The Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) is proud to announce the opening and closing films of its 29th edition, which will take place from November 19 to 29, 2026.
To open the festival, the audience will discover To Hold a Mountain by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić. This documentary takes us into Montenegro’s mountains, as a mother and daughter’s agricultural way of life is threatened by a NATO project.
“To Hold a Mountain is a trace of our seven-year-long journey and friendship with the herding community in the Sinjajevina mountains of Montenegro. It’s been an amazing adventure to share days with Gara and Nada — an adventure that changed our lives. We hoped this film could also bring new experiences to its viewers. It’s a work of love that contemplates love as a possible political tool. In this spirit, we are thrilled and honoured to open RIDM, one of the finest documentary festivals around.” - Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić, filmmakers
To bring the festival to a close, RIDM will present Ba’s Book, a film in which Ashley Da-Lê Duong and her family examine the intergenerational impacts and legacy of the Vietnam War by recreating scenes from a book written by the filmmaker’s father.
“The whole team is honoured that Ba’s Book was selected as the closing film of RIDM — it feels like coming home! RIDM has been such a nurturing force for my work over the years, from their Doc Lab Montréal, Rough Cut Pitch, and even their Docs-In-Progress - Canadian Showcase at Cannes Docs. We can’t wait to show our ambitious, quirky, and heartfelt film to our friends, family, and community here in Montreal.” - Ashley Da-Lê Duong, filmmaker
Synopses of the Films
TO HOLD A MOUNTAIN by Biljana Tutorov & Petar Glomazić
Over the course of one summer, high in the Dinaric Alps in Montenegro, Mileva “Gara” Jovanivic and her daughter Nada care for their animals with vigor and kindness. Each year, the animals return to graze these unique mountain pastures, sustaining a centuries-old agricultural tradition now threatened by plans for a NATO military training camp. The daily routine of hard labour and profound tenderness between these women exists in tandem with an inspiring active resistance, even as the scars of a family history marked by domestic violence and femicide gradually resurface. Deeply feminist, anti-patriarchal, and environmentalist, To Hold a Mountain is a thoughtful and intimate portrait that showcases the value of a respectful and masterful style of direct cinema that knows how to recount and evoke the essence of life through film.
BA’S BOOK by Ashley Da-Lê Duong
Several years ago, in an effort to break his silence on his experiences during the Vietnam War, the filmmaker's father wrote a book in the form of letters to his daughter. To better understand the intergenerational legacy of that war and to reconnect with Vietnamese culture and history, the filmmaker adapted parts of this book into a film script. Involving her father and her family who remained in Vietnam in the creation process, they lift her father’s memories from the page by recreating the scenes in his home village with actors portraying the family at their respective ages. This touching and inspiring collective project, with its sensitive approach, allows multiple generations to reflect on and discuss the past and the present, revealing the complexity of family dynamics and the divisions shaped by war and exile, as well as the weight of history and the resulting trauma.
RIDM takes over the Quartier Latin
For our 29th edition, RIDM is concentrating our activities in the Quartier Latin. A valuable ally and the festival’s headquarters, the Cinémathèque québécoise will host the bulk of the programming across ten days of festivities. The opening film will be presented nearby at the Salle Pierre-Mercure of Centre Pierre-Péladeau. Located just a five-minute walk, RIDM will also expand to the Maison Théâtre for the first time. Transformed into a full-fledged cinema, it will host screenings every evening starting November 21. The festival will also be taking over the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) for one night. Cinéma du Parc and Cinéma du Musée, longtime RIDM partners, will round out this new configuration of screening venues.
To Hold a Mountain will have its Quebec Premiere as the opening film of the festival, on Thursday, November 19 at the Salle Pierre-Mercure of Centre Pierre-Péladeau (300 de Maisonneuve Blvd. East). A second screening will be held as part of the festival.
Ba’s Book will close the festival and have its Quebec Premiere on Saturday, November 28 at the Maison Théâtre (245 Ontario Street East).
The complete RIDM line-up will be unveiled on Wednesday, October 28th.