God Straightens Legs

Joële Walinga / Canada / 2018 / International Premiere / 67 min.

synopsis

At the center of this observational documentary stands the director's mother, Renée, bedridden with an insidious disease. With respect for her mother’s devotional faith, the atheistic-minded filmmaker captures a woman who for religious reasons refused to undergo traditional chemotherapy and waits for a miracle between the walls of her bedroom . While outside the window of the woman's room life goes on day after day, the camera patiently follows the protagonist during her normal activities with which she whiles away the hours - watching TV, talking with friends, praying with a friend, meeting with nurses, as well as routinely cleaning the house.

"Dealing not only with the trauma of her diagnosis but also with societal reproach for her decision, I wanted to make a portrait of my mother without judgement, instead with empathy, curiosity and patience." J. Walinga

biography

Joële Walinga (1988) is a visual artist and filmmaker from Toronto. She studied intermedia at NSCAD University and Concordia University. In 2017 she made her first short fiction-film Cave Small Cave Big, which was included in the catalogue of the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Center (CFMDC). God Straightens Legs, which is her first feature-length documentary film, premiered at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival.