Docs on the Spot

The Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), which will present its 20^th annual edition this November 9 to 19, is proud to announce some of the high-profile filmmakers featured in its program as well as an exclusive retrospective devoted to Singaporean filmmaker Tan Pin Pin.

Big names in documentary

The Golden Leopard winner at this year’s Locarno Festival, Mrs. Fang by Wang Bing is a deeply metaphysical and political work that meticulously chronicles the slow death of an old woman in a Chinese village.

After screening at TIFF, Our People Will Be Healed, the 50^th film by the incomparable Alanis Obomsawin, will lead viewers into a Cree school with an innovative teaching system. With her usual rigour and sensitivity, the filmmaker celebrates positive action being taken to build a better future for indigenous youth.

Shown in the official competition at the Venice Film Festival, EX LIBRIS — The New York Public Library by Frederick Wiseman goes inside a legendary institution. In a place that can seem like the last bastion of a dying form of social cohesion, debate and discussion are as freewheeling as ever. Wiseman latches onto that rich discourse, constructing a portrait of the United States and the issues it faces today.

Three years after the sudden death of Michael Glawogger, the director’s long-time editor decided to complete their final, tragically interrupted project. Monika Willi, who has also worked extensively with Michael Haneke, took over the incomplete film, Untitled. The finished film stands as a tribute to the late globe-trotting filmmaker, who had been making his most personal film – a work of remarkable openness to the endless diversity of the human experience.

Tan Pin Pin retrospective

A key figure in the Singaporean documentary community, for more than a decade Tan Pin Pin has been building an eclectic, multidisciplinary and essential body of work. Her films, most of which have never before been screened in Quebec, present a unique and necessary perspective on her country’s character and history.

Tan Pin Pin’s films transcend their local focus. Invoking both individual and collective memory through testimonials and archival materials, she succeeds in questioning the foundations of documentary filmmaking itself. Such is the inspiring project of a filmmaker who is creating a new way of envisioning political art.

Presales continue

Until midnight on September 17, early-bird passes are on sale for just $100 including taxes. The passes are good for all screenings (except certain special events). Box office: http://ridm.ca/en/box-office-and-venues-early-birds

Quebec’s only film festival dedicated to documentaries, the Montreal International Documentary Festival presents the best reality‐based films, including the works of established directors and new talents.

The 20^th annual RIDM will take place from November 9 to 19, 2017.

Information: www.ridm.ca / info@ridm.ca