At tonight’s closing ceremony, the jury at DOX:AWARD, CPH:DOX’s main competition, has awarded a “dazzled special mention” to Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other, the first documentary by directors Jacob Perlmutter and Manon Ouimet.
In its appreciation, the jury, consisting of Jessica Kiang (festival programmer Belfast FF and film critic, Variety), Nataša Urban (director, The Eclipse), Monica Hellström (producer), Rémi Bonhomme (Artistic Director at Marrakech International Film Festival) and Carla Gutiérrez (director and editor, Frida), stated in full:
“To fall in love is a magical thing, but to stay in love is a miracle. Two people find each other in middle age, and build a beautiful later life together that is documented here with grace, humor and honesty. For a film that is so immaculately crafted that right from its stunning opening frame, it is like being cradled in the familiar but electric embrace of a longtime lover, the jury awards a dazzled special mention to the wonderful, warm and wise TWO STRANGERS TRYING NOT TO KILL EACH OTHER directed by Jacob Perlmutter & Manon Ouimet.”
Thirty years after a chance encounter, Maggie and Joel, aged 75 and 84, are still very much in love. But their relationship is not without complications. Born in the hard-boiled Bronx, Joel Meyerowitz is a world-renowned photographer with major exhibitions and 40 books to his name. British-born Maggie Barrett is a talented but less recognized artist and writer. In the shadow of mortality, each with a long and dramatic life behind them, the hard truths of life together provoke in Maggie and Joel an attempt to find a shared inner peace while there is still time.
Directors Jacob Perlmutter and Manon Ouimet, state: “We were already moved by the warm reception Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other received in the CPH:DOX screenings and Q&As. We would like to thank Maggie and Joel for letting us into their lives, everybody who made the film a reality, for their trust and hard work, the festival for believing in it, and the jury for their touching appreciation. We couldn’t have asked for a better launch before the film makes its way to other festivals and theaters internationally.”
A UK-DK-US co-production, Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other was produced by Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter for Manon et Jacob and Signe Byrge Sørensen for Final Cut For Real, in co-production with Fremantle label Undeniable and Louverture Films.
