My Winnipeg

2007 Documentary

Visionary Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin pays tribute to his beloved hometown with this goodbye letter and self-described "docu-fantasia" that is equal parts transcendental rumination, historical chronicle, and personal portrait. In the first segment, Maddin's camera drifts dreamlike through crowded trains as a floating kielbasa hangs from the ceiling and the director/narrator ponders just why the city boasts the most sleepwalkers per capita of any major international city. Later, the viewer is treated to images of numerous historical monuments in the city as they learn about such key historical events as the Winnipeg General Strike, the defeat of the Winnipeg Jets, and even the Golden Boy pageant scandal and a racetrack tragedy that found numerous horses sent to an icy death. As the third and final segment gets underway, the director draws inspiration from filmmaker William Castle to present pivotal -- and often traumatic -- events from his childhood that left an indelible mark while simultaneously serving to mold his unique vision of his beloved Winnipeg. more..

Director: Guy Maddin

Starring: Darcy Fehr, Amy Stewart, Ann Savage, Louis Negin, Brendan Cade

Reviews

  • (1) Shot for shot, Maddin can be as surprising and delightful as any filmmaker has ever been, and (2) he is an acquired taste, but please, sir, may I have some more?

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    26 April 2013

  • Both the definition of ''my'' and the definition of ''Winnipeg'' become profoundly fluid in this exquisite ''docu-fantasia'' (Maddin's term), an entrancing riffle through the olde curiosity shoppe of the filmmaker's psyche.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    26 April 2013

  • So it should come as no surprise that what Maddin eventually produced is a film about HIS Winnipeg, a psychological terrain that's no more -- nor less -- "real" than William Carlos William's Paterson or Marcel Proust's Combray.

    Ken Fox - TV Guide

    26 April 2013

  • Hilarious for those on Maddin's mad wavelength and more varied than his strictly fictional features.

    - The Hollywood Reporter

    26 April 2013

  • Maddin's Winnipeg is a rich, funky, funny stew of fears and desires, of mangled civic chronology mashed up with hothouse private emotions. This is a secret history, and it's a wonder.

    Ty Burr - The Boston Globe

    26 April 2013

Awards

  • Best Director

    Chlotrudis Awards (2009)

  • Direction - Feature Film

    Directors Guild of Canada (2008)

     
  • Best Documentary

    Genie Awards (2009)

     
  • Best Documentary

    Online Film Critics Society Awards (2009)

     
  • Best Documentary

    San Francisco Film Critics Circle (2008)