STONE BY STONE: Special Mention Winner

 

39e Festival international de cinéma Vues d’Afrique

STONE BY STONE

Special Mention - Human Rights Category

April 30, 2023

The documentary film Stone by Stone was awarded the Special Human Rights Mention Prize at the festival's closing ceremony, held at the Cinémathèque québécoise in Montreal on April 30, 2023. Although the Award document for this exceptional film (see the photo at the top of this article) mentions only one name, it was in fact produced by three Co-Directors: Elisabeth Gimber, Robert Newton and Mark Morgenston. The film is a result of a truly equal team effort. 

The film highlights two middle-class families, one in Burkina Faso, the other in North America, who envisioned and then embarked on a seemingly impossible project to build an orphanage and a school in Africa without any government support, corporate sponsorship, or grants. And they succeeded, relying solely on their own efforts, the help of their extended families, their fiends, and communities. You can read more about this extraordinary story and the remarkable film here.

The Makofskys, the North American family featured in the documentary, were present at the second screening of the film on April 29, 2023. Their presence, when announced, was greeted by a vigorous and prolonged clapping. An equally long clapping followed when the film ended.

2 Co-Directors Robert Newton and Elisabeth Gimber presenting the film to the audience.

The Makofskys on the left next to the production team: 3 Co-Directors Elisabeth Gimber, Robert Newton & Mark Morgenstone.

Q&A with the 3-member film production crew in the middle and Howard Makofsky on the right.

After the screening, the Makofskys and the film’s production crew were approached by the audience with many comments and complements, and with a number of questions about the film's true story and the specifics of the film production. A formal Q&A session followed in the area set for it outside the projection theatre. The types of questions asked revealed people's keen interest in the film's subject matter and the issues it raised.

The Makofskys interacting with the audience:

Click on images to enlarge them.

For this article's dedicated internet address, click on the title above the very first photo.

Vues d'Afrique 2023: Stone by Stone

 

39e Festival international de cinéma Vues d’Afrique

STONE BY STONE

Montreal’s Premiere

Documentary

Stone by Stone is an incredible story of two visionary families, one in Africa, the other in North America. Without any government or business support or grants, they were able to build, stone by stone, an orphanage and an elementary school in Kaya, Burkina Faso, West Africa. Presently, they are opening a secondary school. Even more amazingly, not stopping at their incredible achievements, they have further plans to build a university, for which they have already acquired the land. All of these institution have been build with private donations. The two families do not posses any substantial personal funds or connections to any wealth creating circles. In fact, they are just regular middle class people whose only wealth is their sincere desire to help the orphaned children in Africa, enabling them to get a proper education, and providing them a possibility of a higher education and professional life so they can give back to their community and country.

What makes this true story so compelling is that it tells how those two families, with the support of their communities and friends, armed with perseverance and determination, without meeting in person for years, and without any kind of additional help, took a leap of faith together and made the decision to start building the orphanage - Paradise Orphanage and Elementary School - to house 120 children.

Though separated by the Atlantic ocean, the two families’ shared journey transcends borders and religions. They had envisioned and then successfully implemented, brought into reality, their dream project that enriched and likely saved lives of many Burkina Faso orphaned children. They are the Sawadogo family in Burkina Faso, West Africa and the Makofskys family in North America.

Mr. Sawadogo of Burkina Faso, Africa

The Makofskys of North America being interviewed for the film

This is an inspiring film that demonstrates that all is possible, that even the toughest projects could be realized if one has a vision, a believe, and perseverance. If there were more people like those portrayed in the documentary, many world’s problems could start to be solved from the grassroots level up, rather than relying totally on the governments' support and initiatives.

This is the website of the Kaya's Kids none profit organization.

Film's PRODUCTION TEAM:

Elisabeth-Ann Gimber, Mark Morgenstone, Robert E. Newton

Clique on images to enlarge them.

Film Information:

COUNTRY: CANADA / YEAR: 2022 / DURATION: 78 MIN / LanguagE: FrencH / Subtitles: English

Film Projection Details

Friday, April 21, 17:45 – Salle Fernand Seguin

Saturday, April 29, 12:00 – Salle Principale

For more information, visit Vue d’Afrique Film Festival website.

For this article's dedicated internet address, click on the title above the very first photo.

South Asian Film Festival 2023: All That Breathes

South Asian Film Festival of Montréal

All That Breathes

Documentary

Director: Shaunak Sen

The Opening Film

28 April, 2023

Auditorium de la Grande Bibliothèque, 7p.m.

This film is available for free on the opening night at the Grande Bibliothèque, 475 Boul. De Maisonneuve East, Montreal. It is an award-winner both at Cannes and Sundance film festivals, and it is also an Oscar nominee.

