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Going through Peter's Utopia footage, I stumbled across this adorable clip of him pretending to be a windmill for pretty much no reason.

If you want to see more of his never-before-seen footage, support Peter's final film, Be Here Now! Just a few days left in the campaign, so please spread the word!

thanks!

-mira

Full video of Peter's memorial celebration in Montreal, December 7th. Thanks to Martin Duckworth (camera) and Catherine Legault (editing).

More photos from Peter's memorial. Dec 7, 2013, in Montreal. [Photos by Mark Achbar.]

Photos from Peter's memorial celebration in Montreal, December 7th, 2013. Taken by Mark Achbar.

#rip

Text read by Catherine Legault at Peter's Memorial

I got to know Peter while editing his last film PilgrIMAGE. It was the start of a collaboration and a friendship.

Peter was so multi-facetted; each of us had a unique connection with him. And nobody could be indifferent to him.

For Pete, work was a game, Life was a gift, Love was a blessing. He was open to the world and all its possibilities and pleasures. Like some kind of Wizard, he always left space for magic to happen.

Peter was a great thinker. He was able to twist simple ideas into awesome wicked theories. He was funny and witty, and never took himself too seriously. Always keen to help, the Pete I know was bringing people together. He knew how to get the best out of everybody.

He had a way of making one feel immediately comfortable in his presence. He had a young spirit and he was young at heart. He evolved with the new generation - and in many regards, he was ahead of it.

Peter was in constant motion - always working on many things at the same time, dealing with different projects and people around the world. But when he was with someone, he was completely there. The “Be here Now” idea was applied in his everyday life.

He lived his life that was faithful to his ethics and his politics, trying to improve the world in every way he could, on a human scale. And he was happy to pass on his knowledge and experience to the next generation.

Peter était un homme de conviction, d'engagement et de justice sociale. C’était un grand voyageur, un homme au grand coeur, libre, généreux et amoureux des oiseaux.

I would like to read you a song by Richard Desjardins called “Le Coeur est un oiseau” – that could translate as “The heart is a bird”.

Le Coeur est un oiseau (see below)

Fawerell Pete. You were and will remain an inspiration. I will miss you very much and I will carry your memory with me.

Le coeur est un oiseau – Richard Desjardins

Par delà les frontières 

les prairies et la mer 

dans les grandes noirceurs

sous le feu des chasseurs

dans les mains de la mort

il s'envole encore

plus haut, plus haut

le cœur est un oiseau.

Dans les yeux des miradors

dans les rues de nulle part

au milieu des deserts

de froid de faim et de fer

contre la tyrannie

il refait son nid

plus chaud, plus chaud

le cœur est un oiseau.

Ce n'était qu'un orage

ce n'était qu'une cage

tu reprendras ta course

tu iras à la source

tu boiras tout le ciel

ouvre tes ailes

Liberté, Liberté

Liberté.

A tribute slideshow for Pete. Thanks to everyone who sent photos in! There were waaay too many to include, but I enjoyed seeing them all the same.

-mira

A Few Words for Peter from Neal Livingston

Usually I get to Montreal in October from my home in Cape Breton for the Nouveau Cinema festival , and whenever I head to Montreal I always emailed Peter, and sometimes he was in Montreal, usually leaving soon, and we would get to have a visit. This year we drove in mid-November, hoping to catch part of the RIDM festival. Until the last minute I kept humming and hawing about going at all.

I emailed Peter a week or so before leaving for Montreal and did not hear back, a bit odd, so I found another email address and emailed that one and did not here back. When I got to Montreal I had lunch meeting the first day Friday the 15th and mid-day at lunch I got an odd feeling about not hearing back from Peter as he would always email me. I assumed he was in Amsterdam.

Saturday morning November 16th I called Peter’s home number. A man answered, it was Peter’s old friend Greg, and he bluntly said that if I wanted to see Peter alive I should immediately go to the Jewish General.

