The 17th Montreal International Documentary Festival runs Nov 12-23 and opens with the world premiere of Kim Nguyen’s Le Nez [pictured].

The full programme for the 17th annual Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) has been unveiled.

This year’s festival will feature 141 films from 44 countries, including 21 world premieres, 19 North American premieres and 21 Canadian premieres.

The festival opens with the world premiere of Quebec filmmaker Kim Nguyen’s Le Nez, a journey through the mysterious world of the sense of smell. Nguyen’s War Witch was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars in 2013.

Nicolas Wadimoff’s Spartiates also receives its world premiere as the festival’s closing film. The Swiss filmmaker travels to the outskirts of Marseille, where a mixed martial arts instructor is struggling to keep his school open.

Eleven awards will be presented to the winning films in the RIDM’s four competitive sections: Official Competition, Canadian Feature competition; International Short; and and Medium-Length.

Other sections at this year’s edition include Special Presentations and Beat Dox, while James Benning and Kazuo Hara will receive tributes.

During the festival, the 10th Doc Circuit Montreal (Nov 15-19) will also be taking place.

Doc Circuit Montreal, North America’s only bilingual documentary market, organises an intensive schedule of business meetings and workshops that help directors, producers, distributors and broadcasters hone their skills and launch new partnerships.

This year’s edition will offer a new slate of creative and professional development initiatives, including the Eurodoc pitch session and grant, a 3-day Talent Lab, and a daylong Transmedia Think Tank.

For further information, visit RIDM’s official website. The festival runs Nov 12-23.