Musician turned filmmaker Lou Reed will be on hand to present his Red Shirley to the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) on November 15 at the Cinémathèque québécoise.

Red Shirley is the tale of a 99-year-old woman formally known as Shulamit Rabinowitz – a story that personifies the strife of the previous century.

Rabinowitz experienced the First World War; and fled Poland for Canada during WWII. At 19, she illegally immigrated to the U.S where she spent 47 years at a New York textile factory. She found her long-lost sisters in Palestine, fought union struggles and participated in the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.

Reed, who is Rabinowitz’ cousin, directs and provides the soundtrack for the film.

The screening, presented in partnership with Cineflix, will be followed by a Q&A session with Reed and the film’s cinematographer, Ralph Gibson.

RIDM runs November 10 to 21.