It is a remarkable film, featuring the total dedication of two Muslim brothers from Delhi, India to saving birds known as Black Kites. The filmography is quite remarkable. There are many sensitive special touches that reveal the humanity of the brothers’ spirit, and their total commitment and dedication to recognizing this bird as a form of life that merits an equal respect as all the creatures and people on the Earth that breath to live. There is a meditative aspect that enhances the comprehension of the general social surrounding where the brothers live, their meagre living conditions, especially in comparison to western countries. Also, the political turmoil that accompanies the film provides a more profound perspective and the understanding of the brothers' chosen path, and their total dedication to saving the birds.

The film also presents a wider panorama on other wild animals that struggle to survive in the overclouded multi-million city neighborhoods, and their need to adapt to people, noises and pollution.

All That Breathes raises many questions, not the last of them being the purpose of one’s life, and making a personal choice as what is more important: the life’s comforts or the dedication to the chosen path of saving one of the living species from all those that breath.

FEATURING:

NADEEM SHEHZAD AND MOHAMMAD SAUD

Former bodybuilders from the Chawri Bazar area of New Delhi, Nadeem Shehzad and his younger brother Mohammad Saud started treating black kites in 2003. Since then, they have together treated more than 20,000 injured birds. Nadeem was recently appointed as an Honorary Wildlife Warden of Delhi, and in 2021 spent three months in the U.S. for training with bird rescue organizations. Today, Nadeem and Saud continue to work tirelessly to treat black kites and other birds of prey through the organization they set up in 2010: Wildlife Rescue.

SALIK REHMAN

Salik Rehman joined Wildlife Rescue in January 2017. He has been an active volunteer at Wildlife Rescue since 2010 and has become an integral part of the organization in its many rescue and rehabilitation activities.

DIRECTOR: Shaunak Sen

For films' description and programing check the Festival's website.

For this article's dedicated internet address, click on the title above the very first photo.

RIDM 2018: Award Winners

AWARD WINNERS
21st Montreal's International Documentary Festuval (RIDM)

November 17, 2018 

Though Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) was ending on November18, 2018, the award winners of the 21^th RIDM editioon were announced the day before, on November 17, 2018, during the closing ceremony that took place at the Concordia University's Alumni Auditorium.

GRAND PRIZE FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL Feature Film

presented by Bell Media

Hale County This Morning, This Evening by RaMell Ross

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

Extinction (Extinção) by Salomé Lamas

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

Dark Suns by Julien Elie

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – CANADIAN FEATURE

Symphony in Aquamarine by Dan Popa

BEST NEW TALENT FROM QUÉBEC / CANADA

presented by Post-Moderne

Symphony 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
presented by Télé-Québec
The Disappearance of Goya by Toni Geitani

Special mention

Gulyabani by Gürcan Keltek

BEST CANADIAN SHORT OR MEDIUM-LENGTH FILM

presented by Télé-Québec

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

And with a Smile, the Revolution by Alexandre Chartrand

The jury for the Magnus Isacsson Award was composed of Jocelyne Clarke, Martin Frigon (ARRQ), Viviane Saglier (Cinema Politica), Frederic Bohbot (DOC Québec) and Richard Brouillette (Main Film).

STUDENTS’ AWARD

presented by Desjardins

20-22 OMEGA by Thierry 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

A Delicate Balance by Christine Chevarie-Lessard

The Women Inmates’ jury is composed of five inmates of the Joliette Institution. Claudia, Isabelle, Marie-Ève, Nicole and Roseline chose a winner from a selection of eight films from the official competition and Panorama. This initiative, implemented for the first time in Québec for the RIDM 2011 edition, is made in partnership with the Société Elizabeth Fry du Québec, the Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal - project supported by the ministère de la Culture et des communications and Ville de Montréal.

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.

For more information, visit the RIDM festival's website. 

RIDM 2018: Films of Interest

RIDM 2018
21st Edition

November 8 - 18, 2018

FILMS OF INTEREST

Opening Film

WHAT WALAA WANTS

Director Christy Garland

QUEBEC PREMIERE

Opening movie

Canada, Denmark / 2018 / 89 min / Arabic with French subtitles 

Walaa, a strong-willed young Palestinian woman, dreams only of joining the Palestinian Security Forces. A complex and engrossing story of one woman’s education.

Full Length Films

PREMIÈRES ARMES

Director  Jean-François Caissy

QUEBEC PREMIERE

Canadian Feature Competition
Quebec / 2018 / 106 min / French with English subtitles

A non-judgmental observation of a Canadian Forces boot camp, exposing the deep workings of an institution geared to enforcing a collective ideal.

  

L’APOLLON DE GAZA

Director Nicolas Wadimoff   

CANADIAN PREMIERE
ARTifice

Switzerland, Quebec / 2018 / 78 min / English, French, Arabic, Hebrew with French subtitles 

A fascinating investigation into the fate of an ancient statue found and then lost in Gaza – a symbol of a fragile region’s complex situation. 

