SITTING IN LIMBO
Dir. John N. Smith, 1986
Canada, 96 min
In English
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2 – 5 PM
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11 – 10 PM
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17 – 7:30 PM
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 – 7:30 PM
During the second half of the 20th century, Canada’s National Film Board cultivated documentary filmmakers, helping to define both the cinéma vérité and direct cinema movements. In the 1980s, the NFB began producing “alternative dramas” — films that straddled the line between reality and fiction. Employing non-actors, on-location shooting, improvised dialogue, and documentary-style storytelling, these works were ahead of their time, demonstrating an acute awareness of the moving image’s power to reflect and manipulate reality.
One of the filmmakers who championed this approach was John N. Smith, and you can see it in action in SITTING IN LIMBO, a heartfelt kitchen sink drama about young parents struggling to make ends meet in Montreal’s West Indian community. Set primarily to the reggae tunes of Jimmy Cliff, the film is an empathetic look at the highs and lows of family, a capsule of 1980s Montreal, and a timeless portrait of the human condition.