The Benevolents () is a Canadian short documentary film, directed by Sarah Baril Gaudet and released in 2021."« LES BIENVEILLANTS » de Sarah Baril Gaudet en compétition à Hot Docs". CTVM, April 8, 2022. An exploration of contemporary loneliness and the importance of human social connection, the film is a portrait of various people who are training to become volunteers for Tel-Aide, a crisis hotline in Montreal, Quebec.
The film premiered at the 2021 Festival international du cinéma francophone en Acadie. It was subsequently distributed principally through Op-Docs, The New York Times's streaming platform for documentaries."Film Club: ‘The Benevolents’". The New York Times, January 24, 2023.
Awards At the 2022 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, the film received an honorable mention for the Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary.Vladan Petkovic, "Blue Island and Geographies of Solitude triumph at Hot Docs". Cineuropa, May 9, 2022. It was a nominee for Best Short Documentary at the 2022 IDA Awards,Matthew Carey, "IDA Documentary Awards Shortlists Announced: ‘Fire Of Love,’ ‘The Territory,’ ‘All That Breathes’, ‘All The Beauty And The Bloodshed’ Gain Traction". Deadline Hollywood, October 26, 2022. and a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Short Documentary at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023.Pat Mullen, "2023 Canadian Screen Award Nominations for Documentary". Point of View, February 22, 2023.
References
External links
The Benevolents at The New York Times