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Perfecting the Art of Longing

Kitra Cahana
2021 | 12 min 13 s
English with English subtitles

Awards and Festivals

  • Winner – Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short DocumentaryHot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Toronto (2022)

  • Best DirectorFuture of Film Showcase, Toronto, Canada (2022)

  • Best Documentary Short AwardGala Quebec Cinema, Montreal, Canada (2022)

  • Nomination - Best Short DocumentaryCanadian Screen Awards, Toronto, Canada (2023)

  • National CompetitionFestival du Nouveau Cinéma, Montreal, Canada (2021)

  • Nomination - Mental HealthYorkton Film Festival, SK, Canada (2022)


Synopsis


Long Synopsis

Trailer


Excerpts

Clip 1


Clip 2



Poster

Images


Karen Cahana kissing Rabbi Ronnie Cahana in 2011 at the Montreal Neurological Institute, a few weeks after his brain-stem stroke.

Rabbi Ronnie Cahana playing with his daughters Tamira and Briah in Vancouver in 1992.

Still from Zoom recording of Rabbi Ronnie Cahana singing with his family members during lockdown in his long-term care facility in Montreal, 2020.

Video still of Rabbi Ronnie Cahana in his room in a long-term care facility in Montreal, 2020.

Video still of Karen Cahana in Vancouver, 1989.

Video still of Rabbi Ronnie Cahana in his room during lockdown at a long-term care facility in Montreal, 2020.

Video still of Rabbi Ronnie Cahana having his hair brushed by an orderly in his room at a long-term care facility in Montreal, 2020.

Video still of Rabbi Ronnie Cahana with his daughters Kitra and Tamira in Vancouver, 1992.

Video still of Karen Cahana sleeping at home in Vancouver, 1993.

An empty chair in the Cahana household in Montreal, 2020.

Video still of two orderlies caring for Rabbi Ronnie Cahana in his bed at a long-term care facility in Montreal, 2020.

Video still of Karen Cahana in bed with her daughters Kitra and Tamira in Vancouver in 1990.

Team


Kitra Cahana
Director


Photo
Photo : Steph Martyniuk




Ariel Nasr
Producer


Photo
Photo : Kiana Hayeri




Kat Baulu
Producer


Photo
Photo : NFB




Annette Clarke
Executive Producer


Photo
Photo : Dave Howells



Credits

Featuring the words of Rabbi Ronnie Cahana

Written and Directed by
Kitra Cahana

Editor
Kara Blake

Music
Olivier Alary

Sound Design
Sacha Ratcliffe

Director of Photography
Kitra Cahana

Sound Recordist
Kitra Cahana

Technical Advisor/Support
Frank Nadeau

Production Supervisor
Roz Power

Technical Coordinators
Daniel Lord
Christopher MacIntosh

Online Editor
Serge Verreault

Title Design
Jacques Bertrand Simard

Re-Recording
Jean Paul Vialard

Digital Editing Technicians
Pierre Dupont
Marie-Josée Gourde
Patrick Trahan

Sound Technician
Bernard Belley

Researcher
Kitra Cahana

Visual Archives Courtesy of
Rabbi Ronnie Cahana
Karen Knie-Cahana
Kitra Cahana
Paul Knie

Additional Music
“TRULY FREE”
Courtesy of
William Ryan Fritch

Special Thanks
Rabbi Cahana’s Caregivers
Karen Knie-Cahana
Tamira Cahana
Briah Cahana
Dvir Cahana
Sapira Cahana

Production Coordinator
Christine Williams

Senior Production Coordinator
Cheryl Murgatroyd

Studio Administrator
Leslie Anne Poyntz

Marketing Managers
Jamie Hammond
Johanna Lessard

Publicist
Jennifer Mair

Legal Council
Christian Pitchen

Producers
Kat Baulu
Ariel Nasr

Executive Producer
Annette Clarke

A National Film Board of Canada production



Press Relations

  • About the NFB

    The NFB is Canada’s public producer and distributor of award-winning documentaries, auteur animation, interactive stories and participatory experiences, working with talented creators across the country. The NFB is taking action to combat systemic racism and become a more open and diverse organization, while working to strengthen Indigenous-led production and gender equity in film and digital media. NFB productions have won more than 7,000 awards, including 12 Oscars. To access this unique content, visit NFB.ca.