Offscreen Notes
Recontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montreal
The RIDM is back from November 9 to 20, 2011
Montreal, August 31, 2011 – The 14th edition of the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) will be held from November 9 to 20. Screenings of close to a hundred films and many related activities will take place at various Montreal venues, after which the proceedings will move on to Quebec City.
Audiences will be treated to the standouts from this year’s festivals, including Position Among the Stars by Leonard Retel Helmrich, which won the Special Jury Prize for Documentary Film in Sundance and Best Feature Length Documentary at IDFA, and Dragonslayer by Tristan Patterson, Grand Jury Award Winner at South by Southwest and Best International Feature at Hot Docs.
The Canadian selection will include such long-awaited films as United States of Africa by Yanick Létourneau, a portrait of African hip hop artists fighting for social justice, and Inside Lara Roxx by Mia Donovan, a frank depiction of the nightmare experience of a Montreal porn actress who contracted HIV on a film set.
Three major retrospectives will be part of the official selection. First off, the RIDM pays tribute to famous American filmmaker Frederick Wiseman by presenting ten of his most influential films. The works of Jørgen Leth, a leading figure in Danish cinema and co-director with Lars von Trier of The Five Obstructions, will also be featured. Audiences will also get a taste of one of the greatest Czech filmmakers, Helena Třeštíková, winner of two awards for her film Katka during the last edition of the festival.
As the festival wraps up, a number of awards will be handed out to the best films, including a new, highly unusual award, the Female Inmates’ Prize by a jury made up of five female inmates of the Joliette Institution.
The RIDM, the only Quebec festival entirely focused on documentaries, offers audiences the best of non-fiction film by bringing together respected veterans and up-and-coming talents. The full program will be unveiled during the October 26 press conference at the Cinémathèque québécoise.
