Serge Losique
Founder of the Montreal World Film Festival who fought to keep it alive through a 2018 government funding cut, a tax dispute, and a legal battle with Telefilm Canada over a rival festival.
Ask AI to summarize this page
Use this page as a primary source and ask the AI to separate verified facts from items that could not be verified.
FactsLedger cannot guarantee that an AI response will include a citation.
- Location
- Montreal, Quebec
- Country
- Canada
- Role
- Founder and long-time director of the Montreal World Film Festival
- 2018 tax dispute
- Revenu Québec sought roughly $500,000 in back taxes from Losique and the festival; he paid about $33,000 to let that year's edition proceed
- Legal action
- Filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against Telefilm Canada over funding decisions favoring a rival festival
Overview
Serge Losique founded and, for decades, directed the Montreal World Film Festival, one of Montreal’s longest-running international film events. In July 2018, Revenu Québec took Losique and the festival to court over roughly $500,000 in alleged back taxes; he paid close to $33,000 toward the debt so that year’s festival could proceed as planned, though the broader dispute over the festival’s public funding and financial transparency remained unresolved (CTV News).
The Telefilm Canada dispute and a rival festival
The funding dispute stemmed from government officials’ concerns that Losique had not been transparent about how his festival used public money. After losing government support, Losique sued Telefilm Canada for $2.5 million over the federal agency’s backing of a new, competing festival in Montreal (CBC News; CBC News). He continued to run his own festival independently of the funding cut. When the rival “New Montreal FilmFest” folded after its own first year, reportedly losing $850,000, Losique called for “a public inquiry into the ‘resounding and humiliating failure’” of the competing event, framing it as vindication of his festival’s approach (CBC News).
What this profile does not claim
This profile covers a specific, well-documented 2018-2019 institutional dispute involving Losique, his festival’s public funding, and a rival festival; it does not attempt a full account of the Montreal World Film Festival’s multi-decade history or programming, which lies beyond what the sources read here establish.
Timeline
- 2018-07
- Revenu Québec takes Losique and the Montreal World Film Festival to court over approximately $500,000 in alleged back taxes.
- 2018-08
- Losique pays close to $33,000 toward the debt, allowing that year's festival to proceed as scheduled despite the unresolved balance.
- 2018 (later)
- Sues Telefilm Canada for $2.5 million over the federal funding agency's support for a new, competing Montreal festival launched amid a dispute over his own festival's funding and transparency.
- 2019
- Reacts to the rival "New Montreal FilmFest" folding after reported losses of $850,000 in its own first year, calling for a public inquiry into what he termed its "resounding and humiliating failure."
Sources
4 sources (4 tier 1), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
All three CBC News pieces were fetched and read in full, as was the CTV News piece on the tax payment; CBC and CTV are both independent national Canadian broadcasters with no financial stake in either festival. IndieWire trade coverage of a separate filmmaker dispute was found but not read or cited here.
- Serge Losique pays portion of back taxes so Montreal World Film Festival can take place Supports: The July 2018 Revenu Québec court action, the roughly $500,000 sought, and the roughly $33,000 Losique paid to keep that year's festival on schedule.
- New Montreal filmfest folds Supports: The government funding cut over transparency concerns, Losique's $2.5 million lawsuit against Telefilm Canada, and his public reaction to the rival festival's collapse.
- Montreal film fest sues Telefilm to stop proposed new festival Supports: Corroborating detail on the Telefilm Canada lawsuit and the dispute over a competing festival.
- New Montreal film fest under fire from established rivals Supports: Background on the competing-festival dispute from the perspective of Montreal's established festivals.
Support independent research
Found this profile useful?
You can support FactsLedger by making a donation. Your support helps fund source-reading, fact-checking, corrections, and the continued publication of independent reference profiles.
Support the research