The Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) ends tomorrow, November 18. The award winners for this 21st annual RIDM were announced at this evening’s closing ceremony at Concordia University’s Alumni Auditorium.
GRAND PRIZE FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE presented by Bell Media.
Hale County This Morning, This Evening by RaMell Ross
Imagination is an underrated quality in nonfiction cinema. And when a film which insists on documentary as an artform immerses us in a community most often represented through the lens of social realism, poetry becomes political, the very gesture of filmmaking becomes an act of radical compassion – and the film itself, absolutely electrifying. So for a film that does not look, and does not feel, like any other, we are delighted to give the award for the international competition to RaMell Ross for Hale County This Morning, This Evening by RaMell Ross.
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
Extinction by Salomé Lamas
If meaning and identity is produced through differences, the disintegration of borders becomes both terrifying and potentially liberating. That goes for the artificiality of geographical borders, as well as for those described by cinematic tradition. For its uncompromising aesthetic ambition reminiscent of Tarkovsky, but with a monumental physicality and a determination to turn the cinema into a mental space entirely of its own design, we are awarding the Prix Special du Jury to Salomé Lamas for Extinction.
The jury for the international feature competition was composed of Mads Mikkelsen, Maria Augusta Ramos, Daniel Sponsel and Barbara Visser.
GRAND PRIZE FOR BEST CANADIAN FEATURE presented by Studios Saint-Antoine
Soleils Noirs by Julien Elie
This film stands out for its extensive research, its fairness and honesty, its ability to convey the inexpressible through attentiveness and images, while mapping horror without sensationalism.
To acknowledge the courage of these testimonials and the value of embodied words, proof that speech is a political act, the Grand Prize – Canadian Feature goes to: Soleils Noirs by Julien Elie.
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – CANADIAN FEATURE
Symphony in Aquamarine by Dan Popa
For its Homeric qualities, its ability to put difficult subjects into perspective, and the generosity and precision of its cinematic language, we award the Jury Prize to a metaphysical tale, a film that explores its subject in remarkable depth: Symphonie in Aquamarine by Dan Popa
BEST NEW TALENT FROM QUÉBEC / CANADA presented by Post-Moderne
Symphony in Aquamarine by Dan Popa
For its formal innovation, balance between subject and argument, harmony among the different faces of desire, and its sensitive and organic editing, we present the award for Best New Talent from Quebec/Canada to: Symphonie in Aquamarine by Dan Popa
The Canadian feature competition jury was composed of Carlos Bonfil, Rosalie Lavoie and Fabienne Moris.
BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT OR MEDIUM-LENGTH FILM
The Disappearance of Goya by Toni Geitani
For a film caught between generations, with young people employing the imperfect materials of the present to attempt to animate and grapple with the horrors of an increasingly inexplicable past. For recurrently trying different methods for expressing truth without ever claiming to have arrived at it, for embracing limitations as a moral strength, and for constantly surprising us, and leaving us with questions far more profound than any answers, we award the jury prize to The Disappearance of Goya by Toni Geitani.
Special mention
Gulyabani by Gürcan Keltek
An experiment in form that manages to be uniquely emotionally compelling, in a short span of time, this film took us vast distances allowing us to travel through history, fraught terrains of family as well as exploring a wealth of cinematic texture. For these reasons and for its haunting and resonant approach to story, we discern a special jury mention to Gulyabani by Gürcan Keltek.
BEST CANADIAN SHORT OR MEDIUM-LENGTH FILM presented by Télé-Québec
Zagros by Ariane Lorrain and Shahab Mihandoust
This is a film about process, a work of art about the creation of art, tracing every stage in the production of an object, through various hands and communities and resulting in something both tangible and culturally transcendent. It also gave us a consistently invaluable perspective on people and a tradition too rarely seen and celebrated on screen, and furthermore one that’s increasingly endangered in today’s age of mass production. We present the jury prize for Canadian short and medium-length to Zagros by Ariane Lorrain and Shahab Mihandoust.
The jury for the Canadian and International short and medium-length competitions was composed of Kalina Bertin, Tijana Djukic and Eric Hynes.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD presented by TV5
Memory is Our Homeland by Jonathan Durand
MAGNUS ISACSSON AWARD presented by ARRQ, Cinema Politica, DOC Québec and Main film
And with a Smile, the Revolution by Alexandre Chartrand
For a film that stands out for its precisely constructed story, for its author’s manifest point of view and engagement with the subject; for letting us believe in the possibilities of citizen action while revealing the sinister forces of entrenched power; for its physical staging of the democratic impulse, filmed at a critical historical juncture. The Magnus Isacsson Prize is awarded to Un sourire, la révolution by Alexandre Chartrand.
The jury for the Magnus Isacsson Award was composed of Jocelyne Clarke, Martin Frigon, Viviane Saglier, Frederic Bohbot and Richard Brouillette.
STUDENTS’ AWARD presented by Desjardins and supported by CSN, Téléfilm Canada, la Caisse Desjardins du Quartier-Latin of Montreal et la Caisse Desjardins of Plateau-Mont-Royal
20-22 OMEGA by Thiery Loa
For its uniqueness, ambitious audio-visual work, hypnotic atmosphere and perspective on humanity, the Students’ Award goes to: 20-22 OMEGA by Thiery Loa.
The jury for the Students’ Award was composed of Loïc Piché (Collège de Maisonneuve), Florence Frigon-Morin (Cégep Marie-Victorin), Julia Bonis Charancle (Collège Dawson), Maika Hearson (Cégep André-Laurendeau), Solène Côté (Collège de Maisonneuve) and Roxana Baloiu (Collège Dawson).
WOMEN INMATES’ AWARD supported by Téléfilm Canada, la Société Elizabeth Fry du Québec, l'Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal, the ministère de la Culture et des Communications et Ville de Montréal
Point d’équilibre by Christine Chevarie-Lessard
For taking us back to childhood, for its wonderful performances and authentic, touching testimonials, for its fluid direction, for captivating and informing us, and for showing us a fascinating new world, the winner of this year’s Women Inmates’ Award is Point d’équilibre by Christine Chevarie-Lessard.
The Women Inmates’ jury is composed of five inmates of the Joliette Institution. Claudia, Isabelle, Marie-Ève, Nicole, et Roseline, they chose a winner from a selection of eight films from the official competition and Panorama.
The 21st annual RIDM ends Sunday, November 18, 2019.