Peggy and I left our accommodation in a hurried frazzle, net mapped where the hospital was, and landed into the most beautiful loving scene of Christine and Mira, and many of Peter’s friends gathered to be there with him. How sad to be losing a friend and yet how amazing that I could be in Montreal to see Peter while he was still alive and after his passing, and be part of what was taking place for Peter in Montreal during those few long days. It would have been very disturbing to hear about his death on the radio in Cape Breton, and not have been able to connect with him. How fortunate I was to have taken the drive.

Christine Burt made an impassioned speech Sunday November 17th at Eccentris after the showing of Peter’s pilgrimage. She demanded we get on with doing our life’s work, don’t mourn for Peter but celebrate his energy in your work.

I met Peter Wintonick in 1984 at the Grierson Film Seminar in Brockville, Ontario. Peter had been invited to show his film about a number of well known artists. I did not like the film at all, and let him have it without holding back from the audience – Grierson was partly about the sport of attacking the filmmakers. After the showing ended we immediately became friends, for the next 29 years.

Peter and I never worked together on his films or mine, we just liked to hang out, do things together, talk about docs, and discuss my newest rant about the failure of how the creative moving arts are so poorly funded in the bottom tier of a broken stupid industrial model. We saw each other in a vast landscape, walking around in Montreal, or in Halifax, dancing in Toronto, or voyaging to PEI to see Ann of Green Gables for his first time, or visiting us in the late 1980’s on some hot summer days in Cape Breton with Christine and Mira who got to play with my son Geoff – they were both born in 1984.

Peter morphed within the doc and film world so many times, a few times I could barely understand what he was doing. He was cutting an edge most of us had never touched into techno globally. Before I travel I still think about whether I want to go somewhere. Peter was just on the move, it was all one small beautiful world for him.

He was a wonderful guy, extremely generous, and fun to be with in an arena of continuous learning . Peter was always willing to make the circle larger, to bring you into whatever was going on ,wherever and whenever it was happening. When we were in a coffee shop in Toronto years ago, the woman at the next table stopped reading and just sat and listened and watched us bantering on an array of moving subjects. Peter told her to join us, and she and I are still friends today. His Joie de Vivre was immense, his aura like a Buddha boy. We will all miss him for what he said, and did.

I hope that in remembering his energy, it will push you, as it does me, to do the best we can in our work and play.

Neal Livingston

Mabou, Nova Scotia,

www.blackriver.ns.ca

It’s for you

For me and for those who participated at the film school to one of the first film of Peter, this image is one of immortality. In a man hole lived a Wintonick. He came to us with kindness and curiosity, with enthusiasm and friendship, his sense of creativity was triggered by reality and fired by his heart.

“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions”. (A. Einstein, A portrait, Pomegranate Art Books, 1984, by Mark Winokur)

Thanks Peter, this was delightful.

Jean-Pierre Begin

In Peter's words ...

Quick back story: First met Peter in Brockville in the early 80's. He was 'exhibiting' a short film with visiting heavyweight, Peter Greenaway. After the screenings, I asked Greenaway about his shooting ratio, what was it? He said, 'Generally, 50-1' --- uh??---- When I asked Peter his ratio, he said, 'Every shot should count: 1-1'. Yes.

I then asked him what was the best shot in his film. He was quiet for a long moment and said: 'The one at the very end, with the curtain flapping in the breeze'. - Yes again. - It was this Sense of Knowing that the Best is often 'Not in Focus' that put us on the same wavelength for Life. Peter was a dear gem: big heart, big mind and a complete unsung world-class Poet.

I was very touched when he agreed to write the foreword to the 2010 companion publication for my pinhole and photo-collage photography show, 'Memory's Shadow', in Canada. I thought he'd do a little supportive promotional prose blurb yadda-yadda. But he didn't. He looked at my images carefully. He asked many questions about composition, locations, and technique. He finally wrote this:

a forward foreword

i am climbing along the escarpment

i am falling over the edge of memory of time and trust and dust

i am gliding down down down, down through water down

i am the only subject for all art

i am the last landscape

i am the last escape

i am zenmonk with an invisible camera

I slither round talk towers following mud tracks

i am hidden in a valley drifting

i see so many images backcasting from the future

i make many images predicting the past

i swim in hope

i am fireplace. i am a table set for you

i am a horseless head

i am birdhouse for ideas and spirits

i am vangogh running through crowfields

i am messaging monet

i am watching mount nemo turn into something

i am layers upon layers upon layers of lifelight

i am magic woman with a moving camera

I am blackness, I am whitelight

i am a small aperture, i am human eyes peering at nature

i capture the movement of the sun over a long period of time

i am viewing solar eclipses in the full glare of the Sun herself

i am a 10th century arab physicist ibn al-haytham

reading my Book of Optics and chanting

“we did not invent this”

