[1] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, it was staged almost entirely online, with the exception of a few outdoor screenings at Ciné-parc FNC x YUL, a temporary drive-in theatre in the employee parking lot of Montréal–Trudeau International Airport.
[3] As the drive-in and online components were already planned, the festival was able to quickly pivot its strategy,[2] although the tight timeframe meant that a few films that had been scheduled for in-person screenings had to be pulled from the program rather than being added to the online platform.
[1] The festival was slated to open with a free public screening of Underground (Souterrain) by Sophie Dupuis at FNC x YUL, but this event had to be cancelled due to severe weather.
[7] The international competition jury comprised Pascale Bussières, Louise Lecavalier and Félix Dufour-Laperrière, while the national competition jury consisted of Evelyne de la Chenelière, Timothée Donay and Ewa Puszczynska.
Due to the last-minute cancellation of in-person screenings, some films previously announced by the festival that had been planned for in-person rather than online screenings were not included in the festival.