ANIMATED DOCUMENTARIES TO BE CELEBRATED AT THE RIDM
NOVEMBER 10 TO 20
Montreal, Wednesday, June 22, 2016 – During the 19th annual Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), to be held in Montreal from November 10 to 20 this year, a major retrospective will showcase the dynamism and diversity of animated documentaries.
For the last 15 years and like Persepolis, Waltz With Bashir and, from Quebec, the superb Ryan by Chris Landreth (Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, 2004), documentary animation has been a particularly fertile genre. Many animated filmmakers relish the opportunity to take boldly original approaches to true topics, and many documentary filmmakers have been exploring the possibilities of animation.
While the success of several recent films serves as a reminder of the richness of this hybrid approach, the combination of animation and documentary is not a new phenomenon, as evidenced by The Sinking of the Lusitania, the first animated documentary, made in 1918 by Windsor McCay.
In collaboration with the Sommets du cinéma d’animation, the RIDM will explore the fascinating history of connections between animated and documentary film through a retrospective of nearly 30 films with a focus on high-quality Quebec and Canadian productions from the 1950s onward.
Works produced by the NFB’s forerunners and the films of Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre (Passages) and Josh Raskin (I Met the Walrus), as well as the mind-bending Nuts! by Penny Lane, the biography of a charlatan presented as a cross between South Park and Citizen Kane will be showed. With approaches as diverse as their subjects, the films presented will offer a different perspective on the documentary genre.
“Animated film and documentary are two of Quebec cinema’s strong suits. That is why the Sommets du cinéma d’animation is delighted to work with the RIDM on this major retrospective dedicated to animated documentaries from the beginning to the present day. Animation is often associated with fantasy, and yet it also has a great capacity to document realities that can be difficult to capture with live-action footage. The program of current animated documentaries, to be presented by the Sommets, will showcase the latest successes in this area,” said Marcel Jean, executive director of the Cinémathèque québécoise.
Quebec’s only film festival dedicated to documentaries, the Montreal International Documentary Festivalpresents the best reality‐based films, including the works of established directors and new talents.
The 19th annual RIDM will take place from November 10 to 20, 2016.
Information: www.ridm.qc.ca / info@ridm.qc.ca
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Contact: Caroline Rompré | publicist | 514-778-9294 | caroline@pixellex.ca