The Montreal Documentary Film Festival (RIDM) has unveiled the eight films that will be taking part in the inaugural Magnus Isacsson competition.
The competition is named after the Montreal documentary filmmaker Magnus Isacsson who died in 2012. Since his death, RIDM has honoured the Sweden-born filmmaker and his fellow Montreal collaborator Martin Duckworth with the Magnus Isacsson Award. The award is given to an emerging Canadian filmmaker whose work demonstrates a strong social conscience, a large focus of Isacsson’s work.
This year marks the first time that the award will encompass an official competition at RIDM, which takes place from Nov. 20 to Dec. 1.
The eight films taking part in the competition include Circo (Productions Leitmotiv; pictured) directed by Lamia Chraibi. The documentary, which is distributed by Les Films du 3 Mars, is making its world bow at the festival. Circo follows a young Brazilian circus artist who, when thrown out by his adoptive mother, must confront his childhood trauma.
Also making its world premiere is Simon Plouffe’s Seeing Through the Darkness (Les Films de l’Autre). The anti-war film tells the story of five individuals who have lost their sight due to global conflicts and is also distributed by Les Films du 3 Mars.
The first of two films making their Canadian premiere is KoutkeKout (Qu4tre par Quatre Films) by Haitian-born, Montreal-based Joseph Hillel. The film, distributed by K-Films Amérique, follows a group of Haitian artists preparing for a theatre festival in the country’s capital Port-au-Prince.
The other is Simon & Marianne (Cheval Films) by directors Martin Fournier and Pier-Luc Latulippe. The film, distributed by Cheval Films, stays with a couple in the final weeks before one of them receives medical assistance in dying.
The remaining films are all making their Quebec premiere. They include Larry (they/them) (Concerto Films) distributed by Les Films du 3 Mars, which follows trans, non-binary photographer Laurence Philomène.
Also competing are two films distributed by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), including Ninan Auassat: We, the Children (NFB) by Abenaki filmmaker Kim O’Bomsawin. The film, which will open for the festival, follows three groups of children, each from different Indigenous nations, over the course of more than six years.
Also distributed by NFB is Wilfred Buck (NFB, Door Number 3 Productions) by Anishinaabe filmmaker Lisa Jackson. Wilfred Buck tells the life story of the eponymous Cree Elder’s transformation into a revered educator.
Rounding out the selections is The Rule of Stone (Entre deux mondes) by Israel-born, Montreal-based director Danae Elon. The film, distributed by Filmoption International, critically explores how architecture in Jerusalem was used against the Palestinian population.
Image courtesy of RIDM