel has been making waves in both Canada and the USA with his acting, Goon marks the first time he has written a feature screenplay. "When you see these people connect to these characters that you created, so much so that they start to know the character better than you, that was what was most exciting. These are people I wrote, but the actors took ownership of them."

While Baruchel is riotously vulgar as Doug’s best friend in Goon, it is clearly his role as writer that left him feeling smashed against the boards – y’know, in a good way. "It was a difficult movie to make, but even at its hardest point, it was still this thing that came from my heart and my head that was now becoming real. I was just on a high the entire time we were filming."

Goon

Also reaching a milestone this year is the now-35-year-old Coop Vidéo de Montréal, which has played a vital part in helping many of our best filmmakers in their creative process since 1977, including Jacques Leduc, whose Chronique de la vie quotidienne will be showcased during the RVCQ (Cinémathèque, February 19). Robert Morin, one of the Coop’s co-founders, will give a master class (Cinémathèque, February 16) and be the subject of a mini-retrospective of his recent work, with screenings of Petit Pow! Pow! Noël, Papa à la chasse aux Lagopèdes and Journal d’un coopérant (Cinéma ONF, February 21 to 23). Let’s mention as well that Morin co-stars with Élise Guilbault in Lilly, a powerful short adapted by writer-director Olaf Svenson from a 100 Bullets comic book story (Cinémathèque, February 16).

Master classes will also be given by French director Claire Denis (Grande Bibliothèque, February 21) and cinematographer Agnès Godard (Cinémathèque, February 22), and three of the films they’ve made together will screen during the fest, namely Beau Travail, Trouble Every Day and 35 Rhums (Cinéma ONF, February 17 to 19), plus Denis’ White Material, which was shot by Yves Cape (Cinémathèque, February 20).

Before hitting theatres this Friday, Innu filmmaker Yves Sioui Durand’s Mesnak (which was co-written by… Robert Morin) will show at the RVCQ (Quartier Latin, February 16), preceded by a roundtable discussion on First Nations cinema and followed by a "makusham" party featuring Montagnais musician Florent Vollant (both at the Cinémathèque’s Bistro SAQ).

Other special events of note include the Prends ça court! awards ceremony (Bistro SAQ, February 17); the return of the Journées Transmédia (Cinémathèque, February 21 to 23); the Rendez-vous d’hiver, which will take the action outdoors for a night (Place Pasteur, February 25); and following the presentation of closing film Over My Dead Body, Brigitte Poupart’s documentary about choreographer Dave St-Pierre (Quartier Latin, February 25), a party featuring Qualité Motel, Roux Soundsystem, DJ Matteo Grondini and VJ Choco Beets (at Bistro SAQ).

And as always, the RVCQ is a good occasion to catch up to some of the past year’s best features (such as Philippe Falardeau’s Monsieur Lazhar, Patrick Demers’ Jaloux, Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie’s Laurentie, Stéphane Lafleur’s En terrains connus, Sébastien Pilote’s Le Vendeur…), shorts (my personal favourite: Sophie Goyette’s La Ronde) and documentaries (have you seen Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks’ Surviving Progress yet?). Bon cinéma!

Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois
To February 26
www.rvcq.com

"It seems that the story the film contains is one that is tangible and doesn’t seem distant to audiences in different parts of the world," says Asghar Farhadi via a translator. "And the aspects that are more local, that specifically have to do with my culture and country, are still understandable to [foreign] audiences. Maybe it’s also that the kind of viewer that the film requires and creates is not merely a passive viewer but one that needs to be involved in the film, which makes a greater connection exist."

The story of Simin (Leila Hatami) and Nader (Peyman Maadi), a soon-to-be-divorced couple who become entangled in a legal imbroglio with another couple (played by Sareh Bayat and Shahab Hosseini), A Separation offers an eye-opening portrait of the sexual, economic and religious divisions present in Iranian society, while also raising profound questions about ethics and causality.

The film was partly inspired by Farhadi’s personal experience, notably in regards to the character of Nader’s father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi), who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. "My own grandfather had Alzheimer’s and some of the events that befall the old man are things that happened to him. Also, my relationship with my daughter [Sarina Farhadi], who actually plays the part of Termeh in the film – it’s not as though the relationship between Nader and her is the same as mine with my daughter, but it still was something that prompted me to include that relationship and develop it."

One of the most admirable things about Farhadi’s film is the absence of good guys or bad guys; we can actually understand the point of view and feelings of everyone on screen. "One of the most important things for me to maintain in all the films I’ve worked on so far is this very thing," says the 40-year-old director. "In none of my films to date have I had a negative character. I can’t provide a portrayal of a character and say, ‘This person is always good’ or ‘This person is always bad.’ I believe that an account of the character of a person is possible only within a description of the circumstances in which they are to be found."

While the adults fight, their children (each of the couple has a young daughter) have to witness the whole mess, powerless. "In my view, children are the most important judges in this film. They are constantly looking around to try and reach a conclusion, a judgement as to who is right, and their conclusion changes constantly, just like the audience’s. They are practising for entering the society of grown-ups and they’re beginning to understand how complex the world of adults is."

A Separation was produced without government support, but even when working with private financing, Iranian filmmakers still have to deal with some form of censorship. "It doesn’t matter where you are getting your financing from," admits Farhadi. "The laws are applied to all the films [in Iran]. But if you do receive your financing from government sources, then they would apply those laws even more strictly."

Farhadi is now writing and developing a screenplay for a film he plans to shoot abroad with foreign producers. "The reason is that the story that I’m doing actually takes place outside the country," he explains. "My expectation is that this film will be a continuation of my previous work; I don’t expect it to be something really different."

If it’s anywhere near as great as A Separation, we wouldn’t want it any other way.

A Separation
In theatres February 24