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.

RIDM 2018: Opening and Cloisng Films

RIDM  2018
21st Edition

November 8 - 18, 2018

OPENING FILM

What Walaa Wants – Le rêve de Walla

Director Christy Garland

Canada, Denmark / 2018 / 1 h 23 min

OFFICIAL SYNOPSES

 “Walaa, a strong-willed young Palestinian woman, dreams only of joining the Palestinian Security Forces. When her mother arrives home after eight years in prison, Walaa starts single-mindedly pursuing her ambition. While her strong, dynamic personality makes her an ideal candidate, her impulsiveness and lack of respect for authority fit badly with the demands put on her by the training regimen. Carefully observing both Walaa and her surroundings, Christy Garland tells the story of a complex and charming young woman, while subtly capturing the tensions experienced every day within the Palestinian community and its families.”

 TRAILER ON VIMEO https://vimeo.com/260252972

CLOSING FILM

John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection

Director Julien Faraut

France / 2019 / 90 min.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSES

“Many filmmakers, from Jean-Luc Godard to Serge Daney, have been fascinated by tennis. It’s an unpredictable sport, in which the duration of a match is determined by the performance of the players, whose slightest mood shifts seem to be captured by the camera. And few players have worn their moods as boldly as the inimitable John McEnroe! Made from archival 16mm footage shot by Gil de Kermadec, the former national technical director for French tennis, at the Roland-Garros tournament in 1984, with erudite narration by Mathieu Amalric and some flashy aesthetic choices, Julien Faraut’s film is original and ambitious. It is a portrait of a non-conformist athlete, a reflection on the relationship between cinema and sports, and a look back at one of the most legendary tennis matches of all time.”

FILM TRAILER

For more information:

VISIT THE RIDM FESTIVAL WEBSITE FOR PROGRAMMING AND SCHEDULES.

Cinemania 2018: Opening and Closing Films

CINEMANIA
24th Edition

November 1 - 11, 2018

Opening Film

Doubles Vies (English title: Non-Fiction)

Director Olivier Assayas / France / 100 min / 2018

OFFICIAL SYNOPSES

"Alain (Guillaume Canet) is a publisher and Léonard (Vincent Macaigne) a needy novelist. Modern publishing trends and shifting tastes have totally passed them by. These guys are overwhelmed by change and in mid-life crisis - they struggle to find their place in society in a changing industry whose entry codes they cannot seem to crack. And, they're tone-deaf to the advice of their restless wives (wonderfully portrayed by Juliette Binoche and Nora Hamzawi). All four, plus assorted girlfriends and lovers, agonize over the future with delicious dialogue in a series of dinner parties.

Renowned director-scriptwriter Olivier Assayas gathers a great ensemble cast, delivering a clever not-to-be-missed comedy set in today's sophisticated world of Parisian publishing!"

Closing Film

Edmond

Director Alexis Michalik / France, Belgum / 1h 45 min / 2018

OFFICIAL SYNOPSES

“December 1897, Paris. Playwright Edmond Rostand, is not yet 30 and is stressed ‘to-the-max’. He hasn’t written a word in 2 years! Desperate, he propositions the great theatrical actor Benoît-Constant Coquelin to appear in his next production, a heroic comedy for the stage in time for the year-end holidays. The only problem...it hasn’t been written yet! In the midst of a chaotic life filled with capricious actors & actresses, a jealous wife, demanding producers, his best friend’s convoluted love life, and a general lack of enthusiasm for his new play, Edmond sits down to write. But all he can thus far commit to paper is the title, ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’...”

For more information about the festival, viisit the CINEMANIA website.

MWFF 2018: Closing Night Photo Highlights

Montreal World Film Festival 2018 Award Winners

Montreal World Film Festival 2018
September 3, 2018

Red Carpet Closing Night

Award Ceremony

  
Click on Images to Enlarge Them.

For more information on the festival visit the Montreal World Film Festival's website.

