Five feature documentaries lead the first phase of programming announcements for the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM). The line-up includes the Canadian premieres of two Quebecois documentaries, Upstairs (Dehors Serge Dehors) and Petit Tom. Upstairs is the latest film from directors Pier-Luc Latulippe and Martin Fournier. The doc observes the life of actor Serge Thériault as his wife, Anna, and their neighbours work to rouse him from a state of prolonged depression. Petit Tom, meanwhile, is André-Line Beauparlant’s follow-up to her 2001 doc Three Princesses for Roland, which won the Best Director Prize at Hot Docs 2002. The doc observes Tom, the youngest member of a family that has become fragmented in the aftermath of suicide.
On the international front, Julien Chauzit’s The Hill (La Colline) will have its North American premiere at RIDM. The film is a doc-drama hybrid about youths and their anxieties related to climate change. Meanwhile, Sundance hit Taming the Garden continues its run at RIDM after a successful tour of the festival circuit that included a stop at Hot Docs. Salomé Jashi’s award winner is a poetic study of forced migration. Migration is also the topic of The Last Shelter, directed by Ousmane Samassékou. The film focuses on a hostel financed by the Red Cross and the Catholic charity organization, Caritas.
RIDM returns as a hybrid festival this year in keeping with safety precautions forced by the pandemic. The festival will screen each of the official selections in theatres November 10 to 21. Digital encore screenings will follow November 14 through November 25. RIDM will unveil its full line-up on Wednesday, October 20, 2021.
