The Lunenburg Doc Fest returns this week, running from September 18 to 22, bringing a diverse lineup of documentaries and events.
This year’s festival will also honour its late founder, Pamela Segger, with the introduction of the Pamela Segger Award for Best Canadian Feature Documentary.
The festival will maintain its structure from previous years, featuring events such as Docs on the Dock, the short film series, and the Launch Pitch Contest, where filmmakers vie for cash prizes and production support to bring their documentary ideas to life.
The festival opens with the Sunset Gala at Zwicker Wharf, followed by the first screening of Mediha. This documentary focuses on a young Yazidi survivor of the 2014 ISIS genocide in Iraq, offering a compelling start to the event. After the film, director Hasan Oswald will participate in a Q&A session with the audience.
Attendees can expect a mix of lighter films and more serious topics. Curl Power follows the journey of a young women’s curling team, while the controversial Russians at War offers a close look at Russian troops involved in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Russians at War faced calls to be pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), with many complaining that the film provides false information and glorifies the Russian war effort. It was briefly removed from TIFF before the festival committee decided to reinstate it.
Similarly, posts made by the Lunenburg Doc Fest online have been met with comments calling for the film to not be shown, but so far Lunenburg Doc Fest hasn’t responded.
You can find full details including the festival schedule on the Lunenburg Doc Fest website.
