Conviction (Canada, 78 minutes) Dir. Nance Ackerman, Ariella Pahlke, Teresa MacInnes Programme: Canadian Spectrum A film about Canadian women prisoners made over a couple of years, Conviction is a touchingly personal view of inmate life, if somewhat scattered in its focus. The project involves three filmmakers who, we are told in an early title card, went into
A Place of Tide and Time (Canada, 78 min.) Dir. Sébastien Rist, Aude Leroux-Lévesque Programme: Canadian Spectrum (World Premiere) Audiences at Hot Docs 2016 should remember Sébastien Rist and Aude Leroux-Lévesque’s extraordinarily moving feature debut Living with Giants. The doc, which won a special jury prize from Hot Docs, transported audiences to Inukjuak, Quebec where the
When the five-minute concept was first embraced by cultural activists, its theory was simple: multiple performances of that length by diverse creators was guaranteed to keep an audience interested. And if you didn’t like something, the next act started before you knew it. Montreal’s Tangent Performance Gallery and later Toronto’s Women’s Cultural Building made it
The Wandering Chef (South Korea, 90 min.) Dir. Hye-Ryeong Park Programme: World Showcase (World Premiere) Korean celebrity chef Jiho Im has wandered around all his life. It started when he was twelve and ran away from home to wander the country and encounter its people. He’s been wandering ever since. “I wondered around a lot.
There are No Fakes (Canada, 114 min) Dir. Jamie Kastner Programme: Artscapes (World Premiere) Jamie Kastner’s engaging, smartly modulated, new documentary, There Are No Fakes, includes a 1962 CBC television clip of the then thirtyish Anishinaabe artist, Norval Morrisseau, being interviewed by glamorous young June Callwood, on the occasion of his first major gallery show at Toronto’s Pollock
The Rest (Germany, 78 min.) Dir. Ai Weiwei Programme: Special Presentations (North American Premiere) Ai Weiwei’s 2017 doc Human Flow is one of the most extraordinary portraits of the global migration crisis ever put on film. The globetrotting scale of the film captures the enormity of the problem at hand as Ai toured a whopping 23 countries
The Hypnotist (Finland, 72 minutes) Dir. Arthur Franck Programme: Making Believe (North American Premiere) Born Olavi Hakasalo, Olliver Hawk was the moniker of a charismatic hypnotist, who practiced his craft in Finland from the 1950s to 1980s. An enigmatic figure with a tumultuous life, Hawk became significant for his connections to Finland’s long-standing president, Urho
Animus Animalis (a story about People, Animals and Things) (Lithuania, 69 minutes) Dir: Aiste Žegulyte Programme: Animal Magnetism (North American Premiere) In a series of vignettes, humans interact with animals. Hunters kill and butcher a deer, taxidermists preserve carcasses while museum patrons and staff interact with stuffed animals in exhibitions. But Animus Animalis (a story about
The Magic Life of V (Finland, 85 minutes) Dir. Tonislav Hristov Programme: World Showcase (Canadian Premiere) The Magic Life of V opens with V, the original character created by Veera, who is headed to a live-action roleplay (LARP) camp. In the Harry Potter-esque world, V and fellow LARPers don cloaks and chant spells. But Veera, breaking character,
Campo (Portugal, 100 minutes) Dir. Tiago Hespanha Programme: Animal Magnetism (North American Premiere) Shot at the Alcochete firing range, one of the largest military bases in Europe, Campo presents a mix of contradictions. Showing soldiers as they train, as well as the animal life that surrounds them, Tiago Hespanha overlays his film with a philosophical narration which