The Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) is one of North America’s leading documentary film festivals. Each year, the RIDM presents more than 150 Canadian and international documentaries.

This year marks the festival’s 25th edition, which will open with the film, REWIND & PLAY by Alain Gomis. The film follows American jazz pianist Thelonius Monk on a 1969 trip to Paris where he appeared on the French TV show “Jazz Portrait.” Composed mainly from the recovered rushes of this single event, the film unravels complex subjects including the media’s objectification of Monk’s celebrity, and its simultaneous refusal to recognize his full humanity.

On the occasion of its screening at RIDM, we had the great pleasure to speak with Gomis about his artistic process in making this film, which you can hear below. In addition to this new episode, we are also including three additional interviews with filmmakers who are presenting work a the festival, including ALL THAT BREATHES with Shaunak Sen, FORAGERS with Jumana Manna, and GEOGRAPHIES OF SOLITUDE with Jacquelyn Mills. All three films deal with ecological issues from three different parts of the world.

All our content is available free across several platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcast, and Google Podcast

GEOGRAPHIES OF SOLITUDE with Jacquelyn Mills

An in-depth conversation where we explore Jacquelyn's intuitive and collaborative approach to filmmaking including the different eco-friendly processing techniques she experimented with while crafting GEOGRAPHIES OF SOLITUDE. Moderated by Sean Vanwert, Docs in Orbit

FORAGERS with Jumana Manna

A conversation with visual artist Jumana Manna about her striking film FORAGERS, which recounts the dramas around the practice of foraging for wild edible plants in Palestine/Israel. In this conversation, Jumana shares insight into her artistic practice exploring the paradoxical politics of preservation and working within a hybrid format. Moderated by Teyama Alkamli, Docs in Orbit

ALL THAT BREATHES with Shaunak Sen

A conversation with Shaunak Sen where he shares with us his creative process in making this film and the ecological philosophies underpinning ALL THAT BREATHES. Moderated by Christina Zachariades, Docs in Orbit

REWIND & PLAY with Alain Gomis

An in-depth conversation with Alain Gomis about his latest film REWIND & PLAY (2022) which will open the 25th edition of RIDM. REWIND & PLAY follows American jazz pianist Thelonius Monk on a 1969 trip to Paris. Monk is in town to perform at the Salle Pleyel, and along the way becomes the subject of a French television program. Rewind & Play unfolds exclusively from the recovered rushes of this recording. And from this single event the film unravels complex subjects including the media’s objectification of Monk’s celebrity, and its simultaneous refusal to recognize his full humanity.

Throughout the interview, we witness painfully, how Monk’s responses, unsatisfactory to his interviewers, are dismissed, spoken over, and edited out. Yet, with a masterful delicacy, the film inter-cuts shots of him playing the piano, allowing his music to assert itself and interrupt the unbearable media machine that has attempted to enfold him.

In the conversation, Nnenna Onuoha speaks with Gomis about his interest in Thelonius Monk, and how he handled the challenges of representation in the making of this film. The conversation wraps up with some practical advice about how to honor one’s creative vision as a filmmaker, in what can sometimes be a very demanding industry.