PHEW! It has been a busy few weeks of doc-watching. My final tally, including the two below: 42 films! Not too shabby. And, because I was able to cherry-pick from the full slate of titles on offer, to screen whenever I felt like screening them (vs. being restricted to the usual theater schedule set by …
It’s discovering documentaries like Come Back Anytime (8/8) — a beautifully heartfelt and lyrical look at the enduring power of love, connection and really good food — that is, for me, what Hot Docs is all about. And I’m so glad I saw this at the end of the festival, because I fear it would …
Whether it’s exposing a scandal, understanding a political ideology, or battling a financial crisis, these three films revolve around individuals upending long-standing systems of sport, government and the big banks. Nike’s Big Bet (6/8) Director Paul Kemp’s exposé of the 2019 doping scandal involving renowned Nike-backed marathon runner-turned-coach Alberto Salazar, and the company’s influence …
Sometimes, when you’re seeing a slew of films in a day, you wind up with the occasional dud. And then, as I discovered today, sometimes you inadvertently wind up seeing two duds back to back. Which is why, by the time I got a third of the way into the second one, I had to …
Hot Docs 2021 #18: Well, They Can’t All Be Winners — Part Deux Read More »
Whether it’s making meaningful connections, adapting to new situations or leaving a legacy for those to come, these three films explore different facets of the human experience, with varying success. A.rtificial I.mmortality (7/8) Last night, one of my editors emailed me a marketing document that had been written entirely by AI. “No human hands have …
Hot Docs 2021 #17: “Immortality” and Immigration Read More »
I have no clue how to play bridge, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of Dirty Tricks (6/8), a delicious card-table thriller about Lotan Fisher, the one-time bridge-playing child prodigy and world champion, whose golden-boy status was forever tarnished when he was accused of cheating. And, right from the opening frames, it’s obvious the …
There’s no shortage of great music-themed films screening at Hot Docs this year, so I checked out three more! Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm (6/8) You KNOW I love a great music doc, and this spirited film from director Hannah Berryman, filled with fantastic behind-the-scenes archival footage from the 1970s through the ‘90s, …
Every year at Hot Docs, there are films that share similar themes, and in the past I’d sometimes wind up seeing them in the same day completely by chance. This year, the fest streaming titles for viewing at home, available whenever you want to watch, means I can choose to watch similarly themed films together, …
If Loretta Lynn and Janis Joplin had a baby, it might just be the immensely talented and wildly complicated subject of I’m Wanita (7/8). The self-professed Australian Queen of Honky Tonk, Wanita is a cigarette-smoking, binge-drinking, foul-mouthed, unapologetically outrageous and GIANT-hearted country singer with an amazing voice… and an amazingly uncanny ability to self-sabotage. Director …
Let me begin by saying: I watched Any Given Day (6/8) with a giant knot in my stomach and a pounding heart. Some 15 years ago, I lived in a small apartment complex where the (money-hungry) landlord decided to offer up units for rent – at a ridiculous premium – to a local organization seeking …