MWFF 2018: 49th Student Films Awards

The Montreal World Film festival once again presented this year the Student Film Competition as those two previously independent film festivals had joined forces in the past. Here are the winners:

AWARDS: 49TH STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL

Monday, September 3, 2018

NATIONAL COMPETITION (CANADA)

NORMAN McLAREN AWARD (Best Film):

MY THESIS FILM: a thesis film by Erik Anderson by Erik Anderson (York University, Toronto, Ontario)

BEST ANIMATION FILM:

Salmiak by Aurélia Morin-Clarke (Cégep de vieux-Montréal, Montreal, Quebec)

BEST FICTION FILM (ex-aequo) :

The Canadian Carver by MacKenzie Brown, Canada

Insert Your Title by Ji Won Jeong, Canada (Dawson College, Montreal, Quebec)

  

CHINESE STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL AT THE MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL

BEST FILM:

Spring Flowerby Tong Hua, China (California Film Academy, USA)

BEST ANIMATION FILM:

Harryby Zhou Haoran (Tongji University, Shanghai, China)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM:

The Water Bird and Manby Gao Yang & Zhou Pu (Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China)

BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM:

Brainby Ma Chunxin (Zhejiang University of Media and Communications, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Chine)

BEST FICTION FILM:

Oasis by Lin Qinqin ((Beijing Normal University International College of Hong Kong Baptist University, China) 

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

BEST FILM:

MEET ME IN THE WOODS by Isa Micklitza (University for Television and Film Munich, Germany)

BEST ANIMATION FILM:

Achoo by Lucas Boutrot, Elise Carret, Maoris Creantor, Pierre Hubert, Camille Lacroix, Charlotte Perroux (ESMA, Montpellier, France)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM:

Nomadic Doctor by Mart Bira (University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Royaume-Uni)

BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM:

THE RITA G, AFFAIR / SPRAWA RITY G by Daria Kopiec (The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, Poland)

BEST FICTION FILM:

The Word / Slovo by Yhor Vysnevskyi ( Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Televisin University, Kiev, Ukraine)

For more information visit the Montreal World Film Festival's website.

MWFF 2018: Awards

42ND MONTREAL'S WORLD FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS

Monday, September 3, 2018

WORLD COMPETITON

FEATURE FILMS

Grand Prize of the Americas (Best Film):

CURTIZ by Tamas Yvan Topolánszky, Hungary

Special Grand Prix of the Jury (ex-aequo):

SAMURAI'S PROMISE / CHIRITSUBAKI by Daisaku Kimura, Japan

THE ETRUSCAN SMILE by Mihal Brezis, Oded  Binnun, Switzerland - Germany - United States – United Kingdom

Best Director:

Attila Szász for ETERNAL WINTER / ÖRÖK TÉL by Attila Szász, Hungary

Best Actress:

Maya Szopa in STRANGERS OF PATIENCE / STRANNIKI TERPENIYA by Vladimir Alenikov, Russia

Best Actor:

Hiroshi Tachi in LIFE IN OVERTIME / OWATTA HITO by Hideo Nakata, Japan

Best Screenplay (ex-aequo):

Jianv Han, Wei Zhong and Muye Wen for DYING TO SURVIVEbyMuye Wen, China

Mirko Locatelli and Giuditta Tarantelli for ISABELLEbyMirko Locatelli, Italy – France

Best Artistic Contribution:

THE LORD EAGLE / TOYON KYYL by Eduard Novikov, Russia

Innovation Award:

MOCKING OF CHRIST / RUGANJE SO HRISTOS by Jani Bojadzi, Republic of Macedonia

WORLD COMPETITON

SHORT FILMS

  

1st prize

Vagabonds by Amartei Armar, Ghana

Jury Award

All My Guardian Angels / Todos mis padres by Bernabé Rico, Spain

FIRST FICTION FILMS COMPETITION

Golden Zenith

THE GAZELLE'S DANCE / EL BAILE DE LA GACELA  by Iván Porras Meléndez, Costa Rica – Mexico

