Giving you our points of view on the latest docs in release and on the circuit.
This is North Preston presents numerous facets of a deeply rooted problem to inspire a community to take a hard look at itself.
The Infiltrators (USA, 94 minutes) Dir. Alex Rivera, Cristina Ibarra Programme: Docx (International Premiere) One of the last films to screen at Hot Docs 2019, The Infiltrators is both as timely as Donald Trump’s latest tweet and unusual in form. Rivera and Ibarra’s doc focuses on the Broward Transitional Center in South Florida, a facility that holds undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers, some of them “dreamers,” people who were brought to the US by their parents. The story unfolds in 2012, but The Infiltrators is not a history lesson dependent on archival footage and present-day interviews. It builds a twisting, turning storyline about young
In an ingenious bit of programming, Hot Docs has put together three films that deal with women’s choices in completely different cinematic ways. Linda Heymann’s I Told My Mum I was Going on an RE Trip (UK, 42 min), the centrepiece of the program, shows four actors recount – one via music – the stories of abortion patients in the UK, the doctors who treat them and the counsellors who advise them. Talking to the camera and sometimes to each other, they come across as very authentic, frank and open. This is largely because they are speaking the actual words of women
Haydee and the Flying Fish (Chile, Brazil, 73 minutes) Dir. Pachi Bustos Programme: Persister (World Premiere) In 1975, Haydee Oberreuter was a young Chilean woman, who during the Pinochet dictatorship committed the unforgiveable sin of trying to help his victims. Like thousands of other Chileans she was arrested and tortured. Many prisoners were never heard from again. She survived, and after years of trying to lead a normal life, sought justice in the courts. Bustos’s film opens on images of a dark, turbulent sea and cuts to a shot of Haydee from behind, standing up straight and facing forward. Her
tieg Larsson: The Man Who Played with Fire (Sweden, 99 minutes) Dir. Henrik Georgsson Programme: Special Presentations (Canadian Premiere) As Hot Docs 2019 winds down, it should be noted that the festival has screened a powerful selection of documentaries exposing the victimization of the vulnerable and oppressed in a world where democratic values are under siege. From the United States to Greece to Italy and Canada, right wing politicians and demagogues hell-bent on injuring the helpless are convincing voters to elect them into office—and the festival has shown a sharp eye in showing a strong selection of films about the
Gaza (Canada, 90 min.) Dir. Garry Keane, Andrew McConnell Programme: Special Presentations (Canadian Premiere) 25 miles long and seven wide, Gaza is a small territory with a huge international profile. Cut off from the outside world by strictly enforced borders, poverty-stricken, suffering explosions of horrendous violence, Gaza is frequently reported on as the embodiment of the tragic, seemingly unresolvable conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. As others have pointed out, Keane and McConnell’s doc Gaza is neither a polemic taking one side or the other, nor an on camera debate. Few of the Palestinian characters directly address the historical, moral, and political issues
Hot Docs 2019 Maxima (USA, 88 minutes) Dir. Claudia Sparrow Programme: Persister (World Premiere) Spanning seven years, from 2011 to 2018, Claudia Sparrow’s documentary focuses on its eponymous heroine to expose the horrific abuse of vulnerable human beings for the sake of profit and power. Máxima Acuña is a Peruvian woman, who with her husband Jaime scraped together enough money to buy land in the nation’s High Andes. She and her family have survived by raising animals and growing most of their own food. With grace, they work the land, do household chores, and take pleasure in natural beauty. Máxima
Honeyland (Macedonia, 85 min.) Dir. Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska Programme: Animal Magnetism (Canadian Premiere) I don’t know how much competition there is, but I’m willing to wager decent money that Honeyland is the best Macedonian beekeeping documentary ever made. It’s a film of beautiful intimacy and tragedy, a rare glimpse at a dying way of life, and an observation of culture at a crossroads filled with heartache and humour. This excellent film, a Sundance triple award winner with the Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema), cinematography award, and a special prize for “impact and change” on its mantle, sees in one woman’s struggle to preserve
The Book of the Sea (Russia, 85 min.) Dir. Aleksei Vakhrushev Programme: Animal Magnetism Fans of the Hot Docs 2016 Audience Award winner Angry Inuk will want to see The Book of the Sea. This artfully thrilling doc-animation adventure from Russian-Indigenous director Aleksei Vakhrushev (The Tundra Book) takes audiences for a wild ride. The film observes life in the Bering Strait as Inuit and Chukchi hunters engage in the harvest that is a foundation of their culture as they embark on expeditions to catch marine mammals like whales, walruses, and seals. There are obviously cultural, political, and historical variances between the hunters that
The Corporate Coup d’État (Canada, 90 minutes) Dir. Fred Peabody Programme: Special Presentations (Canadian Premiere) The Corporate Coup d’État isn’t a horror doc, but it methodically builds a sense of impending doom. Its title taken from John Ralston Saul’s writing, featuring Saul and social critic Chris Hedges, Peabody’s film portrays the collapse of democracy in liberal societies. Hedges and Saul point toward virtually omniscient corporations, which through their control of US politicians from Reagan to Trump, call all the shots behind the scenes. Whatever people need, the corporations maximize share prices, and therefore executive compensation packages, via everything from welfare cuts
