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Jeremiah Hayes’ award-winning film Dear Audrey opens in four Canadian cities in August. An intimate portrait of renowned filmmaker-activist Martin Duckworth as he cares for his wife through the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

PRESS RELEASE
14/07/2022

July 14, 2022 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Jeremiah Hayes’ powerful documentary Dear Audrey is coming to cinemas in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver beginning August 19 and to Edmonton on August 27. The film was co-produced by the NFB, Cineflix Media and Jeremiah Hayes.

About the film

  • Filmmaker-activist Martin Duckworth has devoted his life to peace and justice. But now he’s put down his camera to fight for the most important cause he’s ever faced—caring for his wife, Audrey Schirmer, through the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
  • The film is a powerful testament to Martin’s love and devotion, which has deepened over the decades. While Audrey gradually fades away—and their autistic daughter, Jacqueline, struggles with her mother’s illness—Martin commits everything he’s got to making their lives meaningful and still creative, as life-long artists.
  • Jeremiah’s first job after film school in 1991 was with Martin Duckworth at the NFB, as assistant editor on Peacekeeper at War. Five years ago, after Martin’s wife Audrey was diagnosed, their friendship started to grow, and Jeremiah began filming them in their home.
  • Principal photography on Dear Audrey spanned nearly 50 shooting days and at least 90 hours of footage, with Martin narrating in his own words, distilled from about 15 hours of interviews.

Theatrical release schedule for Dear Audrey

 Opens on August 19:

Opens on August 27:

Awards

  • People’s Choice Award, 2021 Montreal International Documentary Festival
  • Cercle d’or for Best Feature Documentary, 2022 Festival Cinéma du monde de Sherbrooke, Quebec
  • Feature Winner, Best of Documentary, 2022 Indy Film Fest, Indianapolis
  • Winner of the Dr. Sydney K. Shapiro Philanthropic Award, 2022 Phoenix Film Festival
  • Silver Winner of Best Feature Documentary, 2022 Tokyo Film Awards, Japan
  • Best Editing of a Documentary Award, 2022 Madrid International Film Festival, Spain

Quotes

  • “Anyone who watches Dear Audrey will undoubtedly conclude that Hayes is a masterful filmmaker.” – Charlie Smith, The Georgia Straight
  • “Dear Audrey is the kind of film that Indy Film Fest audiences will love… emotionally honest stories that inspire not by manipulation but by human beings fumbling their way toward something beautiful even when life gets really, really challenging.”– Richard Propes, The Independent Critic

Credits

Dear Audrey is a co-production of Cineflix Media in Montreal and the NFB’s Quebec and Atlantic Studio. The film is produced by Jeremiah Hayes, André Barro (Cineflix) and Annette Clarke (NFB).

About Jeremiah Hayes

Jeremiah Hayes is an award-winning director, editor and writer. He is best known as the co-director, co-writer and editor of the Rezolution/NFB film Reel Injun, for which he won a Gemini Award and a Peabody Award. Jeremiah 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 received the Canadian Screen Award for Best Editing in a Documentary Program.

About Martin Duckworth

Raised during the Great Depression, Martin began his career at the age of 30, creating films that are artful, socially conscious and award-winning. He was on staff at the NFB from 1963 to 1970 and continued to work with the NFB as a freelancer. He travelled the globe, directed 30 films and was the cinematographer for 100, through which he saw the horrors of war in Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan and Afghanistan. Recently, he received one of Quebec’s highest honours, the Prix Albert-Tessier, for lifetime achievement in cinema.

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Related Products

Electronic Press Kit: Dear Audrey

French version here | Version française ici.

Media Relations

  • About the NFB

    Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 6,500 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.