Reviews - Page 88

Giving you our points of view on the latest docs in release and on the circuit.

Behind the Façade Review: Quick Bites of History

Every building tells a story. The older the abode, the grander the tale. The short doc series Behind the Façade, produced by Lantern Films, opens the doors of several structures that shape the history of beautiful British Columbia. Curated with an admirable attention to the cultural diversity and range of experiences housed within the province, the short docs illustrate why some institutions are sites of memory for some people, while others might simply pass them by. The brevity of the docs admittedly leaves some stories feeling incomplete or under-developed in some cases—several times, the short cuts to a new film

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Shelter Review: Building a City

Shelter is a documentary of dichotomies. “I feel that I had the best life. I also think that I had the worst life that anybody in this world can have, forever,” says a Holocaust survivor who made his career as a builder in Toronto. Mendel Tenenbaum is one of many Jewish immigrants whose stories make up the aptly named Shelter, a doc that shows how many fled persecution in Europe and built their new lives in Toronto, brick by brick. It begins by introducing the community’s elders, like Tenenbaum, who speak to the experience of being Jewish immigrants in a

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Ahead of the Curve Review: A Page from Lesbian History

A page of queer history gets its due in Ahead of the Curve. This celebratory doc notes the trailblazing legacy of Curve magazine. The film champions those who create spaces for queer people to express themselves and see their experiences reflected in words and images, like Curve did by delivering a publication made by and for lesbians. Ahead of the Curve is an engaging portrait of the fight for visibility and the work that still needs to be done. The film charts the path for lesbian representation by focusing on the genesis of the magazine as founded by Frances “Franco”

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Everything at Once Review: The Gay Gaze

“Every photographer is a voyeur.” Photographers Paco Moyano and Manolo Rodríguez arrive at this conclusion in Everything at Once. The Catalan artists debate whether photographers are peeping toms, voyeurs, or dirty old men as they snap portraits of a gay couple posing nude. Paco and Manolo are partners in work and life. As the photographers behind the magazine Kink, their work and their lives are all about the queer gaze. Now into their 50s, they can confidently empower fellow men to expose themselves and bare their souls through the camera lens. This artistic, introspective filter draws the line between art

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Mama Gloria Review: Living Legend

When ‘Mama’ Gloria Allen speaks, everyone listens. Allen is a 75-year-old Black trans woman who has touched many lives, and with the help of the doc Mama Gloria, her stories will live on for generations to come. In her first feature, director Luchina Fisher lovingly captures the lived experience of a woman who deserves to go down in queer history. Mama Gloria is a survival story. While the doc’s style is straightforward, Allen’s history is not. To make it through the 1940s and beyond, eventually becoming a trans septuagenarian, is a remarkable feat. The film documents Allen’s graceful, classy spirit,

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Yes, I Am: The Ric Weiland Story Review: Open Windows

Love him or hate him, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is well known for his philanthropic endeavors, while his late friend and former coworker, Ric Weiland, has received significantly less recognition for his noteworthy philanthropic contributions. In Yes I Am: The Ric Weiland Story, filmmaker Aaron Bear sets out to right this wrong, establishing Weiland as a humanitarian and pivotal LGBTQ activist. A talented computer programmer, Weiland was one of the first five Microsoft employees. In the tenth grade, Weiland and his friend Paul Allen, along with two eighth graders, Bill Gates and Kent Evans, formed their preparatory school’s computer club,

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Moby Doc Review: A Whale of a Tale

Moby is the perfect subject for a documentary. Everyone knows who he is and yet, he has remained a mysterious figure. His face isn’t well known and his love life isn’t a matter for gossip. While he’s had huge hits, Moby isn’t associated with a group of influential musicians although people might know that he has roots in punk rock. He is famous as a producer and was a key figure in the dancehall scene of the Nineties but that doesn’t confer superstar status in a world ruled by photogenic celebrities like Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. But that doesn’t

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His Name Is Ray Review: Seen from the Other Side

Meet Raymond Martin, or Ray, as everybody calls him. Ray lives in Toronto. The closest thing to a fixed address that Ray has is the intersection of Lakeshore Boulevard and Jameson Avenue in Toronto’s east end. It’s where he panhandles daily. Director Michael Del Monte, following up his popular Hot Docs Audience Award winner Transformer, profiles Ray in a sobering character study. His Name Is Ray draws inspiration from a decision that Del Monte made while encountering—or, more accurately, ignoring—Ray while driving through the intersection during his daily commute. Many people employ the same strategy: checking their phones, fumbling with

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