REMAKE
a film by Ross McElwee
FEATURE PRESENTATION
MAY 30, 2026 • 4 PM
@ THE BUS STOP THEATRE
(2203 GOTTINGEN STREET, HALIFAX)
2025 / USA / 114 mins
Remake promises a behind-the-scenes look at the failed Hollywood attempt to remake Ross McElwee’s 1985 documentary Sherman’s March and instead delivers a tender and devastating meditation on parenthood and loss.
While a reluctant McElwee awaits progress on a narrative reimagining of his most famous project, he turns his camera to his personal life, reflecting on his son Adrian’s struggles with addiction. He flows between accounts of his professional success, his struggles with fatherhood, and his divorce, musing on their connection to each other. After Adrian’s sudden death, McElwee reassesses his life’s work.
Remake is a masterclass in personal narrative. Every parent in the audience will recognize McElwee’s struggles with guilt, the balance of personhood with the impossible job of fatherhood, and the haunting weight of hindsight. —Tori Fleming
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Ross McElwee
Ross McElwee is an American documentary filmmaker whose work blends autobiography, cultural observation, and humor. His breakthrough film Sherman’s March won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize. McElwee has made ten feature-length documentaries, which have premiered at such festivals as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, and Venice three times. He has received numerous career honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Pennebaker Award. In 2005, MoMA presented a full retrospective of his work, later shown in Paris, Seoul, Quito, Madrid, Portugal and Moscow. In 2024, The French Ministry of Culture awarded McElwee the rank of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres for his filmmaking. McElwee taught courses in documentary filmmaking in Harvard’s Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies for over twenty years. He retired in 2024 and is now Professor Emeritus based at Harvard, where he continues to work on his films.