Dave Dyment | Dead Ringer

Dave Dyment

Dead Ringer

Sackville, Canada: Self-published, 2023

107-minute film on USB drive, folded poster, printed materials

Edition of 5 signed and numbered copies [+2 AP]

Last month my film Dead Ringer screened as part of Toronto’s Nuit Blanche, curated by Charlene Lau. I wasn’t able to attend but just received some photographs today and had a slew of emails - almost daily - for the first two or three weeks afterwards. All were very kind and sweet, with a few being particularly touching: 

"Dear Dave,

I hope this email finds you well. My name is Ritica and I saw about half of your documentary, Dead Ringer, at Nuit Blanche this year. My friends and I found it extremely captivating but having walked for about 2 hours before getting there, we couldn't stand still for much longer and had to leave. 

I just became a Canadian citizen and, like many other immigrants, I am navigating complex feelings about what citizenship means in a settler-colonial state. In lieu of a big celebration, I wanted to watch your documentary in full with a few friends and reflect on Toronto, a city I have grown to love through the community I have built here. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find your documentary anywhere on the internet. So I thought I'd reach out and ask if it is available to stream somewhere (even if paid). 

I completely understand if that's not an option but thought I'd check in any case. 

Thanks so much for your time and your work.

Best,

Ritica”

and

"Hi Dave, I had the honour to watch your film last night and it was one of the best things ive sat through! It was engaging, thought provoking and what really made it special for me was the historical aspects as well as the commentary on national identity.

You see, I moved to Canada exactly 3 years ago and my favourite part about Toronto has been its Multiculturalism, even thought the internet doesn’t make it seem so- but I’ve been welcomed in most spaces I sought to enter - from museums using my student id to some of the best culinary experiences. I know your film was more so an exploration of where this identity goes, but for a new resident, I find comfort in knowing I’ll contribute to this identity, and it’ll contribute to my identity, whatever it becomes.

Ektaaghusari”

It’s not available online: partly to avoid litigation, as it’s comprised of hundreds of clips from other movies, and partly because I don’t view it as a documentary, but rather as part of an ‘installation’, with the city as backdrop doing most of the heavy lifting. 

Dead Ringer debuted at Casa Loma and had subsequent screenings at Toronto City Hall, courtesy of Ruth Burns and Ontario Culture Days. Ideally, I’d like to show it the University of Toronto, the RC Harris Water Filtration Plant, the AGO,  Kensington Market, and other areas featured in the work.