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Hot Docs announced its full slate of films last week and, after a couple of days of poring over the list, I’ve spotted a slew I’m psyched to check out. Obvious high-profile picks aside (looking at you, Steph Curry and Michael J. Fox docs!), here are 10 that immediately...
Another Hot Docs is drawing to a close. <sigh> It’s been an insanely busy and exhausting — but, as always, immensely satisfying — 10 days, filled with a slew of docs that squeezed my heart, boiled my blood and helped my brain grow a couple of sizes. I managed...
Troubled children in Ukraine. A jovial chef on a mission. A director grappling with identity. And a young Buddhist monk who loves metal. No matter which films you see at Hot Docs, you’re always guaranteed to “meet” a diverse array of compelling characters. Crows Are White (7/8) Many times...
Director Reed Harkness’s Sam Now took more than 20 years to make, and chronicles the experiences of his younger half-brother as he unravels the mystery of his mother’s sudden disappearance. We posed our Qs à la mode to Reed, and here’s what he shared! If I had to describe...
From land defenders protecting the environment in the Philippines to social-media influencers navigating a problematic platform, people are making waves in these four wildly different films. Delikado (6/8) When it comes to environmental activism, the work of the Palawan NGO Network Inc.’s “para-enforcers” in the Philippines ranks as some...
These three documentaries don’t really have much in common, topic-wise, but they’re all great films. Which, I think, is enough of a connection to merit grouping them together. So there. Atomic Hope – Inside the Pro-nuclear Movement (7/8) As anyone who’s read my Hot Docs coverage over the years...
In Band, director Álfrún Örnólfsdóttir trains her lens on herself, and her fellow Post Performance Blues Band members, as they make a last-ditch effort to hit it big. We posed our Qs à la mode to Álfrún, and here’s what she shared! If I had to describe my film...
Look, I *love* documentaries, but that doesn’t mean I automatically think every film I see at Hot Docs is amazing. For whatever reason, and notwithstanding the effort that I fully appreciate went into making them, some of the docs I screen turn out to be disappointing. Here are three...
In the deeply personal Relative, director Tracey Arcabasso Smith turns the camera on the women in her family to explore the silence and inaction around the sexual abuse she endured growing up. We posed our Qs à la mode to Tracey, and here’s what she shared. If I had...
For many filmmakers, family — be it the one you’re born into, the one you choose or the one you never knew you had — is fertile ground in which to sow powerful stories. Here are five fest docs that do just that. Beautiful Scars (6/8) It’s fitting that...
In Handle With Care: The Legend of The Notic Streetball Crew, co-directors Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux and Kirk Thomas catch up with the titular Canadian phenoms 20 years after their dazzling skills first wowed the world. We posed our Qs à la mode to Jeremy, and here’s what he shared! If...
Whether they’re creating art or pursuing justice — or doing both at the same time — artists and activists have the potential to change the world for the better, as evidenced in these four films. And Still I Sing (6/8) Imagine if a televised singing competition like American Idol...
