Desert One (USA, 107 min.) Dir. Barbara Kopple Programme: TIFF Docs (World Premiere) If you think Argo is a thrill ride, you haven’t seen anything yet! Ben Affleck’s hugely entertaining Oscar winning film dramatizes the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis with its tale of a covert escape plan that used a fake movie to smuggle American hostages out of the
Love Child (Denmark, 112 min) Dir. Eva Mulvad Two of the biggest issues in the world, border crossings and the fate of refugees, are at the heart of Love Child, Danish director Eva Mulvad’s new doc. Iranian teachers Sahand and Leila have, in a way, crossed two borders. They have transgressed the law in Iran, breaking
Letter to the Editor (USA, 88 min.) Dir. Alan Berliner Programme: TIFF Docs (World Premiere) Alan Berliner dubs himself a “cultural anthropologist,” a fitting term for a filmmaker fascinated by the way media reflects on who we are while helping to shape society’s values and interests. For Berliner, there’s a prime focus for his interest in the
The Cordillera of Dreams (Chile/France, 85 min) Dir. Patricio Guzman Patricio Guzman is a man obsessed with the past and who can blame him? When the director was young, he was a supporter of the populist socialist president Salvador Allende, whose radical regime in Chile was overthrown in 1973 in a U.S. sponsored coup by
Sing Me a Song (France/Germany/Switzerland, 99 min.) Programme: TIFF Docs (World Premiere) Every edition of TIFF and Hot Docs seems to feature at least one documentary about child monks. This incredibly niche corner of documentary doesn’t run out of things to say. But Sing Me a Song leaves a viewer wondering how much longer these tales of a little wisdom will
The Cave (Denmark, 95 min.) Dir. Feras Fayyad Programme: TIFF Docs (World Premiere) After shining a light on the last men in Aleppo, Feras Fayyad turns his gaze towards the women of Syria. The Cave, Fayyad’s follow-up to his 2017 Oscar nominee Last Men in Aleppo, provides a visceral and harrowing portrait of several women in Ghouta, a city
A peek behind the curtain into the life of the great writer, his troubled mind, and the book(s) that killed him.
There’s Something in the Water (Canada, 73 min.) Dir. Elliot Page, Ian Daniel Programme: TIFF Docs (World Premiere) It’s not unusual for stars to lend their celebrity to worthy causes. Just look at TIFF eco docs such as And We Go Green with Leonardo DiCaprio and Sanctuary with Javier Bardem. While star status risks overwhelming a film, it can provide invaluable benefits, like
Anne at 13,000 ft is bracingly and kinetically edited to convey the maddening rush of the dive from the air and, as the pieces fall into place, Radwanski and Campbell leave a viewer transfixed.
Collective (Romania/Luxemburg, 109 min.) Dir. Alexander Nanau Programme: TIFF Docs (North American Premiere) Anyone who wants to understand the line between journalism and documentary filmmaking needs to see Alexander Nanau’s Collective. This riveting newsroom doc offers a fly-on-the-wall portrait of journalists at Romania’s Sports Gazette newspaper. It’s as informative as a long read in the Saturday paper and as wildly