I am mozi an ancient chinese philosopher watching the world

five centuries before the christians did

I am in castel grande in bella zona

I am giambattista della porta

explaining why the images are upside down

I am clearly camera obscura

I am a 19th century scottish scientist, david brewster

taking the first actual photograph

with a pinhole camera

I am native

and i am home

you are a camera

we are landscapes

all is home

...

- a pixopoetic impression by Peter Wintonick upon viewing the photographic art work of mlh, amsterdam, january, 2010

We will miss you greatly Peter wherever you now are.

With love, Margaret Lindsay Holton

#Peter at Sunny Side of the Doc (La Rochelle- France)

Peter était un ami

Peter Wintonick – PW pour les intimes- était un ami , un fidèle de Sunny Side & d’Asian Side. Un Smart-guy. Sa disparition, survenue le 18 Novembre, a créé un grand vide, un sentiment très largement partagé de perte irrémédiable. Car il était généreux.

Nos chemins se sont souvent croisés, en Asie en particulier, au Canada bien sûr, et il était toujours curieux des nouveaux horizons, des nouveaux talents. A Sunny Side, il était « Expert », « Modérateur », et nous échangions souvent sur les mots et les idées à promouvoir au sein de la communauté documentaire. Son « Manifeste », ses textes, ses interventions étaient toujours riches de perspectives et d’avenir. Il était le contraire d’un conservateur, et il ne se laissait pas fasciner par les modes et les paillettes, fussent-elles celles de l’Entertainment…

En Chine, en particulier, il avait été l’un des premiers, il y a plus de dix ans, à soutenir le mouvement des réalisateurs-producteurs indépendants. Il avait travaillé pour que « Last Train Home » ou « China Heavy Weights » soient produits et diffusés largement. Il conseillait, il encourageait, il mettait en relation, il coproduisait aussi.

J’étais à Pékin lorsqu’il est décédé. Ceux, nombreux, qui l’avaient connu là étaient tous choqués et émus ; ils avaient la mémoire de cet homme ouvert et sans ambition ou intérêt personnels. Un vrai ami.

Il était allé récemment en Indonésie ou en Birmanie voir naître les premières associations de documentaristes, donner des conseils ; il en ramenait des projets, des listes de talents en germe, une compréhension sympathique et confiante.

Je me souviens de son enthousiasme lorsque, à La Rochelle il y a cinq ans, il avait rencontré Paul Virilio dont il connaissait tous les livres. Ils avaient parlé tous les deux du chaos et des catastrophes, de la vitesse et des pertes de repères et de valeurs. Paul avait dit à Peter que les seuls films qu’il regardait étaient des documentaires… PW était philosophe, penseur, essayiste. Et il pensait large, et aimait confronter ses idées et ses hypothèses. Dieu qu’il nous manque déjà !

Nous lui rendrons bien sûr hommage à Chengdu en Mars pour le 5° Asian Side, dont il n’avait raté aucune édition, et à La Rochelle en Juin pour le 25° Sunny Side. PW y aurait été, parmi quelques autres, l’un des participants les plus réguliers et l’un de nos plus brillants Ambassadeurs !

Peter, je n’oublierai pas ce que tu nous a donné. Tu ne cherchais que les chemins de traverse du réel, pas les avenues déjà tracées. Tu étais sincère, franc et loyal – curieux et généreux, disais-je au début de cette page . Que ces traits caractéristiques de ton visage, de ton corps et de ton âme, restent gravés dans nos cœurs et nos mémoires.

Je viens de perdre un frère.

