3/4 (Bulgaria/Germany, 82 min.) Dir. Ilian Metev Featuring: Mila Mihova, Nikolay Programme: Discovery (North American Premiere) What are some of the traits that come to mind when one imagines a “festival film”? Long takes? Hand held camerawork? Non-professional actors? Kitchen sink realism? Natural light? Silence? Director Ilian Metev’s first narrative work, 3/4, has every
Canada's Documentary Magazine
Of Sheep and Men (Switzerland/France/Qatar, 78 min.) Dir. Karim Sayad Programme: TIFF Docs (World Premiere) We all know that humans and sheep are different beasts but Sayad’s doc suggests that there are similarities. When expected to follow the shepherd and keep in line with the herd, sheep might stomp their feet, huff, puff, and
Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle (Muchos Hijos, un Mono y un Castillo) (Spain, 88 min.) Dir. Gustavo Salmerón Programme: TIFF Docs (North American Premiere) Julita Salmerón insists more than once in Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle that nobody outside of her friends and family will have any interest
There is a House Here (Canada, 105 min) Dir. Alan Zweig Programme: TIFF Docs (World Premiere) What are the roles and responsibilities of artists who want to explore stories of communities outside their own? This question is a hot topic in the cultural milieu, as debates wage concerning who can or should tell such
In many ways, Obomsawin’s previous films have all been leading her to Norway House, the site of this caring and empathetic doc, Our People Will Be Healed.
Thom Powers is the veteran curator of TIFF Docs. At TIFF, he has programmed premieres for such filmmakers as Morgan Spurlock, Jonathan Demme, Werner Herzog and Kevin Rafferty. He runs the annual Doc Conference at TIFF, which features talks about key issues in the industry, on-stage interviews with filmmakers and presentations on new developments in the documentary world.
Azmaish: A Journey Through the Subcontinent (Pakistan, 85 min.) Dir. Sabiha Sumar Programme: TIFF Docs (North American Premiere) The personal is political for Sabiha Sumar. The Pakistani filmmaker embarks on a daunting task to interrogate the complex relationship and divide between India and her native country. Her journey yields both challenges and rewards as
A good film festival always yields some fresh discoveries from filmmakers who tackle hard questions and shake things up with film form. Last year’s winner for Canadian film, Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie’s Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves, for example, offered a bracing shock of anti-establishment energy with its radical tapestry
Matt Embry takes audiences on an unexpectedly emotional journey in Living Proof. The Calgary-born filmmaker pulls double duty as the director and subject of this compelling film that uses his own diagnosis with multiple sclerosis to interrogate the recommendations and prescriptions that encourage people to lead healthy lives. After tackling the lives of numerous Canadians, most
Denis Côté's A Skin So Soft is a playful and thoughtful hybrid portrait of bodybuilders that considers masculinity from new angles as the muscle men sculpt their bodies with a rigourous regimen of dieting, cardio, weightlifting and manscaping in pursuit of Herculean perfection.