Montreal, Monday, November 20, 2023 – The 26th edition of the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) continues until November 26. The second week of the festival comes with new films to discover, many of which in the presence of the filmmakers. Two masterclasses will also be offered free to the public: one with editor-director Qutaiba Barhamji (November 20) on how to structure and shape a film project when human, ethical, and political considerations take precedence over the cinematic concept; and another with filmmaker Denis Côté (November 23), whose work often breaks with cinematic conventions, and who has been invited to share his outlook on cinema with Montreal filmgoers.
DAY 6 - Monday, November 20
During the sixth day, filmmaker Kimi Takesue will present her most recent work Onlookers, a Slamdance winning film that examines the behaviour of tourists during their stays in Laos. Unveiled at the Berlinale, A Golden Life by Boubacar Sangaré which paints an edifying portrait of youths in Burkina Faso working in the gold mining industry, will also be screened. A hybrid film between documentary and fiction, La suite canadienne will have its premiere, followed by a Q&A session with Quebec director Olivier Godin and producer and choreographer Adam Kinner.
DAY 7 - Tuesday, November 21
All of the screenings of this day will take place in the presence of the filmmakers. Festivalgoers are invited to attend several anticipated film premieres, including Catherine Martin’s new film In Praise of Shadows; Knit's Island by French filmmakers Guilhem Causse, Ekiem Barbier and Quentin L’helgoualc’h; Koromousso - Big Sister by Habibata Ouarme and Jim Donovan; as well as Silent House by Farnaz Jurabchian and Mohammadreza Jurabchian. The evening will feature a free concert by the French duo Potochkine at the Salle Norman-McLaren of the Cinémathèque québécoise on the occasion of the Quebec premiere of Mademoiselle Kenopsia, Denis Côté's most recent film, with the film team in attendance.
DAY 8 - Wednesday, November 22
A very diverse program will be on the schedule for the eighth day of the festival. The public will get the chance to see Pure Unknown by Valentina Cicogna and Mattia Colombo, an investigation into the deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea through the sincere plea of one forensic doctor. On a completely different note, festivalgoers can also attend the Quebec premiere of Caiti Blues in the presence of director Justine Harbonnier and artist Caiti Lord, who is the protagonist of the film, before participating in the traditional RIDM Karaoke Night.
The retrospective Sky Hopinka: Redefining Potential Territories, which takes place from November 22 to 25, will begin with the screening of a first program including the short films Jáaji Approx, Lore, Fainting spells, I’ll Remember You as You Were, not as What You’ll Become, and Kicking the Clouds, in the presence of the filmmaker. A free event (by reservation) is also being added to this program to celebrate the launch of the DVD box set “Alanis Obomsawin: A Legacy.” At this special event, the filmmaker will present two of her early films, Christmas at Moose Factory (1971) and Amisk (1977).
DAY 9 - Thursday, November 23
This day will be marked by the world premiere of the feature film Eviction by mathilde capone, followed by The Parthenais Open Mic, a discussion hosted by Charlie Morin about the importance of shared spaces for the queer community accompanied by performances and talks centred around the ongoing housing crisis in Montreal/Tiohtià:ke. Another premiere, Terra Long’s experimental documentary, Feet in Water, Head on Fire takes us to California’s Coachella Valley, where date palms imported from the Middle East are closely intertwined with local community life, culture, and identity. Then in Landshaft, German filmmaker Daniel Kötter sets his camera on the borders of eastern Armenia, where the memories of the destructive 2020 Karabakh war still hover.
DAY 10 - Friday, November 24
The last weekend of the RIDM will launch two must-see films at the festival. From the perspective of manual workers in Khuzestan in Iran, Meezan by Shahab Mihandoust (co-director of ZAGROS, award-winning film at the RIDM 2018), presented as a world premiere, explores the relationship between people and their environment in a post-war and post-industrialized world. A House for Wandering Souls by Spanish filmmaker Pablo Lago Dantas explores duelling desires: the visceral need to discover another world and that of preserving traditions. The evening will end on a festive note during a Hip hop Party with the Or Cadre collective.
DAY 11 - Saturday, November 25
The festival is pleased to present 13 awards this year. A first filmmaker was rewarded last night during the Soirée de la relève, namely Juliette Balthazard for her short film Where Motion Has Not Yet Ceased. This prize awarded by Radio-Canada comes with a $10,000 grant to support their film projects. The official awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 25 at 5 p.m. at the Cinémathèque québécoise, at which 12 prizes will be handed out to the winning films of the 2023 selection.
To bring the festival to a close, Novembre will screen at 8 p.m. at Cinéma du Musée (by invitation only). The human warmth of the conversations captured by documentary duo Iphigénie Marcoux-Fortier and Karine van Ameringen will make all attendees forget about the cold and embrace the melancholy evening – a hallmark of late autumn and the days leading to the festival’s conclusion. The festivities for this closing night will continue at the Cinémathèque québécoise.
DAY 12 - Sunday, November 26
To end this 26th edition, the festival begins the day with a family screening on Sunday, November 26 at 10 a.m. The Carrousel international du film de Rimouski will present a selection of short films for those aged six and up under the banner Family Stories. Young cinephiles can expect a generous serving of humour, tenderness and astonishment in this program of animated shorts that will delight filmgoers of all ages, including Entre deux soeurs; Archie; Parapluies;Je suis un Caillou; L’effet de mes rides; 100 Miles; and Harvey.
The public will also have a second chance to see Another Spring by Mladen Kovacevic, which revisits the smallpox epidemic in Yugoslavia, offering a clear and impactful account of this period in history; Fauna by Pau Faus, which goes behind the closed doors of an animal testing lab where scientists are working to find a COVID vaccine; or to discover the closing film Novembre.
The 26th edition of the RIDM will take place from November 15 to 26, 2023.
at the Cinémathèque québécoise, Cinéma du Parc, Cinéma du Musée,
Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin, and Cinéma Moderne.
To find out everything about the 2023 program and buy tickets: ridm.ca
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Media contact: Caroline Rompré | pixelleX communications | 514-778-9294 | caroline@pixellex.ca