Agatha Bock is a force of nature.
That’s how Manitoba filmmaker Amalie Atkins describes her 92-year-old aunt, the subject of her award-winning documentary Agatha’s Almanac.
The film captures the rhythm of Bock’s life as she continues to work the ancestral family farm. It’s gained international attention, which Atkins says doesn’t seem to faze her aunt.
“The first time I heard it was sold out was in Gimli,” Bock said from her apartment in Winnipeg, where she lives during the winter.
“I thought, ‘Well, that’s a small place,’ but it’s gone to bigger places.”
Agatha’s Almanac, which screened at the Gimli International Film Festival last summer, won best Canadian feature documentary at Hot Docs 2025, and was named one of the top 10 films of the year at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The film follows Bock’s daily life on a farmstead in southern Manitoba where, as a rule, she lives from the beginning of May until the first snow flies. She does so without modern amenities, including a cellphone and running water.
Bock and her brother John, who turns 95 this weekend, bought the farm that was owned by her parents when their father died. Bock took over the care of the garden, which helped pay for her half of the farm.
Bock scoffs at those who say she should live full time in the city: The exercise has helped keep her going.
“Many people have told me — about 15 years already — that I should quit the farm. Why am I still there? Why am I still doing this? Why can’t I stay in the city?” Bock said. “And I said ‘I don’t want to stay in the city and watch the cars go by.'”
She believes her way of life is interesting to such a wide audience because her methods go back a generation.
While some health conditions kept Bock off the farm last year, she hopes to resume her gardening this summer.
“My favourite thing at the end of the day, when it’s dark, is to sit on the swing by the house and watch the moon,” Bock said. “Then the insects are gone. They’re dying and it’s quiet.”
Atkins, who is now based in Saskatoon, wanted her film to preserve pieces of life on the farm where, as a child, she climbed trees and wandered down to the river that crosses the property.
“The farmstead has a particular feeling that I can’t describe,” Atkins said from Bock’s apartment.
Atkins previously worked on a short film with Bock playing a character, and seeing her aunt perform that role inspired Agatha’s Almanac.
“I knew … I would like to shoot a documentary of her being herself in her world, which is incredible,” Atkins said. “She has so much colour and texture, and her garden is enormous.”
Filming of the 16-mm, 86-minute documentary took six years to complete. Atkins says the idea began as a shorter vision but grew to feature length as she gathered more scenes.
Atkins wants her creation to inspire others to plant something. She remembers her father telling her to plant a small garden when she was younger and having a hard time with it.
“It doesn’t have to be a giant garden. If you have a window and a pot, you can grow something,” Atkins said. “Growing things is very healing.”
Bock hopes the documentary will remind viewers that no one lives forever.
“We’re all here only for a season,” Bock said. “And we never know when that season ends.”
Award-winning doc showcases 92-year-old’s life on Manitoba farmstead
Agatha’s Almanac plays at the Dave Barber Cinematheque in Winnipeg until next Wednesday. It’s also screening in Vancouver and Toronto, and will open in six other countries, including Japan, Taiwan and Belgium, in the next year.
