It’s always sad when Hot Docs ends. It’s like the end of ten days of documentary-movie camp, during which I got to hang out with all kinds of neat people and make new friends and do fun things like hurry from venue to venue to see a whole slew of really amazing films. Today was …
Partly by design and partly by coincidence, my entire day – in terms of screenings and experiences – somehow dealt with waiting. Literally and/or figuratively. First up was Waiting for Lightning (6/8), director Jacob Rosenberg’s film about pro skateboarder Danny Way and his decision to try to jump over the Great Wall of China. On …
One of my favorite things about Hot Docs, and documentaries in general, is learning about something – a person, a place, a practice, an event, an idea, whatever – I might never have heard of before and might never have otherwise discovered. It happens every single year, and I always leave the fest feeling a …
It’s always funny to me which screenings wind up packed to the rafters and which ones are barely attended. Even better, as the festival goes on, it’s interesting to hear which films are getting consistent buzz (good or bad), and which ones are never really mentioned in the ubiquitous “seen anything good?” line discussions. I …
Sometimes, even a two-screening day can feel long… especially when your digestive system reacts poorly to something you ate the previous afternoon. So it was that I made my way through the day and didn’t feel too guilty about opting to cut it short by walking out of my final film and heading home before …
What better way to follow a “light” movie-going day than to see if I’ve still got what it takes to pull off one with four back-to-back screenings? Happily, it turns out my stamina – not tapped since I-don’t-know-how-many TIFFs ago – remains intact! And, weirdly, all of the films on this day wound up being …
As many frequent festivalgoers will likely attest: sometimes, when you’re seeing a whole slew of movies in a fairly short amount of time, you need a “light” day in order for your body and mind to take a bit of a breather. That’s why I only saw two films today. And, thankfully, I didn’t want …
It was a very grey and rainy day today, which meant audiences arriving for screenings wet from the knees down and with drippy umbrellas in tow. In some cases, having to stand outside in the rain while waiting in line. Spirits, though, were not dampened… even though two of my three films wound up being …
Hot Docs 2012: Indignities and Random Celebrity Encounters Read More »
What is WRONG with some people in the audience for these Hot Docs screenings? Bad behavior during a film, which used to be scarce (if present at all) during the fest, is now rearing its loud, ugly head more and more often. At one film, a couple arrived late (the film had already been playing …
I’m not sure whether it’s a good sign or a bad one that each of the three films I saw today made me cry. (Yes, I know, it’s to be expected at Hot Docs — these docs are frequently poignant.) The subject matter of the films was diverse, but the (unintentional) unifying theme of my …