Award winners of the 28th edition the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM)

The Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) ends tomorrow, Sunday, November 30. The winners of this 28th edition were revealed during an awards ceremony which took place this evening at the Cinémathèque québécoise.

GRAND PRIZE FOR INTERNATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION

Imago by Déni Oumar Pitsaev (France, Belgium)

“For a graceful film about the way to return home to face the past and question the possibility of being free. For a personal journey, combining love, tenderness and the violence of social pressure. For creating and capturing amazing moments, like small miracles, thanks to the generosity of the protagonists. For impressive, masterful and lyrical imagery, demonstrating the great connection between the cinematographer and the director. For dealing with complex feelings that convey the idea that home comes from the secrets of the heart and for trusting in the power of dialogue.”

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR INTERNATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION presented by Vital Distribution

Waking Hours by Federico Cammarata and Filippo Foscarini (Italy)

“For inventing a liminal space from darkness, using strong imagery to give us access to the reality of this community stuck in limbo at the foot of the EU fortress. Depicting the solidarity and daily life of a place of nowhere, a place with its own logic, with true, powerful and symbolic images. Finally, for embracing a radical approach to cinematographic language.”

A special mention was given to Evidence by Lee Anne Schmitt (United States).

The International Feature Film Competition Jury was comprised of Marko Grba Singh (Filmmaker and Artistic Director at IDFF - Beldocs), Claire Lasolle (Programmer at FIDMarseille) and Isabelle Stachtchenko (Cinematographer).

GRAND PRIZE FOR NATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION presented by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and PRIM

Partition by Diana Allan (Palestine, Lebanon, Quebec/Canada)

“We would like to present the Grand Prize for National Feature Competition to a film that delves into the complexities of the archives from the colonial past, to engage with the present.”

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR NATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION presented by Télé-Québec and Post-Moderne
Kindergarten by Jean-François Caissy (Quebec/Canada)

“We would like to present the Special Jury Prize for National Feature Competition to a playful film in whose tender pace evokes the enchantment of childhood.”

The National Feature Film Competition Jury was comprised of André-Line Beauparlant (Filmmaker), Margot Mecca (Head of Industry and Programmer, Festival dei Popoli - International Documentary Film Festival) and David Montenegro (Head of Programming, FICCI - Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival).

NEW VISIONS AWARD presented by FIPRESCI and the Société civile des auteurs multimédia (SCAM)

Soul of the Foot by Mustafa Uzuner (Canada, Turkey)

“For succeeding in making sense out of displacement in an uncompromising way and through an approachable complexity. More than this, for its warmth and use of disproportions to carve a place in the world, in the face of family history and geopolitical turmoil.”

The New Visions Award Jury was composed of Paola Casella (Vice President and Italian National Delegate of FIPRESCI, Journalist and Film Critic), Inge Coolsaet (Co-founder of the Belgian magazine Fantômas and Programmer for argos) and Mathieu Li-Goyette (Editor-in-chief of Panorama Cinéma and Executive Director of the Montreal Critics' Week).

MAGNUS ISACSSON AWARD presented with the participation of DOC Québec, ARRQ, Funambules Médias, Cinema Politica and Main Film

Spare My Bones, Coyote! by Jonah Malak (Quebec/Canada)

“The film we have chosen reminds us of documentary cinema's key role in putting faces and voices on situations of grave human rights abuse. The events unfold in a particular time and place, but unfortunately are part of a historic and swelling global tide; they inhabit our daily consciousness as disembodied events and numbers in a stream of newsfeeds. This film provides a counterweight, shocking us out of complacency while filling the information gaps but especially, by offering a compelling story of educational and humanitarian work, driven by compassion and commitment.”

A special mention was given to Recomposée by Nadia Louis-Desmarchais (Quebec/Canada)

The Magnus Isacsson Award Jury was comprised of Jocelyne Clarke, mathilde capone (Main Film), Charles Duquet (Funambules Médias), Patricio Henriquez (DOC Québec), Marie-France Laval (ARRQ) and Nicolas Uribe (Cinema Politica).

BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT OR MEDIUM-LENGTH FILM presented by URBANIA

Marratein, Marratein by Julia Yezbick (United States, Lebanon)

“The Award for Best International Short or Medium-length Film goes to a work with a gentle sense of humour and unwavering honesty, that refuses nostalgia while weighing intergenerational longing. This film traces the circular movement between different homelands and motherlands to create an intimate and expansive cinematic letter that asks the universe: « Will you remember me? ». Through excellent writing and mesmerising editing this film creates a rhythmic, meditative experience that mirrors the diasporic journey of the filmmaker and her family. Its seamless weaving of a multitude of aesthetic elements testifies to how we inherit, reshape, and return to the places that make us.”

