Hot Docs’ anthology series Citizen Minutes returns for its third installment with six short docs boasting noble Canadians. The documentaries, which span from different corners of the country, introduce everyday people uplifting their communities. Some campaigns may be so ingrained into daily life that they open stories about tools one encounters or passes by daily. Others address seemingly huge topics, like polarised politics, through personal lenses. While the docs do tread slightly more on the PSA side than previous iterations of the series have, they’re also unabashedly a public service. These shorts highlight ordinary people with actionable lessons in making a difference.
For example, A Stop Gap Measure (dir. Lulu Wei) introduces audiences to disability activist Luke Anderson. Using the fun—and accessible—format of a kids’ TV show, the doc invites Anderson to share the philosophy behind his campaign to create portable/makeshift ramps for buildings. Anderson’s A Stop Gap Measure makes those triangular wooden ramps that audiences have probably passed daily and seen in storefronts. He shares how having an accident opened his eyes to the limits of accessibility, but also to the slow road to progress when A Stop Gap Measure outpaced municipal action to make good on commitments to ensure that Toronto is accessible for all citizens. The film encourages audiences, especially young ones, to recognize the right for accessibility. And the film’s infectious sense of humour illustrates the power of positive energy in inspiring change.
Similarly, an upbeat mood fuels Becoming Ruby (dir. Quan Luong), a portrait of drag queen Ruby Chopstix. Winnipeg’s Asian pop princess gets the honour of being Manitoba’s inaugural drag artist in residence and they share with effusive joy the message they hope to bring with the platform. Ruby relates the story of why they find drag so empowering and convey how their residency creates space for queer BIPOC performers. The residency includes an open opportunity for Ruby to put on shows of their choice, and they invite more performers to join them on stage, emphasizing the community nature of the oft-bandied about “queer community,” using their own experience with feeling under-represented to inspire visibility and change. This energetic doc shows why drag artists often get dubbed the mascots of the queer, but suggests that they’re far more than that—they’re team captains and coaches.
There’s an element of team sports and coaching, too, in Hommes-Relais (dir. Vladimir Chindea) and La femme qui équi-libre. Both documentaries invite therapy through social engagement, albeit in very different forms. The former sees community leader Manuel offer a program for men who identify as new Canadians to gather and share positive experiences. They bring foods that offer a taste of their respective cultures, share languages, and simply provide each other emotional and social support while establishing lives in a new land. In the latter, Josée Gallant-Gordon inspires mental wellness by engaging people with horses. Her practice uses the harmony created between human and horse to inspire people to slow down and understand what it means to see another being at eye-level. These films evoke the importance of engaging with those around us, both human and non, and cuing ourselves to both verbal and non-verbal communication to create an air of belonging, comfort, and solidarity.
Unity and division, meanwhile, are dynamics at the heart of Crossing the Divide (dir. Chrisann Hessing, Ashley Brook). This provocative doc introduces audiences to the American outfit Braver Angels, which seeks to bridge the climate of political polarisation. The program boasts an intriguing premise, as it requires individuals to pair up with someone from the other side of the political spectrum. In this case, the doc follows Torontonians Amanda and Kathleen, who make the drive to Wisconsin to talk things out with a group. The film demonstrates the significance in being open to hearing perspectives outside one’s own as Braver Angels engages people from all political stripes and walks of life to share their perspectives in pairs, groups, and town hall-style settings. The action item here is deceptively simple: the workshops implore people to listen. Braver Angels doesn’t seek to unify political ideologies, but rather to produce empathy for competing perspectives and to educate oneself about opposing views. It might be a lifeline for audiences dreading the next big family gathering.
Finally, the standout doc in the series, Red Girl Rising (dir. Faith Howe, Kim Stadfeld) boasts an immediately engaging character in Joyce Jonathan Crone. The Mohawk matriarch enjoys considerable influence in her Huntsville, Ontario community as the “ribbon lady.” She affixes orange ribbons to posts, lamps, and storefronts to help educate her community about the tragic history of residential schools in Canada. She uses her platform as an influencer to amplify the message beyond her immediate community. Her voice is strong, proud, clear, and persuasive, making her a winning character to be the voice for a cause. Step by step and ribbon by ribbon, she tells how her incremental efforts inspire collective action. The film observes as she joins the mayor and chief of the local police in leading a community march to raise awareness on National Truth and Reconciliation Day. She’s a true embodiment of what she calls “reconciliaction” and living proof that one person can indeed make a difference. That compliment certainly applies to everyone featured in this series, and hopefully demonstrates to audiences that no idea is too small to make a big step towards change.
