“I’ve never really been very lonely because I’ve always had something to do,” says Agatha Bock. A single Manitoban in her mid-80s, Agatha has fashioned herself an essentially self-sufficient lifestyle on her 54-acre ancestral farm, where she spends her days growing delectable fruits and vegetables from heirloom seeds. Her tools are held together with duct tape, her green thumb plastered in a cast, but neither her advanced age nor doctors’ orders can hold her back from the satisfaction of tending to her crops.
Amalie Atkins’ debut feature documentary chronicles her aunt Agatha’s daily rituals over the course of six years as she shares practical farming tips, Mennonite recipes for pierogies, and captivating stories from her life. Colourful montages of Agatha’s patchwork quilts, hand-labeled jars, and gardening gloves call to a family history lovingly preserved through all things handmade and homegrown. Shot on vibrant 16mm film by cinematographer Rhayne Vermette (Ste. Anne, VIFF 2021) and paired with a relaxing lo-fi soundtrack by Green-House, Agatha’s Almanac draws an artful portrait of simple, sustainable living.
Best Canadian Feature Documentary, Hot Docs 2025
Oct 3 & 5: Q&A
Presented by
Community Partner
Agatha Bock
Canada
2025
English
Open to youth
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Producer
Amalie Atkins
Screenwriter
Amalie Atkins
Cinematography
Rhayne Vermette
Editor
Amalie Atkins
Original Music
Green-House (Olive Ardizoni), Castle If (Jess Forrest), Katarina Gryvul, Andrea-Jane Cornell
Amalie Atkins
Amalie Atkins is a multidisciplinary artist based in Saskatoon. Renowned for her films and video installations, Atkins creates cinematic fables that blend 16mm film, performance, textiles, installations, and analog photography to imprint a fictional world onto everyday life. Her work has been featured in major survey exhibitions and her films have screened internationally, including at the Berlin International Art Film Festival, Bucharest Film Awards, Festival International Signes de Nuit in Paris, Montreal Independent Film Festival, Dresdner Schmalfilmtage, and Analogue Resilience in Toronto.
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
The Pervert's Guide to Cinema
The Pervert's Guide to Cinema takes the viewer on an exhilarating ride through some of the greatest movies ever made (Hitchcock, Lynch, Tarkovsky et al). Serving as guide is Slavoj Zizek, the superstar Slovenian philosopher and psychoanalyst.
NAZA
NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.
Atonement
A former Marine suffering from PTSD seeks a meeting with the Iraqi family to which he did great wrong ten years earlier in the Gulf War. Atonement navigates challenging, politically-charged psychological territory with diligence and sensitivity.
The Pervert's Guide to Ideology
Slavoj Zizek re-teams with director Sophie Fiennes for another wildly entertaining romp through the crossroads of cinema and philosophy. From The Sound of Music to Titanic, Jaws to The Dark Knight, Zizek offers new ways to understanding Hollywood.
You Had to Be There
In a strange quirk of fate, the legendary Toronto '72 production of the musical comedy Jesus hit Godspell launched a constellation of comedy stars, all unknown at the time but now known to us as Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Victor Garber, et al
House of Hope
"House of Hope" is the name of a Waldorf elementary school near Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, founded by Manar and her husband Milad. This documentary follows their efforts to go about their lives before, during, and after the events of October 7.