BEST NATIONAL SHORT OR MEDIUM-LENGTH FILM presented by the Coop Vidéo, SLA Location and Cineground

Lloyd Wong, Unfinished by Lesley Loksi Chan and Lloyd Wong (Canada)

“The Award for Best National Short or Medium-length Film goes to a work about openings. An architecture of care for what remains unfinished. A structural encounter with an archive that opens a window to moral clarity, shining a light on structural violence that may have robbed so many of their lives. A gesture to a community built between two artists who shared cinematic clarity. The film's beauty lies in its refusal to resolve, its embrace of the rough and unprocessed as fidelity to what was lost, what endures, and what we inherit.”

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR NATIONAL SHORT OR MEDIUM-LENGTH FILM presented by Paraloeil

Momentum by Nada El-Omari (Canada)

“For a daughter revisiting and reflecting upon images shot by her father 20 years ago in the second intifada. For a time that repeats itself in a loop, a camera that mimics what the mind could grasp in moments of uprisings, and a sound that embodies the experience of living under the military complex of the occupation, where dancing protesting bodies stand vulnerable under a sky that threatens them.”

The Jury for the Short and Medium-length Film competitions was comprised of Milton Guillén (Filmmaker and Senior Programmer of Points North/CIFF), Rawane Nassif (Filmmaker and Anthropologist) and Benjamin R. Taylor (Filmmaker, Artistic Director of VISIONS, Co-Director of la lumière collective).

STUDENT JURY AWARD presented by the Caisse Desjardins du Plateau-Mont-Royal

Recomposée by Nadia Louis-Desmarchais (Quebec/Canada)

“The six films we watched all touched us in their own ways. They treated different subject matters while holding meaning and questioning their environment. Yet, one of them stood out unanimously. It's thanks to the intricacy of its words, its approach to a subject that is deeply personal and universal, and its colossal archival work.”

The Student Award Jury was comprised of Kenza Bouhnass-Parra (Collège de Maisonneuve), Mia Charette (Cégep du Vieux-Montréal), Nikita Duranceau-Gendron (Cégep André-Laurendeau), Marius Malavoy-Racine (Cégep de Saint-Laurent) and Ambre Rust (Dawson College).

WOMEN INMATE JURY AWARD made possible thanks to the support of the Société Elizabeth Fry du Québec

The Blueberry Blues by Andrés Livov (Quebec/Canada)

“We present the award to a film that managed to leave a mark on all of us through its richness. A film which dives deeply into a truly original and unexpected topic, approached through every angle and perspective. It is a film that captivates from the very first images and words, and keeps you invested until the very end. A film carried by particularly complex sound design that testifies to rigorous research. It is also a film that leaves a mark. It's impactful and it reminds us of where we come from.”

The Women Inmate Jury was comprised of residents from the Joliette Institution for Women, the only federal women’s penitentiary in Quebec. They selected their favourite documentary from among five films of the 2025 edition of RIDM. This initiative was launched by RIDM in 2011.

SOIRÉE DE LA RELÈVE RADIO-CANADA AWARD presented by Radio-Canada

Histoires d’anxiétés by Adèle Schneider (Quebec/Canada)

“The jury was moved by the power and relevance of the subject combined with the sensitivity of the images.”

The Soirée de la relève Radio-Canada Jury was comprised of Alexis De Lancer (Journalist, Columnist and Anchor at ICI RDI), Manuel Orhy Pirón (Winner of the 2024 Soirée de la relève Radio-Canada), Joseph Hillel (Filmmaker and Producer), Julia Lauzon (Documentary Director at Radio-Canada) and Karyne Tremblay (Partnerships Delegate at Radio-Canada).

The PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD will be announced this Monday, once all the votes have been counted. A selection of the award-winning films will be screened at Cinéma Public on December 13 and 14.

THANKS TO RIDM’S PARTNERS

RIDM wishes to acknowledge the support of the institutional and main partners who have contributed to the success of this 28th edition. Thanks to the Gouvernement du Québec, the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, SODEC, the Secrétariat à la région métropolitaine, the Government of Canada, Telefilm Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, the City of Montreal, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Tourisme Montréal, Tourisme Québec, the Centre des Services aux Entreprises - Intégration en emploi (Emploi-Québec), the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation, Télé-Québec, the Canada Media Fund, Radio-Canada, the Cinémathèque québécoise, Post-Moderne, Rodeo FX, PRIM, as well as Benoît Parent and Arthur Gaumont-Marchand.

About RIDM

Striving to showcase the most stimulating and diverse visions of documentary cinema, the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) offers audiences a unique program that brings together the works of established filmmakers and promising new talents, while focusing on creating encounters between artists and audiences.

The 28th edition of RIDM takes place until November 30

at the Cinémathèque québécoise, Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin, Cinéma du Musée, Cinéma du Parc,

Cinéma Public, BAnQ, Centre Pierre-Péladeau, Place des Arts’ Exhibition Room, and Monument-National.

To learn more about the 2025 program and to buy tickets: ridm.ca

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