Sudbury Indie Cinema concluded its eighth edition of Junction North International Documentary Film Festival April 21, the largest edition of the dedicated documentary film festival, screening twice the number of films than last year while expanding to three screening venues in downtown Sudbury. =
The festival also increased the number of films in-competition to two-thirds of the festival screenings, and for some of those docs, submitted to Junction North from around the world, many were having their world or Canadian premieres in Sudbury.
Junction North’s organizers, Beth Mairs and Simone Widdifield, struck two festival juries from amongst film professionals across the region. Junction North’s 2024 Jury Members were: Hoi Cheu (Sudbury); Lieann Koivukoski (North Bay); Alison MacDonald (Sault Ste. Marie); Jayson Stewart (Willisville); and Dustin Moore (Sudbury).
The Jury Award Winners are:
- Best Canadian feature: Silvacola
- Best international feature: Into the Shaolin
- Cantin special jury award for community impact: Waapake
- Best Canadian short: Feeling the Apocalypse
- Best international short: Cataract
- Best mid-length doc: Niki’s Camera Shop
Junction North also rewards selected filmmakers with the opportunity to be voted as winner in four Audience Choice categories. The Audience Choice Award Winners are:
Querney's ‘Best of The Fest’ Award: We, the Women by Sudbury-based Emilce Quevedo
A recent transplant to Sudbury from Colombia, Emilce Quevedo, won for her personal doc on intergenerational intimate partner abuse: We, the Women.
Quevedo said in a release that to receive the award is “to share with the public the need to reflect on cultural changes. It reflects being willing to listen to women who have remained silent; it is to find ourselves in our vulnerability as human beings and to think that we can build relationships of solidarity and mutual care.”
Best Canadian feature: Waapake by Vancouver-based but Attawapiskat-born Jules Koostachin
Koostachin’s WaaPaKe was the most awarded with three in total. “WaaPake was a difficult truth to share, that it connects to Junction North is deeply moving. Chi mii’kwetch for this recognition, it means the world to me.”
Best Northern Ontario film: (Tied) Waapake, and Dear friend: Where have you gone? by Englehart-born, but Toronto-based Nicholas Koscik
Nicholas Koscik, the director of Dear Friend: Where have you gone? was able to bring the doc subject, Jayden Martin to Sudbury for the screening- his first time seeing the work with an audience on the big screen.
Best Northern Ontario short doc: Collective Resistance by Sudbury-based Isak Vaillancourt has played around the world but just enjoyed its local premiere at Junction North and won the Short Doc award. Of the win, Vaillancourt said: “I am thrilled to receive this Audience Choice Award at Junction North International Documentary Film Festival! Knowing that my film resonated with viewers in a meaningful way is a true honour.”
For more information about Junction North, click here.
