October 25, 2023 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
The 26th edition of the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) will feature four NFB productions and co-productions. The films—one of which is having its world premiere at the festival, while the other three are making their Quebec premieres—tackle Canadian issues that echo major global concerns, such as violence against women, the intergenerational effects of residential schools on Indigenous Peoples, and the human rights of elderly people. Two of Alanis Obomsawin’s debut films will also screen at a special event at RIDM, which runs from November 15 to 26, 2023.
Quick Facts – the NFB at RIDM
- Panorama – Horizons – world premiere:
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- Après-coups (Afterwards) by Romane Garant Chartrand
- Panorama – The State of the World – three Quebec premieres:
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- To celebrate the upcoming release of the DVD box set Alanis Obomsawin: A Legacy, a special screening of two of Alanis Obomsawin’s earlier films, Christmas at Moose Factory (1971) and Amisk (1977), will take place with the acclaimed Abenaki filmmaker in attendance.
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Panorama – Horizons
Après-coups (Afterwards) by Romane Garant Chartrand (24 min 51 s) – WORLD PREMIERE
Producer: Nathalie Cloutier for the NFB’s Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/afterwards
Original French version with English subtitles
- Inside a shelter, women come together and speak out against the violence they have endured, as a way to retake control of their lives. Powerfully empathetic, Après-coups (Afterwards) creates a space of sisterhood and solidarity—a chorus of voices breaking down the walls of silence.
- Filmmaker Romane Garant Chartrand, who will attend RIDM, had her graduation film, Love-moi(2021), selected to screen at about 20 festivals and won the Coup de cœur du jury Award at the Plein(s) Écran(s) festival.
- With the director, associate producer Laurie Pominville was selected to produce this film as part of the NFB’s Repêchage initiative, in collaboration with UQAM, which allows École des médias graduates to create a first professional film.
Panorama – The State of the World
KOROMOUSSO – Grande sœur (KOROMOUSSO: Big Sister) by Habibata Ouarme and Jim Donovan (75 min) – QUEBEC PREMIERE
Producers: Denis McCready and Christine Aubé for the NFB’s Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/koromousso
First screening in French, second screening with English subtitles
- Filled with candor, hope and courage, the film features a group of African-Canadian women who break cultural taboos surrounding female sexuality and support each other in overcoming the trauma of female genital mutilation. Canada has banned the practice but does not offer the reconstructive surgery that could lead to better sexual health.
- The film premiered at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival (Toronto, London and New York City) and received an honourable mention in the feature documentary category at the Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto. It will be launched online on ca starting November 25.
- The filmmakers, Habibata Ouarme and Jim Donovan, will attend the festival.
Stolen Time by Helene Klodawsky (85 min) – QUEBEC PREMIERE
Producers: Ina Fichman for Intuitive Pictures Inc. and Ariel Nasr for the NFB’s Quebec & Atlantic Studio
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/stolentime
Original English version with French subtitles
- Charismatic elder rights lawyer Melissa Miller and hundreds of aggrieved families take on the corporate for-profit nursing-home industry—an industry notorious for its lack of transparency and accountability. The film is a rare inside look at a legal battle and an emerging elder justice movement with ramifications—and inspiration—for us all.
- Helene Klodawsky has explored the documentary art form for over 35 years. The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, Hot Docs and the Rendez-vous du Cinéma Québécois are among the many festivals that have honoured her work.
- The filmmaker will be at the festival.
WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) by Dr Jules Arita Koostachin (80 min) – QUEBEC PREMIERE
Producer: Teri Snelgrove for the NFB’s BC & Yukon Studio
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/waapake-2
Original English version with French subtitles
- Jules Arita Koostachin’s deeply personal documentary unravels the tangled threads of silence suffered by residential school Survivors through truth, freedom and power.
- The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), where it received the Best BC Film Award.
- Jules Arita Koostachin (Attawapiskat) is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, performance artist and academic. Koostachin honours her Cree-speaking grandparents who raised her, and her mother, a residential school Survivor/warrior. She holds a D. in Indigenous documentary and protocols and processes, through UBC’s Institute of Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice.
SPECIAL EVENT
Alanis Obomsawin: A Legacy DVD box set
During this event, filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin will present two of her earlier films, Christmas at Moose Factory (1971) and Amisk (1977), to celebrate the upcoming release of the DVD box set Alanis Obomsawin: A Legacy. She will discuss the selection process of this personally curated 12-disc collection.
Wednesday, November 22, at 7 p.m.
Alanis Obomsawin Theatre, NFB
With an introduction from the filmmaker
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French version here | Version française ici.