Giving you our points of view on the latest docs in release and on the circuit.
John Ware Reclaimed is an engaging and insightful film that brings Ware’s legacy to the forefront—where it should have been in the first place.
Swimming Out Till The Sea Turns Blue (China, 112 min.) Dir. Jia Zhang-ke Faces are the recurring interest of Jia Zhang-ke’s Swimming Out Till The Sea Turns Blue, the director’s third film in a “trilogy” of arts based documentaries that began with Dong (2006) and Useless (2007). The reminiscing, reciting, emoting, boring, or thinking face becomes a site of great interest, as if in an attempt to imbue the camera with the writerly perceptiveness embodied by the subjects of this film. Here, the principal subjects are a trinity of renowned contemporary Chinese writers who focus on rural life: Jia Pingwa, Yu Hua, and Liang Hong.
Jennifer Abbott harnesses a new emotion that films about climate change have yet to experience: grief. The Magnitude of All Things moves with the unshakable sensation of grief and loss.
European Tour ’73 (Canada, 15 min.) Dir. Ross Munro Watching another family’s home movies can often be a bore, but Ross Munro has fun sharing his family’s adventure in European Tour ’73. This energetic short doc sees the filmmaker reflect upon his family’s titular excursion to the other side of the pond. Munro opens up a box left behind by his father and revisits upon some Super 8 footage shot during the tour. He humorously plays the part of the ignorant tourist whilst pointing out all the sights they encountered along the way. Munro, his four brothers, and their parents breeze
Films this personal are often tricky feats, but Sopy Romvari’s willingness to be vulnerable takes Still Processing to unexpected places as she reflects upon her responsibility with images and the power they hold.
Great documentaries are often created through amazing real life characters and Mayye Zayed's Lift Like a Girl has one for the ages in Captain Ramadan.
I Am Greta adds little to the story of courageous youth activist Greta Thunberg. Despite the film's good intentions, it's a PR puff piece.
Inconvenient Indian (Canada, 90min.) Dir. Michelle Latimer Programme: TIFF Docs (World Premiere) Given the deserved attention that Michelle Latimer has garnered during this festival season, it’s important to realize the she chose to work in the most difficult form of documentary, the essay film, for her high profile feature Inconvenient Indian. It’s hard to foreground any film with a thesis when audiences want narrative and compelling characters. How do you keep people engaged when your concerns are far graver than the mistreatment of a single individual? Latimer has made a film that rose to the challenge of making largely white audiences understand the tragic history
The Truffle Hunters is a feast for the senses. The best food on the planet just got better.
Tommy Oliver's incendiary and deeply personal 40 Years a Prisoner chronicles systemic racism, the revolutionary group MOVE, and a family’s search for justice.
