Montreal, Thursday, October 17, 2024 – The Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) is pleased to announce that the Magnus Isacsson Award will now encompass an official competition. Established in 2012, the award is named in honour of Magnus Isacsson, a socially engaged Montreal documentary filmmaker who passed away that same year. It is awarded to a local filmmaker whose work demonstrates a strong social conscience, a guiding principle of Isacsson's legacy.
Seeking to reaffirm the value and importance of political and social documentary film at RIDM, the programming team has collaborated with Jocelyne Clark and the other partners of the Magnus-Isacsson Award in order to establish a dedicated national competition. This redefined category brings together eight national feature films demonstrating the vitality of our cinema.
The Magnus Isacsson competition is made possible with the support of DOC Québec, the Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ), Funambules Médias, Cinema Politica and MainFilm, under the supervision and coordination of Jocelyne Clarke.
UNVEILING THE EIGHT FILMS OF THE MAGNUS-ISACSSON COMPETITION
CIRCO by Lamia Chraibi
Production : Productions Leitmotiv | Distribution : Les Films du 3 Mars | World Premiere
Richard, a young Brazilian circus artist, is thrown out by his adoptive mother and must confront his childhood traumas through a rich and healing quest for identity.
KOUTKEKOUT by Joseph Hillel
Production : Qu4tre par Quatre Films | Distribution : K-Films Amérique | Canadian Premiere
In war-torn Haiti, a group of artists are busy preparing for a theatre festival. Between rehearsals and work meetings, heart-rending questions emerge.
LARRY (THEY/THEM) by Catherine Legault
Production : Concerto Films | Distribution : Les Films du 3 Mars | Quebec Premiere
The filmmaker observes trans, non-binary artist Laurence Philomene prepare for the release of their retrospective book Puberty, wherein they boldly affirm their body and everyday life.
NINAN AUASSAT: WE, THE CHILDREN by Kim O’Bomsawin
Production : Office national du film (ONF) | Distribution : ONF | Quebec Premiere
With respect and complicity, this film paints a delicate portrait of Indigenous youth embracing an assertion of identity and the desire for a future imbued with love.
RULE OF STONE by Danae Elon
Production : Entre deux mondes | Distribution : Filmoption International | Quebec Premiere
Taking a critical look at Jerusalem’s development project in the 70s, this film reveals the invisible violence perpetrated against the Palestinian people.
SIMON & MARIANNE by Martin Fournier & Pier-Luc Latulippe
Production : Cheval Films | Distribution : Cheval Films | Canadian Premiere
Alongside a couple’s final weeks before one of them receives medical assistance in dying, this tender film is a lucid reflection on death, but above all, on life.
WILFRED BUCK by Lisa Jackson
Production : Door Number 3 Productions | Distribution : ONF | Quebec Premiere
The film follows Cree Elder Wilfred Buck’s transformation into a revered educator and guardian of Indigenous star knowledge by seamlessly bridging past and present through a compelling visual narrative.
SEEING THROUGH THE DARKNESS by Simon Plouffe
Production : Simon Plouffe | Distribution : Les Films du 3 Mars | World Premiere
This film plunges us into the visual and aural experience of blindness, lived and told by five people who have lost their sight to weapons of war.
Presale of RIDM passports
The RIDM early-bird passport, which gives access to all festival screenings, including the Opening Night (not valid for Closing Night), will be available for presale starting October 2nd, at the special rate of $110, taxes included. Discounted passports can be purchased on the RIDM website until October 29. Following that date, the price of a regular passport will be $140. Students and people aged 65 and over will be able to purchase an RIDM passport for $115, taxes included.
The complete lineup for the 27th edition of RIDM will be unveiled on Wednesday, October 30, 2024.
About RIDM
Striving to showcase the most stimulating and diverse visions of documentary cinema, the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) offers audiences a unique program that brings together the works of established filmmakers and promising new talents, while focusing on creating encounters between artists and audiences.
The 27th annual RIDM will take place from November 20 to December 1st, 2024.
Information: ridm.ca / info@ridm.ca
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For interview or visual material requests, please contact:
Caroline Rompré | pixelleX communications | 514-778-9294 | caroline@pixellex.ca