Yesterday, the festival announced the bulk of its award winners – some of which I’d seen, some of which I’d heard great things about and some I’d admittedly heard/knew nothing about! I was pleased (and not that surprised) to see that Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man – the only film at this year’s fest that …
Well, despite my best intentions – and arriving at the Lightbox just before 11am – I was once again unable to score a ticket to yesterday’s 3:30pm screening of Honeyland, as it had (once again) gone “industry rush.” Alas! I sat down and looked through the fest schedule to browse options of what I could see in …
It’s almost time for me to bid adieu to Hot Docs 2019 (cue: sad trombone). I have one more day of filmgoing before I need to pack it in and start packing for my annual post-festival vacation, during which I try to recover from 10 days of wall-to-wall documentaries by heading south, wandering on a …
Okay, it might be time to discuss the new “live open-captioning” policy at screenings this year. In theory, it’s fantastic – a way to make the intros and post-film Q&A sessions at Hot Docs even more accessible to audiences. But so far, more often than not, the captioners are not able to keep up with …
Hot Docs 2019 #11: Reform, Role Playing… and Emojis! Read More »
We’ve hit the halfway mark of the fest and, perhaps owing to me getting older or just being pooped as a result of high-tailing it from screening to screening, I’m REALLY tired! And I’ve noticed the energy level of my fellow filmgoers also starting to wane a bit. The grey, gloomy weather isn’t helping, so …
Hot Docs 2019 #10: Pickups, Pregnancy and a Petulant Pugilist Read More »
When you attend Hot Docs year after year, you start to discover filmmakers whose work you seek out at subsequent festivals. Back in 2013, I saw – and loved – Jason DaSilva’s When I Walk, which was a deeply personal examination of his multiple-sclerosis diagnosis and its debilitating effects, captured over about six years. The …
Hot Docs 2019 #9:: Determination & a Dive Disaster Read More »
I continue to be dismayed by the number of festgoers who still, despite all the pre-film requests, feel compelled to repeatedly check their email, text, surf the internet or just otherwise be discourteous, distracting dimwits during screenings. Yesterday, every single one of my films featured someone sitting within a seat or two of me, happily …
Hot Docs 2019 #8: Makeup, Meditation and a Missed Ending Read More »
Could it be that years of pleading that the balcony in Lightbox 1 be open by default during festival screenings has finally paid off? Because yesterday (and, apparently, on other days as well, based on some comments I’d heard from others) it was open from the get-go for my lone screening there! It was heavenly …
Let me begin today by saying I thought I’d seen it all in terms of rude behavior by film-fest audience members over the years: texting or making/taking calls during screenings, cutting in line, sitting down in aisles. But yesterday took the cake when, during Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man, a woman a couple rows …
Ahhhhhhh, it always feels SO good to step back into the world of Hot Docs after a year apart. Perhaps owing to the fact that it was only the first full day of moviegoing, everyone I encountered – from fellow film fans to volunteers and staff – was in a super-great mood. Fabulous line chats …
Hot Docs 2019 #5: Canines and a Culinary Character Read More »