Ryuichi Hirokawa: Human Battlefield Japan, 99 minutes Dir. Saburo Hasegawa Programme: Made in Japan, (Canadian Premiere.) From Palestinian refugee camps, to the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters, veteran Japanese photojournalist Ryuchi Hirokawa has produced images carried by news-services around the world, putting the human face on catastrophe. Now in his seventies, with health problems,
Intent to Destroy (USA, 115 min.) Dir. Joe Berlinger Programme: Special Presentations (International Premiere) Veteran doc filmmaker Joe Berlinger’s explosive 2016 film Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru was one of the most exciting features at last year’s Hot Docs festival. The seasoned award-winning director returns this year with Intent to Destroy, an
69 Minutes of 86 Days (Norway, 71 minutes) Dir: Egil Håskjold Larsen Programme: International Spectrum. (North American Premiere) The banal, descriptive title is the key to 69 Minutes of 86 Days. Proceeding for the most part in a series of steadycam long takes reminiscent of the films of Gus Van Sant or Bela Tarr,
You’re Soaking In It (Canada, 75 min.) Dir. Scott Harper Programme: Democrazy (World Premiere) Don’t be confused by the opening reel of You’re Soaking In It. A trailer advertising the documentary begins this work by Scott Harper (The Secret Life of Pigeons) and while it probably makes a few curious heads turn towards the
Shiners (Canada, 78 minutes) Dir. Stacey Tenenbaum Programme: Canadian Spectrum (World Premiere) One of the traditional roles of shoe shiners, like barbers or hairdressers, is story telling: relaying neighbourhood news and information, comings and goings and passing the time. Montreal director Stacy Tenenbaum’s film finds a handful of personalities from around the world who
Living the Game (Japan, 88 minutes) Dir. Takao Gotsu Programme: Magnificent Obsessions (International Premiere) A documentary about champions who sit and twiddle their thumbs and fingers, Living the Game explores the tournament rivalries and star personalities of the video game Streetfighter. While Japanese director Takao Gutsu does little to explain the intense commitment of
A Room of Her Own: Rai Naito and Light (Japan, 87 minutes) Dir. Yuko Nakamura Programme: Made in Japan (North American Premiere) An art film, an anxiety therapy diary and a benign stalk-umentary about a reclusive artist and her adoring fan, Yuko Nakamura’s film about artist Rai Naito is an oddity. Delicately shot and
Raise Your Arms and Twist, Documentary of NMB48 (Japan, 95 min.) Dir. Atsushi Funahashi Programme: Made in Japan (Toronto Premiere) Atsushi Funahashi’s film Raise Your Arms and Twist explores the pop culture phenomenon of Japanese teen idols: singing and dancing young girls with huge, enthusiastic followings. The girls strive for status within their own
The Lives of Thérèse (Les Vies de Thérèse) (France, 55 min.) Dir. Sébastien Lifshitz Programme: Singular Sensation(s) (Toronto Premiere) How does one depict real death on screen? Filming the final days of Thérèse Clerc, a French feminist and LGBT activist, director Sébastien Lifshitz helps his subject tackle two taboos: aging and dying. Les vies
The notion that an Indigenous spelling bee competition could serve as the cohesive force to unite disparate First Nations children across Canada under one nation, as the title of Hot Docs’s 2017 opening film suggests, is perhaps the most obvious of all the liberal consensus threads.