Award winners of the 20th Montreal International Documentary Festival
(RIDM)
November 18, 2017
Regardless of the Montreal International Documentary Festival
(RIDM) ending on November EATURE19, 2017 the award winners for this 20th
annual RIDM were announced the day before, on November 18, 2017, during the closing ceremony at Concordia
University’s Alumni Auditorium (H110).
GRAND PRIZE FOR BEST
INTERNATIONAL F
The grand prize for best international feature,
presented by Bell Media, went to Room for a Man by Anthony Chidiac. “The film opens doors
and windows to an inner world that contains an entire private universe of deep
meaning, broaching serious issues with wry humour and an irresistible
rebellious spirit.”
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE –
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
“For its bold
artistic vision that seeks ways to involve film in social and political
realities, its original creative approach and its exploration of the dark corners
of exile”, the special jury prize went to Taste of Cement by Ziad Kalthoum.
The jury for the international feature competition was
composed of Daniel Kasman, Damien Detcheberry, Leena Pasanen, Marie-Ève Juste
and Neil Young.
GRAND PRIZE FOR BEST
CANADIAN FEATURE
Citing “the fluid
and original structure the filmmaker created for his portrait of a complex
protagonist,” the Canadian feature jury named Taming the Horse by Tao Gu as best Canadian feature.
The jury also
awarded a special mention to Primas by Laura Bari.
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE –
CANADIAN FEATURE
The special jury prize went to Jean-François Lesage
for La rivière cachée, “for making a natural phenomenon
a protagonist, and for the precision and elegance with which the film describes
even ordinary existential issues.”
BEST NEW TALENT FROM
QUÉBEC / CANADA
Presented by Post-Moderne, the award for best new
talent from Quebec/Canada is presented to the maker of the best first Canadian
documentary in the official selection. This year’s award went to Emilie B. Guérette for L’autre Rio. “The filmmaker
ventured into the interstices of a major international event, where she achieved
remarkable proximity to her protagonists.”
The Canadian feature competition jury was composed of Emilie
Bujès, Pablo Alvarez Mesa and Robert Gray.
BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT
OR MEDIUM-LENGTH FILM
The jury selected Ico
Costa’s Nyo Vweta Nafta
as this year’s best
international short or medium-length film. “This magnificent film, shot in 16mm,
is grounded in the political and economic realities of Mozambique. Its artistic
vision serves its contemplation of the world and helps us understand important
issues.”
BEST CANADIAN SHORT OR MEDIUM-LENGTH
FILM
The award for
best Canadian short or medium-length film was presented to Jacquelyn Mills for In the Waves. The film “is a
touching meditation that transcends the personal, elegantly steering a course
from the banal to the deeply philosophical, without ever losing sight of the
materiality of everyday routine.”
The jury for the Canadian and international short and
medium-length competitions was composed of Adam Cook, Amandine Gay and Lisa
Jackson.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
Presented by TV5, this award recognizes festivalgoers’
favourite film in the official competition and Panorama sections. This year’s
audience pick was Amandine Gay for Ouvrir La Voix.
MAGNUS ISACSSON AWARD
The Magnus Isacsson award was created in honour of the
late, much-loved Montreal documentary filmmaker Magnus Isacsson. It is presented
to an up-and-coming Canadian director who demonstrates social conscience.
Presented by the ARRQ, Cinema Politica, DOC Québec and Main Film, this year’s
award went to Jason O’Hara for State
of Exception, “a film that reveals its director’s exceptional
commitment. An activist, passionate, necessary film, made entirely
independently over many years.”
The jury for the Magnus Isacsson Award was composed of Jocelyne Clarke,
Ezra Winton (Cinema Politica), Richard Brouillette (Main Film), Sophie
Bissonnette (ARRQ) and Steve Patry (DOC Québec).
STUDENT AWARD
This award recognizes a documentary selected by the
student jury from among the films in the Canadian competition. It is part of
the RIDM’s youth outreach and awareness program and is presented with the
support of the CSN and Telefilm Canada. This year’s student award was presented
to Tasha Hubbard for Birth of a Family, a film notable for “the urgency and authenticity of its subject,
majestic landscapes that echo the intense emotions the film inspires, and its frank documentation of the
alienation of a people. It is a clear reminder that we are on unceded
indigenous land.”
The jury for the
student award was composed of Florence Côté-Lagacé
(Cégep Édouard-Montpetit), Antoine Harvey (Collège Montmorency),
Charles-Édouard Martel-Marquis (Cégep de Saint-Laurent), Sarah Mederos Bernia
(Cégep André-Laurendeau), Adriana Paquette, (Cégep Marie-Victorin), Chloé
Simard (Collège de Maisonneuve).
WOMEN INMATES’ AWARD
The women inmates’
jury is composed of five inmates of the Joliette Institution. They chose a
winner from a selection of eight films from the official competition and
Panorama. Daisy, Mélanie, Jackie, Roxanne and Julie named Bagages by Paul
Tom for “its original
approach that opens a window on the other and introduces us to young people who
reveal themselves frankly and unreservedly, and because we believe this is a
touching and necessary film.” This initiative is carried out in partnership
with Telefilm Canada, the Quebec chapter of the
Elizabeth Fry Society and the Entente sur le développement culturel de
Montréal. The project is
supported by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications and the Ville de
Montréal.