  

MY DEAREST SISTER

Director Kyoka Tsukamoto 

WORLD PREMIERE

Portraits
Quebec / 2018 / 74 min / English and Japanese with English subtitles 

An intimate, poetic self-portrait in the form of a love letter to a sister, questioning the fundamental principles of Japanese society.

OF FATHERS AND SONS
Director Talal Derki

QUEBEC PREMIERE

International Feature Competition

Germany, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar / 2017 / 99 min / Arabic with French subtitles 

A disturbing look inside the life of a Syrian jihadi family, and an unforgettable perspective on a world without a future, where childhood and innocence no longer have meaning.

DE CHAQUE INSTANT

Diredtor Nicolas Philibert

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

Special presentations

France, Japan / 2018 / 105 min / French with English subtitles

Nicolas Philibert takes us inside a nursing school, where we meet the students and see their stressful lives, captured with deep empathy. 

  

PREMIÈRES SOLITUDES
Director Claire Simon

CANADIAN PREMIERE

Special presentations

France / 2018 / 100 min / French with English subtitles 

Claire Simon lets us share in the turmoil of an uncertain age by filming the private conversations of a group of teenagers from a Paris suburb. 

   

MA GUERRE
Director Julien Fréchette

QUEBEC PREMIERE

The State of the World

Quebec / 2018 / 97 min / French and English with French subtitles 

A portrait of four Westerners who volunteered to fight against the Islamic State group alongside the Kurds, including a captivating visit to the combat zones. 

THE TRIAL

Director Maria Augusta Ramos

QUEBEC PREMIERE

Retrospective Maria Augusta Ramos: Exposing the system
Brazil, Netherlands, Germany / 2018 / 139 min / Portuguese with English subtitlesAs gripping as any fictional thriller, The Trial follows the daily twists and turns of the trial that led to the impeachment of Dilma Rousse, Brazil’s first democratically elected woman president. 

SAMOUNI ROAD

Director Stefano Savona

QUEBEC PREMIERE
Special presentations

France, Italy / 2018 / 126 min / Arabic with French subtitles 

Weaving together intimate testimonies and mesmerizing animation, acclaimed filmmaker Stefano Savona retraces the destruction of the Samouni family’s life in Zeitoun, Gaza.

LES COASTERS

Director Nicolas-Alexandre Tremblay and Stéphane Trottier

WORLD PREMIERE

Special presentations

Quebec / 2018 / 86 min / French, English, Innu with French subtitles 

An inspiring, humanist ensemble film about the realities of life in Quebec’s Basse-Côte-Nord region.

BEAUTIFUL THINGS

Director Giorgio Ferrero

CANADIAN PREMIERE

La bête humaine

Italy / 2017 / 96 min / English, Italian, German and Tagalog with English subtitles 

Where do the thousands of objects around us come from? Where do they go? This audio-visual symphony is a dark reflection on our world.  

THE WALDHEIM WALTZ

Director Ruth Beckermann

QUEBEC PREMIERE

Special presentations
Austria / 2018 / 94 min / English, German and French with French subtitles 

During the Austrian presidential election campaign of 1986, Kurt Waldheim’s reputation is seriously attacked – and suffers no damage. The episode foreshadowed our reactionary future. 

ENSEMBLE

Director Jean-Nicolas Orhon

WORLD PREMIERE

ARTifice
Quebec / 2018 / 92 min / French and English with English subtitles 

Jean-Nicolas Orhon spent a year filming the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, closely observing its rehearsals, working relationships, precision and passion.

Short or Medum Length Films

OUR SONG TO WAR

Director Juanita Onzaga

CANADIAN PREMIERE

International Short or Medium-Length Competition

Belgium, Columbia / 2018 / 14 min / Spanish with English subtitles

As the war winds down in the Colombian jungle, the ghosts of the dead wander the forest and the living resume their lives. A film whose aesthetic is steeped in mystery and beauty.

LA RIVIÈRE TANIER
Director June Balthazard

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

International Short or Medium-Length Competition

France / 2017 / 17 min / French and Creole with English subtitles 

Who was Marie Lourdes? The filmmaker reconstructs the past of her grandmother, who has lost her memory, and explores her Creole identity through beautiful animation.

LA CHANSON

by Tiphaine Raffier

CANADIAN PREMIERE

International Short or Medium-Length Competition

France / 2018 / 31 min / French with English subtitles
A hilarious, brilliantly critical futuristic fiction presented as a documentary-to-come about Marne-la-Vallée, home to Disneyland Paris. 

For more information:

VISIT THE RIDM FESTIVAL WEBSITE FOR PROGRAMMING AND SCHEDULES.