Patricio Guzmán, Alanis Obomsawin, Shengze Zhu and Werner Herzog
The Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) returns for its 22nd edition this November 14 to 24. While awaiting the announcement of the full program on October 23, the festival is proud to announce for major entries in the 2019 selection.
Presented in a special screening at this year’s Cannes Festival, La cordillère des songes marks the return of Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán. The conclusion of an informal trilogy (with Nostalgie de la lumière and Le bouton de Nacre), the film is a political and personal portrait of Chile today, haunted by a still-raw past that is stopping it from taking full control of its future.
Returning to the RIDM after a world premiere at the TIFF, Alanis Obomsawin continues her tireless and essential work documenting the lives of Indigenous peoples in Canada, and supporting their activist movements. In her 53rd film, Jordan River Anderson, le messager, she focuses on the treatment of Indigenous children, investigating the inequalities inherent in the healthcare system as illustrated by Jordan’s Principle.
After winning the Grand Prize for Best International Feature at the RIDM in 2016, for Another Year, Chinese filmmaker Shengze Zhu will return to the festival with a radically different film. Made entirely from livestreamed videos, Present.Perfect is an unprecedented, socially aware portrait of China today. The film’s bold and original vision earned it the Tiger, the most prestigious award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
With Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin, Werner Herzog has made a poignant tribute to one of his closest friends, the British writer and adventurer Bruce Chatwin. Recounting the exciting life of Chatwin, who died prematurely in 1989, the legendary German director presents a kind of summary of his own career and his close connection to the world’s mysteries.
The complete program for RIDM 2019 will be announced at a press conference on Wednesday, October 23 at 10 a.m. at the Cinémathèque québécoise (335 De Maisonneuve Blvd. East) and will be posted online the same day.