Montreal, Monday, May 29, 2023 - Forum RIDM is proud to announce that The Soldier's Lagoon, directed and produced by Canadian Pablo Alvarez-Mesa, won the Docs in Orbit Invitation Award. This documentary project was presented on May 19 as part of the Docs-In-Progress - Canadian Showcase at Cannes Docs - Marché du Film de Cannes, which was held from May 16 to 24.
The Docs in Orbit Invitation Award consists of an invitation to be featured on Docs in Orbit, a transnational documentary film podcast with a desire to support the independent film community, and includes an interview with the filmmaker to be released with the film’s world premiere, and year-round exposure on the Docs in Orbit’s website and social media.
The jury, composed of Karim Aitoune (producer at Haut les Mains Productions), Fernanda Lomba (Nicho54 co-founder) and Angeliki Vergou (head of Agora at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival) declared: “We would like to extend an invitation to one project that immediately captivated us with its atmospheric imagery and sound, conveying a deep reverence for the sacredness of land and indigenous futures while also shedding light on a history of extraction and the consequences it has on all life and the environment. Intrigued by the filmmaker’s artistic vision and independent process (working as director, cinematographer, and producer) we extend the Docs in Orbit Invitation Award to Pablo Alverez-Mesa for The Soldier’s Lagoon. We look forward to the resonance of this film and the chance to further explore his artistic approach on the occasion of its premiere.”
This is Forum RIDM’s fifth time sending Canadian participants to Docs-In-Progress, where four teams consisting of producers and directors present their projects in the final stages of production to an audience of international buyers, distributors, festival programmers, and sales agents.
The Docs-In-Progress - Canadian Showcase at Cannes Docs - Marché du Film de Cannes is organized in partnership with Telefilm Canada.
The selected projects of the 2023 Docs-In-Progress - Canadian Showcase were:
ASOG
Director: Seán Devlin
Producer: Amanda Ernst
Mama no himitsu
Director: Laurence Lévesque
Producers: Rosalie Chicoine Perreault and Catherine Boily
The Death Tour
Directors: Stephan Peterson and Sonya Ballantyne
Producers: Sergeo Kirby and Stacey Tenenbaum
The Soldier's Lagoon
Director: Pablo Alvarez-Mesa
Producer: Pablo Alvarez-Mesa
About Forum RIDM
Forum RIDM aims to stimulate the production and distribution of independent documentaries, both nationally and internationally, by promoting the exchange of information and meetings between the various professionals in the documentary industry. Roundtables, conferences and workshops on major current issues will bring together over 400 filmmakers and representatives of various production, broadcasting and distribution companies over five days.
The Forum RIDM will take place from November 18 to 22, 2023.
Information: ridm.ca/en/forum-ridm / info@ridm.ca
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For interview or visual material requests, please contact:
Caroline Rompré | pixelleX communications | 514-778-9294 | caroline@pixellex.ca