Sharing the passion for documentary!
An Audience and Industry Success:
13,000 filmgoers in Montréal,
an audience increase of 18%
Montréal, Monday, November 21, 2005 — After ten days exploring the world
of documentary, the 8th RENCONTRES INTERNATIONALES DU DOCUMENTAIRE DE
MONTRÉAL (RIDM) ended Sunday, November 20, 2005 against the delightful
backdrop of Chairman George, a film by Daniel
Cross and Mila Aung Twhin, attended by the filmmakers and George himself,
who won over the crowd by climbing on stage to sing two of his hits in Mandarin and
Greek.
Chairman George, which demonstrates the filmmakers’ keen
observational gifts, introduces us to the little known and appealing George
Sapounidis, multilingual pop star and “the only Greek in the world who can
sing in Chinese.” As he beats the drum between China, Greece and Canada for a
chance to perform, the film celebrates the kind of candour that persists amidst the
chaos of globalization.
As part of the closing ceremony, the 2005 Audience Award,
introduced last year, was given to two filmmakers: Leonard Retel
Helmrich (Holland) for Shape of the Moon, a film about the daily
life of a family in Djakarta, captured in telling detail by gifted camerawork; and
Nadja Drost (Canada) for Between Midnight and the
Rooster’s Crow, a denunciation of the destruction caused by a Canadian
oil company in Ecuador whose operations cold-bloodedly devastated indigenous
people’s land.
The final evening was also the opportunity for the Alter-Ciné
Foundation, established in memory of Quebec filmmaker Yvan Patry, to
disclose the names of this year’s grant winners. For the past five years, the
Foundation has been awarding funding to young, independent filmmakers in Africa,
Asia and Latin America to support the making of documentary films on rights and
freedoms.
Film proposals from South African Miki Redelinghuys (US$10,000
for Keiskamma: A Magical Place and its People); Cameroonian
Osvalde Lewat-Hallade (US$5,000 for Le bois des singes);
Argentinian Dario Doria (US$5,000 for Angel Bertuzzi);
and Indian filmmaker Nishtha Jain (US$5,000 for At My
Doorstep) were selected from among the 154 proposals submitted from 28
countries. (For information on the Foundation’s grants program, please go to
http://www.sextans.com/altercine/.)
Between November 10 and 20, RIDM filmgoers were treated to
117 films from 30 countries, enjoying great
moments of cinema, reflection, and emotion along with lively discussions, in
particular around the 19 films in the Iranian Close-Up. With 13,000
filmgoers in Montréal—an audience increase of
18%—this eighth RIDM was proof once again of the public’s
continued enthusiasm for films that take them into the varied terrain of the cinema
of reality, and their taste for diversity in documentary approaches.
Audiences thronged to the films in the official program as they did to those in
the special programs and screening-discussions. More than 50% of the
screenings were sold out, and the master classes, round tables,
and public lecture drew 75% participation. More than fifty invited
filmmakers from Québec, Canada, and other countries joined with audiences to
discuss the issues raised in the films. The energy of those exchanges confirms the
RIDM’s role as a vital meeting place for filmgoers and documentary film
artists.
A brilliant success is the verdict on Doc Circuit Mtl, the
first documentary market in Québec designed for professionals in the audiovisual
industry. A joint initiative of the RIDM and Doc Québec, the event sold out before
the 8th RIDM even began, bringing together more than 180
participants, and confirming the need for this kind of event in Québec.
The Forum, an annual meeting on issues for the documentary
community organized by the Documentary Network, brought together more than
150 people to look at the question of documentary distribution. SODEC took
the opportunity to announce the creation of a consulting group on theatrical
distribution of feature-length documentaries.
The RIDM’s first edition in Quebec City, hosted by the Musée de la
civilisation from November 16 to 20, enjoyed a lively
success, in particular among filmgoers aged 18 to 30 interested in the many issues
around globalization and global justice movements.
One edition closes, and another begins. The ninth RIDM in
Montréal is scheduled for November 9 to 19, 2006, along
with a second edition in Quebec City.
The RENCONTRES INTERNATIONALES DU DOCUMENTAIRE DE MONTRÉAL wishes to thank the
following organizations for their financial support and partnership: Société de
développement des entreprises culturelles du Québec (SODEC), Telefilm Canada,
National Film Board of Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, Ministère des Affaires
municipales et des Régions, Conseil des arts de Montréal, Télé-Québec, CBC
Television, Ville de Montréal, Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité
sociale, Planète, Canal D, Documentary Channel, Technicolor, Développement et Paix,
Droits et démocratie, Cinémathèque québécoise, Musée de la civilisation.
MEDIA: MARIE MARAIS, press agent
514-845-2821 / marais@cam.org
[7157] News posted Monday, November 21, 2005.
