RIDM

The Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) has an exciting lineup for its 25th edition, which will take place from November 17 to 27, 2022.

In numbers, this year’s selection tallies up to 134 films from 49 countries that aim to reflect the current state of the world, while also showcasing the sheer breadth of creativity and diversity in documentary cinema. Several discussions and activities, all free of charge, are also included in the lineup, thus enabling important conversations around documentary to take place, and bringing the ‘encounters’ (or ‘rencontres’) component of the festival to the forefront.

For this anniversary edition, the RIDM carries on with its mission to bring together the films of both established directors and new talents. A whopping 58 emerging filmmakers will present their first or second works at this year’s edition. The festival is also delighted to welcome 27 international filmmakers to its event, and to acknowledge the work of female directors, by presenting again this year a program in which a majority of films were made by women.

The RIDM is thrilled to launch the festival with Rewind & Play by French filmmaker Alain Gomis, in collaboration with the Consulate General of France in Québec. Using archival footage from a French television program that had jazz musician Thelonious Monk on as a guest, the film reveals the power of editing and dismantles the fabrication of a colonial discourse. Preceding the screening of the opening film will be the short film Des racines nées by Alunaya, created as part of the Conseil des arts de Montréal’s Regard sur Montréal 2022 film residency.

The festival will come to a close with the screening of Wochiigii lo: End of the Peace by Haida filmmaker Heather Hatch, who will be in attendance. The film focuses on the ancestral lands of Indigenous peoples, which are supposed to be protected by a treaty, but are being destroyed by hydroelectric dam projects. Prior to screening the film, an awards ceremony will take place, with 12 prizes handed out to the winning films of the 2022 selection.

National Feature Competition

The 7 films in the national feature competition turn the spotlight on the daring approaches of Canadian filmmakers and the issues that matter to them. Through the sharing of family experiences, Denys Desjardins lays bare the sad fate of our elders in J’ai placé ma mère, as the filmmaker tries to ensure that his mother ends her life with dignity, while The Dependents by Sofía Brockenshire paints a bold family portrait via the diary her father kept for decades as an immigration officer, building into a commentary on how mobility rights are distributed unequally across the globe. Immigration is also a central theme of My Two Voices by Lina Rodriguez, in which three Latin American women recount their experiences of moving to Canada, as well as Concrete Valley by Antoine Bourges, which takes its audience into a Toronto expat neighbourhood, where a Syrian couple struggles to adapt.

>Weaving together testimonials from members of the Islamic State imprisoned in Syrian Kurdistan, ROJEK by Zaynê Akyol raises profound questions about human behaviour, while Self-Portrait by Joële Walinga pieces together a stark reality using images from surveillance cameras around the world. For its part, Geographies of Solitude by Jacquelyn Mills merges art and science by focusing on the work of naturalist Zoe Lucas, the sole resident of Sable Island, Nova Scotia.

Essentials

The 9 films in the Essentials section bring together the latest works by leading filmmakers as well as the festival circuit’s most talked-about films. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed by Laura Poitras charts the rich life and work of renowned photographer Nan Goldin, as well as her ongoing fight against the Sackler family and the opioid crisis. More playful, À vendredi, Robinson by Mitra Farahani sets up a richly enigmatic correspondence between two major artists, Ebrahim Golestan and Jean-Luc Godard. Art and history feature front and centre in the essay film What About China? by Trinh T. Minh-ha, which offers a rich and complex reflection on the titular country using images shot 40 years ago. Shabu by Shamira Raphaëla drops us into a working-class district of Rotterdam, where we follow the trials and tribulations of a spirited teenager.

Set against the backdrop of war, One Day in Ukraine by Volodymyr Tykhyy digs into the Ukrainian people’s many forms of resistance to the Russian invasion; and A House Made of Splinters by Simon Lereng Wilmont presents a poignant portrait of children living in eastern Ukraine. The Myanmar Film Collective, a group of anonymous Burmese filmmakers, documents life under a regime of terror in the aftermath of a military coup in Myanmar Diaries. Taking an autobiographical approach, Republic of Silence by Diana El Jeiroudi offers a singular point of view on the Syrian conflict and the daily life of an exile haunted by memories. In his most recent work, Inner Lines, shot at the foot of Mount Ararat, filmmaker Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd interweaves the testimonies of Yazidis and Armenians.

RIDM Festive Nights

Every night of the festival, RIDM headquarters will come alive thanks to free concerts and DJ performances that will be open to all. The Opening Party (November 17), Brazilian Night (November 19), the Cuban Hat Night, in collaboration with Makila (November 21), and the RIDM’s 25th Anniversary Party (November 25) allow for the public and professionals to meet in a festive ambiance after the screenings.

The 25th edition of the RIDM will take place from November 17 to 27, 2022.
At the Cinémathèque québécoise, Cinéma du Parc, Cinéma du Musée, Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin, and Imperial Cinema.

To purchase individual tickets or passports visit: www.ridm.ca