The 24th edition of the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) is featuring two NFB co-productions, one making its world premiere and the other its Quebec premiere. These moving and profoundly human feature-length docs chronicle their protagonists' trials and hopes. RIDM will take place in theatres from November 10 to 21, 2021, and online November 14 to 25, 2021.
QUICK FACTS
- Making its WORLD PREMIERE in the "Family topographies" section, Dear Audrey, by Montreal director Jeremiah Hayes (Reel Injun, 2009), is a tribute to acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Martin Duckworth and his undying love for his wife and family.
- Making its QUEBEC PREMIERE and competing in the national feature competition in the "Gesture of resistance" section, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy, by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, a filmmaker from the Kainai Nation, paints an intimate portrait of her community and the impacts of the substance use and overdose epidemic.
QUOTE
"Even though Martin [Duckworth] has become my mentor and role model, this film isn't a glorifying homage to a man, nor is it a retrospective of his many films. This is a raw and honest depiction of a sometimes-flawed human being, who's fighting the toughest battle of his life, and selflessly struggling to do the right thing." - Jeremiah Hayes, director, Dear Audrey
FAMILY TOPOGRAPHIES SECTION
Dear Audrey by Jeremiah Hayes - WORLD PREMIERE
(2021 | 90 min)
Co-produced by Cineflix Media and the NFB
Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/dear-audrey
- Acclaimed activist-filmmaker Martin Duckworth, 2015 recipient of Quebec cinema's highest honour, the Albert-Tessier award, puts down his camera to fight for the most important cause of his life-caring for his wife through the final stages of Alzheimer's disease. Martin's love deepens for her as he looks back on an epic life and career.
- In addition to animation, Dear Audrey includes a stylized, impressionistic blend of excerpts from films Martin Duckworth directed and other films he's worked on as a camera operator or DOP, along with countless family photos and archival footage.
- The film will have its world premiere screening, with French subtitles, at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 19, 2021, at Montreal's Cinéma du Musée; it will be available online from November 22 to 25, 2021.
- Jeremiah Hayes is an award-winning director, editor and writer. He is best known as the co-director, co-writer and editor of the film Reel Injun, for which he won a Gemini Award and a Peabody Award. Hayes is also recognized for his work on the Emmy-nominated and Sundance award-winning feature documentary Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, for which he was honoured with the Canadian Screen Award for Best Editing in a Documentary Program.
NATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION - Gesture of resistance section
Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers - QUEBEC PREMIERE
(2021 | 124 min 50 s)
Co-produced by Seen Through Woman Productions and the NFB
Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/kimmapiiyipitssini-the-meaning-of-empathy
- A portrait of a community facing radical change, the film brings humanity and compassion to the substance-use crisis and drug-poisoning epidemic on the Kainai First Nation in southern Alberta. Filmmaker Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, herself a member of the Kainai First Nation (Blood Tribe, Blackfoot Confederacy) as well as Sámi from Norway, welcomes viewers to witness the collective work of her community.
- The film will have its Quebec premiere, with French subtitles, at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, November 20, 2021, in the main theatre of Montreal's Cinémathèque québécoise, and will be available online from November 22 to 25, 2021.
- Awards: Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award and Rogers Audience Award for Canadian Feature Documentary, Hot Docs 2021; Colin Low Award for Best Canadian Director, DOXA 2021
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