Silver Zenith

KILL ME TODAY, TOMORROW I`M SICK! by Joachim Schroeder and Tobias Streck, Germany

Bronze Zenith

HAVE YOUR NAME CARVED by Lei Xu, China

Special mention for quality

JIM SHOE by Peter Sutton, United States

  

CHINESE FILM FESTIVAL

1st Prize

DESTINIESby Zhang Pu, China

2nd Prize

FATHER TO SON / VAN PAO TE by Ya-Chuan Hsiao, Taiwan

3rd Prize

SNOW FALL / XUE ZANG by Gao Chenggang, China

DOCUMENTARIES OF THE WORLD

1st Prize

DYING TO TELL / MORIR PARA CONTAR by Hernán Zin, Spain

2nd Prize

ICELANDER by Nils Oliveto, Canada

3rd Prize

FAHAVALO, MADAGASCAR 1947 / FAHAVALO by Marie Clémence Andriamonta Paes, France - Madagascar - Belgium - Cape Verde - Qatar

For more information on the festival visit the Montreal World Film Festival's website.

MWFF 2018: Curtis

CURTIZ

WORLD COMPETITION

Montreal World Film Festival / FFM

Hungary / 2018 / black & white  / 93 min.

This film won the Grand Prize of the Americas (Best Film) at the Montreal World Film festival 2018 Closing Ceremony. See all the winners here.

Those interested in the history of cinema, and especially in the production of the iconic American classic CASABLANCA, will especially appreciate this Hungarian production about the famous director MIchael Curtiz, an eccentric and talented director and a winner of an Oscar. The film is largely inspired by his life. It details all the intriguing twists and turns in the creation of CASABLANCA, all political, Warld War II implications and intrigues that affect the production of the film, as well as his personal life and his relationship with his daughter Kitty.

When he leaves Europe for America, Michael Curtiz leaves his family behind in Budapest. He worries about his sister and tries to get her to the USA by all means, but there are many obstacles. In Hollywood, Curtiz is powerful, arrogant and preparing to shoot CASABLANCA with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. But it is 1942, and the United States is getting ready for World War II. While the director is struggling with production problems, his abandoned daughter Kitty appears on the set and confronts him. The meeting with his daughter and the conflicts that arise directly influence Curtiz's creative resolution of CASABLANCA's ending, thus gelling together his great iconic masterpiece.

In CURTIZ, Rick's famous cafe and the piano featured in CASABLANCA film were faithfully reproduced for the filming purposes.

SYNOPSES

1942. America is on the edge of war. Hungarian-born film director Michael Curtiz, under government pressure, gets a chance to influence public opinion about war, thus gaining international recognition by directing a new propaganda film: Casablanca. It does not comeat the best time though. Curtiz is working on helping his Jewish sister emigrate from Hungary before the Nazis get to her also, his daughter appears on set with the purpose of getting answers why Curtiz had abandoned her as a child. Can Curtiz overcome his famously arrogant and cynical personality? What sacrifices make a man a patriot in a foreign country, a good brother and an honest father at the same time? What should his main character, Rick, choose in the end of Casablanca?

Left to right: actress Evelin Dobos (Kitty), screenwriter Zsuzanna Bak,
producers Judit Romwalter and Claudia Sumeghuy, and actress Lili Bordan

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director: Tamas Yvan Topolánszky.

Script: Zsuzsanna Bak, Tamás Yvan Topolánszky.

Photography: Zoltán Dévényu.

Editor: Eszter Bodoky.

Music: Gábor Subicz.

Cast: Ferenc Lengyel, Evelin Dobos, Declan Hannigan, Yan Feldman, Rafael Feldman, Lili Bordan, Caroline Boulton, Scott Alexander Young.

Producers: Claudia Süneghy, Halluci-Nation Ltd., Budapest (Hongrie), cell.: +36 302 488 239, sumeghy.claudiabernadett@gmail.com / SPARK, Camera and Lighting Ltd., Budapest (Hongrie), judit@sparks.hu.

For more information on the festival visit the Montreal World Film Festival's website.