Yves Jeanneau

ASIAN SIDE OF THE DOC #5 / China / March 2014

SUNNY SIDE OF THE DOC #25 / La Rochelle, France / 23 - 26 June 2014

The mercurial Peter Wintonick serving 'high tea' at IDFA 2012. RIP Peter, Kim

with love from Amit Breuer

I met Peter in Amsterdam at IDFA 2001 where we served together on the festival's jury for feature length docs, we spent great 10 days of watching films and endless talking that was a beginning of a wonderful friendship .I was then still residing in Israel, wow ,I thought , Canada must be an amazing place sending such a fantastic Peter Wintonick to the world ,later we met in Thessaloniki doc festival and spent many hours of docs, food and Uzo at the Agora (market place) ) just before I landed as a new Canadian in Toronto , there we started to talk of the future of documentaries and shared our concerns of the declining $$ + support to independent documentaries . That was the seed for the future DOC AGORA.

We continued to meet in many international festivals , he was always the first to arrive and the last to leave a festival with his huge suitcase and always with his dark big shirt and beg full of DVD introducing and connecting people from different cultures , encouraging young talents with his endless enthusiasm .An idealistic dreamer but sharp as a knife while planning strategic alliances and fight injustices, and also looking at the positive side ,the most fun person in the room to hang out in parties and the best dancer one can imagine!

In 2006 we co founded DOC AGORA , together with domestic and international partners, we conducted early public conversation on the future of authored documentary filmmaking in the digital age .

Peter was the driving force and succeed to bring together great thinkers and shakers and we held truly inspiring events over three years around the world and in Canada . Peter always had great titles to the sessions and invented new language (doc media / now media/metamedia to mention few )

It is amazing he passed away at the top of the week of the opening night of IDFA, an event he loved so much and was planning annually during the past 10 years.

This is a tough time to docmakers, his abrupt departure is a huge loss for his family , friends and for all for the international documentary community ,we will miss his voice, smile hug and your wisdom Peter more then ever.

last word to Peter...

(From one of his last emails to Neil Sieling, Cameron Hickey Amit Breuer and Nikki Mime (docagora team members )

February 22nd 2013

“….as for me, travelin lotsly

had a film i produced at sundance 13 Fallen City a chinese doc

just was at berlinale, where my eyesteel mob had a popdoc called fruit hunters

which incidently will be on cbc nature of things tonight

will head the FIPRESCI jury in Thessaloniki next month, where incidently

amit and I and perhaps cam was there that year, launched the docagora

i wrote a couple of chapters on docmedia for a forthcoming oxford bfi

companion

to documentary wherein i cite docagora and a few principles

its a good companion piece to mathieu lietarts Web Docs tool book

so workshoping producing etc for me these days

will be in burma in june to help launch a new human rights film fest

continue to work with idfa three months a year, programming as well

the international fest in iceland

and so on,

pete

DOC AGORA IDFA 2006

A LIFT FROM PETER

Peter was always giving people a lift. His support of filmmakers of all ages is legendary. Years ago when I saw him at Hot Docs I wanted to give him a lift. So I grabbed him by the waist and lifted him off his feet. With delight and laughter he accused me of being a mad Celt. Every time we met at festivals he insisted on the lift. With an embrace and a little jump at the right moment, so I wouldn’t break my back, we continued the tradition until this week.

When I arrived at RIDM I was looking forward to our embrace. A friend told me Peter had been talking about our ritual just the week before he entered the hospital. As I walked in to see him lying in his bed asleep I wondered how I was going to give him a lift. Looking at him I didn’t want this to be the last image of Peter. I looked out the window and saw St Joseph’s Oratory on the mountain where I climbed about as a child and looked back to Peter with all the strength I could muster and said, “it’s John come to see you”. Both his arms reached out like wings. I held one hand and his daughter the other. Peter was ready to take flight. He gave me the last image - he lifted me off my feet. He was a poet and an image-maker to the end. He passed away the next day. I am grateful to him for all he has done. He will never be forgotten.

John Walker, November 19

Memories of the making of his last film PilgrIMAGE

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The sound of a standing ovation for Peter at the RIDM screening of PilgrIMAGE the day before his death. Peter listened to this recording in his hospital bed and beamed with pride.

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