Last Respects
- Megan Durnford
- Canada
- 2023
- 7 mins
- Sat Jan 27
- 8:00 PM
- Market Hall
Montreal priest Father Claude Paradis believes that all lives are worthy of respect. So in 2014, he created an annual ceremony to celebrate the lives of the “unclaimed.” Thanks to Father Paradis’ compassionate gesture, these people are granted a final moment of dignity.
Guests in attendance, Q&A with Megan Durnford
- English
- Captioned in English
- Inspiring
About the Filmmaker
- Filmmaker: Megan Durnford
- Producer: Megan Durnford
- Other Credits: Director of Photography: Hugh Durnford-Dionne; Editor: Hugh Durnford-Dionne
A born storyteller, Megan Durnford is a Montreal-based writer and documentary filmmaker.
After 15 years of writing for periodicals, multimedia projects and nonfiction books, Megan made her first foray into documentary film with Just A Lawn (2007) a short documentary about the dark side of “perfect” lawns. In 2011, Megan directed Une brique à la fois, an affectionate portrayal of four Quebec adult LEGO builders. This 45 minute documentary was nominated for a Golden Sheaf Award (Documentary Arts/Culture) at the Yorkton Film Festival. It was broadcast on Canal D in Quebec. In 2018, Megan directed I Am Still Your Child. This documentary film, about the impact of parental mental illness on children, was broadcast on national CBC. Megan has studied documentary film at the Summer Institute of Film and Television in Ottawa and at IDFAcademy in Amsterdam.
Last Respects won the Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary at Hot Docs 2023.