Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM)

24th edition

With a selection of 120 films from 44 countries, including 54 films from Quebec and Canada, and more than half by women filmmakers, the RIDM presents the best of reality film from big names and new talent alike.

To celebrate the event-based nature of the festival, each documentary in the program will be screened once in theatres from November 10 to 21. For film-lovers unable to attend in person, films will be available via the festival’s online edition from November 14 to 25. This will include almost all the program’s films, which will be available everywhere in Canada.

The RIDM is delighted to reconnect with audiences and to make this event a meaningful gathering at which to celebrate creative documentary cinema. This edition has been put together by an enthusiastic team led by Marc Gauthier, the new director of the RIDM, with support from a brand-new programming collective: Ana Alice de Morais, Marlene Edoyan, Nadine Gomez, and Hubert Sabino-Brunette.

Opening Night
The RIDM launches its new program with Futura, a feature-length documentary by Alice Rohrwacher, Pietro Marcello, and Francesco Munzi. From three of Italy’s most exciting filmmakers comes a profile of a generation for whom hope is always served with a dose of uncertainty. Presented in partnership with the Italian Institute of Culture in Montreal and The Match Factory, the screening of Futura will be held on Wednesday, November 10 at 7 pm at the Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin (by invitation only). The film will be preceded by Des voisins dans ma cour, a Quebec-made short by Eli Jean Tahchi, made as part of the Regard sur Montréal residency program.

Closing Night
The festival will close with Gabor. The first feature-length film from Joannie Lafrenière is a funny and warm-hearted depiction of her friend, the talented photographer Gabor Szilasi. Gabor will make its world premiere on Saturday, November 20 at 8 pm at the Cinéma du Musée, attended by Gabor Szilasi, Joannie Lafrenière, and her team.

Eight Thematic Sections
Following the success of the 2020 edition, this year’s program is organized around eight thematic sections, each including short, medium, and feature-length films, as well as films from different national and international competitions. The thematic sections:

THE HUMAN SPACE – 11 films that explore the relationship between human beings and their environment, with a focus on connection and resilience

IN SEARCH OF ONESELF – 10 introspective films on the human condition and our understanding of the world

FAMILY TOPOGRAPHIES – 10 films illuminating the complex ties that bind us to our families, those who brought us into the world and whose lives run parallel to our own, for better or for worse

STRENGTH OF THE LIVING – 10 films that celebrate the vitality of nature, its cycles, and the roots that connect us all

DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE ARTS – 11 films that draw inspiration from intersections of film and other artistic mediums

HAUNTED TERRITORIES – 11 films that transport us to ghostly worlds where the weight of the past blurs reality and fiction

GESTURES OF RESISTANCE – 10 films celebrating gestures both great and small of those who fight the status quo

ECHOES OF THE PAST – 11 films that call for reflection on the past, to understand the present and imagine a better future

All the films in the program will be shown in theatres during the festival. They will then be divided into three program blocks available online according to the date of screening in theatres: from November 14 to 17 (Block 1), from November 18 to 21 (Block 2), and from November 22 to 25 (Block 3).

Vitaly Mansky Retrospective – Facing Reality
This year, the RIDM pays tribute to filmmaker Vitaly Mansky, whose keen eye and critical perspective on political questions is more necessary than ever before. Through his films, the Russian producer and director addresses complex questions with a cinematographic style that is at once persuasive and provocative. His films Private Chronicles. Monologue (1999), Broadway. Black Sea (2002), Pipeline (2013), Under the Sun (2015), Close Relations (2016), Putin’s Witnesses (2018) and his most recent opus Gorbachev. Heaven (2021) will feature in this retrospective of his work.

Family Screenings
And finally, for the seventh year running, the RIDM is delighted to invite families to the Cinémathèque québécoise for its Family Screenings, an international program of short films for ages six and up, as well as a workshop on learning from images adapted for youths. Presented in collaboration with the Carrousel international du film de Rimouski, the Family Screenings will take place on Saturday, November 13 at 10:30 am and Sunday, November 21 at 2:30 pm.

The RIDM’s 24th edition will take place in theatres from November 10 to 21 at the Cinémathèque québécoise, Cinéma du Parc, Cinéma du Musée, Centre Pierre-Péladeau, and Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin and online from November 14 to 25, 2021.

To learn more about each of the films and the cost of tickets, passes and subscriptions, visit: www.ridm.ca