documentary film
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
directed by
Jeremiah Hayes Jeremiah Hayes may refer to:
*Jeremiah Hayes (filmmaker)
Jeremiah Hayes is a Canadian film director, writer, and editor. He is known for being the co-director, co-writer, and the editor of the 2010 documentary ''Reel Injun''.
Early life and ...
. The film centres on activist and filmmaker
Martin Duckworth
Martin Duckworth (born March 8, 1933) is a Canadian documentary director and cinematographer who was on staff at the National Film Board from 1963 to 1970 and has continued to work with them as a freelance filmmaker. He was cinematographer on mor ...
, as he cares for his wife Audrey Schirmer through the later stages of
Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
.
Synopsis
One of Canada's most prolific documentary filmmakers,
Martin Duckworth
Martin Duckworth (born March 8, 1933) is a Canadian documentary director and cinematographer who was on staff at the National Film Board from 1963 to 1970 and has continued to work with them as a freelance filmmaker. He was cinematographer on mor ...
is also known as a devoted
peace activist
A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world p ...
. But when his wife Audrey Schirmer was diagnosed with Alzhiemer's in 2013, he stopped making films in order to care for her full time.
''Dear Audrey'' revisits those moments using excerpts from Martin’s films and Audrey’s photography. As Audrey's condition degrades, Martin's involvement and love grow stronger. Their daughter Jacqueline, a person with
autism spectrum disorder
Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...
, also struggles with her mother’s illness, but Martin is devoted to making his wife and daughter's lives meaningful.
Production and release
''Dear Audrey'' is a co-production between Cineflix Media, the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...
, and SwingDog Films.
Filming began in 2016 and continued over the next four years with Hayes shooting once or twice a month at Martin's home. During this time, there was no source of outside funding. After four years of shooting, Hayes edited half of the film in order to make a short promo video to use to raise interest with producers in order to finish the film. In winter 2020, Cineflix Media and the National Film Board of Canada became the film's co-producers.
''Dear Audrey'' combines footage shot in Martin and Audrey's Montreal apartment, Audrey's black and white photography, clips from some of Martin Duckworth's thirty documentaries, period archives, and black and white animation. The music was composed by Walker Grimshaw.
The film debuted on November 19, 2021 at the
Montreal International Documentary Festival
The Montreal International Documentary Festival () is a Canadian documentary film festival, staged annually in Montreal, Quebec.
In English, the festival now goes by the name Montreal International Documentary Festival, while retaining the French- ...
(RIDM), and toured film festivals throughout
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and internationally.
Reception
Critical response
Charlie Smith of ''
The Georgia Straight
''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...
'' said, “Martin Duckworth spent decades telling other people's truths. But the former NFB director is actually in front of the camera for some of his most compelling and candid moments in cinema... Anyone who watches Dear Audrey will undoubtedly conclude that Hayes is a masterful filmmaker”.
Dorothy Woodend of ''
The Tyee
The Tyee is an independent daily news website based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in November 2003 as an alternative to corporate media. Articles in The Tyee focus on politics, culture, and life.
The Tyee was founded b ...
'' gave a positive review saying, “The central force of ''Dear Audrey'' is the eternal, almost implacable force of love that binds people together through the most difficult times. It is this energy, emanating out in a thousand small ways, that lies at the heart of the film. Mysterious and ordinary, invisible yet undeniable.”
Silvia Galipeau of ''
La Presse
is a French-language online newspaper published daily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1884, it is now owned by an independent nonprofit trust.
' was formerly a broadsheet daily, considered a newspaper of record in Canada. Its Sunday edi ...
'' also reviewed the film positively : “It's impossible to watch 90 minutes of this documentary, without being overwhelmed by its sweetness and generosity. Through this very beautiful film, about this so beautiful love”.
Janet Smith of ''Stir Vancouver'' said, "Hayes’s patience pays off in many small, but profound moments over the course of the film... Hayes has crafted a film that shifts the thinking around Alzheimer’s: that it is not a sentence of darkness and hopelessness. That there can be tenderness and dignity within the journey".
Awards
* 2021
Montreal International Documentary Festival
The Montreal International Documentary Festival () is a Canadian documentary film festival, staged annually in Montreal, Quebec.
In English, the festival now goes by the name Montreal International Documentary Festival, while retaining the French- ...
(RIDM), ''People's Choice Award''
* 2022 Indy Film Fest, ''Best Feature Documentary Award''
* 2022 Sherbrooke World Film Festival, ''Cercle d’or for'' ''Best Feature Documentary Award''
* 2022 Tokyo Film Awards, ''Silver Award for Best Feature Documentary''
* 2022
Phoenix Film Festival
Phoenix Film Festival is a festival that celebrates feature films, documentaries, short films and their creators. Started in 2001, the annual celebration takes place in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The Festival is run under the umbrella of the 5 ...
, ''Dr. Sydney K. Shapiro Humanitarian Award''
* 2022 Madrid International Film Festival, ''Best Editing of a Documentary Award''
* 2022 Docs Without Borders Film Festival, ''Excellence in Editing Award''
* 2022 Rising Sun International Film Festival, Grand Prix for Best Documentary Award
* 2023
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards
The Vancouver Film Critics Circle (VFCC) was founded in 2000 by David Spaner and Ian Caddell, in order to help promote Canadian films and the British Columbia film and television industry. Its membership includes print, radio, on-line, and telev ...
, Canada Best Canadian Documentary Nomination
* 2023
Canadian Screen Award
The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...
Walker Grimshaw Nick Walker Grimshaw, known professionally as Walker Grimshaw, is a Canadian film and television composer. He is most noted for his work on the 2021 film '' Dear Audrey'', for which he received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Original M ...
).
* 2023
25th Quebec Cinema Awards
The 25th Quebec Cinema Awards were held on December 10, 2023, to honour achievements in the Cinema of Quebec in 2022 and 2023.Prix Iris
Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who ...
25th Quebec Cinema Awards
The 25th Quebec Cinema Awards were held on December 10, 2023, to honour achievements in the Cinema of Quebec in 2022 and 2023.Prix Iris for Best Editing in a Documentary
The Prix Iris for Best Editing in a Documentary () is an annual film award, presented by Québec Cinéma as part of its Prix Iris awards program, to honour the year's best film editing in documentary films made within the Cinema of Quebec.
The ...
.
*2023
Prix Iris
Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who ...
Award Nominations at the
25th Quebec Cinema Awards
The 25th Quebec Cinema Awards were held on December 10, 2023, to honour achievements in the Cinema of Quebec in 2022 and 2023.Jeremiah Hayes Jeremiah Hayes may refer to:
*Jeremiah Hayes (filmmaker)
Jeremiah Hayes is a Canadian film director, writer, and editor. He is known for being the co-director, co-writer, and the editor of the 2010 documentary ''Reel Injun''.
Early life and ...
, Isabelle Lussier).
*2024
Prix Gémeaux
The Prix Gémeaux () or Gémeaux Awards honour achievements in Canadian television and digital media that is broadcast in French. It has been sponsored by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television since 1987. Introduced as a French-language eq ...
nomination at the 38th
prix Gémeaux
The Prix Gémeaux () or Gémeaux Awards honour achievements in Canadian television and digital media that is broadcast in French. It has been sponsored by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television since 1987. Introduced as a French-language eq ...
,
Academy of Canadian Cinema
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...