Agatha's Almanac

Agatha's Almanac is a documentary about 91-year-old Agatha and her vegetable garden on a remote family farm in Manitoba, Canada. Director Amalie Atkins - Agatha's niece - filmed her aunt over six years on 16 mm, with a cinematographic eye for every beautiful and amusing detail.

Slowly you are drawn into Agatha's almost meditative rhythm of sowing, harvesting, preserving and eating. And repairing, with duct tape - lots and lots of duct tape. With disarming candour, she speaks about the quilts she makes, her resourcefulness and the choices that have shaped her. About seeds passed down through generations, forming a tangible connection to the ancestors who worked this land before her. More tender subjects also emerge - but for Agatha, life, however difficult, is a privilege.

Her unflappability is enviable, her straightforward view of life often remarkably funny, and the world she has built around herself is rich in colour and texture. The film won Best Documentary at Hot Docs, one of the world's largest documentary festivals.