Score: A Film Music Documentary (USA, 93 min.) Dir. Matt Schrader Imagine the nerve-wracking beach scenes of Jaws without the deep chords composed by John Williams or the horrific shower scene of Psycho without Bernard Herrmann’s shrill strings. Consider the menace of Darth Vader in Star Wars without John Williams’ contrasting themes of good
Mansfield 66/67 (USA/UK, 84 min.) Dir. P. David Ebersole, Todd Hughes Jayne Mansfield endures as one of Hollywood’s legends. The blonde bombshell with the iconic bust and signature walk died at the age of 34 in a tragic car accident in which she may or may not have been decapitated. Her accident might be
Ginger Nation (Canada, 66 min.) Dir. Shawn Hitchins, Mitch Fillion “Even polar bears get more respect than I do,” quips comedian Shawn Hitchins in Ginger Nation. “It’s because they’re white.” Hitchins, the stand-up comedian behind the one-man show of Ginger Nation, voluntarily self-identifies as a minority. Yes, this tall white male belongs to an
Jewel’s Catch One (USA, 90 min.) Dir. C. Fitz In the ‘70s, Los Angeles was a divided place with a problematic nightlife. Many bars and discos refused to serve gay African Americans. Police raids and civilian arrests were common practices that targeted black and gay communities. Jewel Thais-Williams, a black lesbian and UCLA graduate,
In its second year, Hot Docs 2017’s DocX program celebrated “documentary work that lives outside of the traditional format.” This year’s program consisted of three special one-off live events, The Maribor Uprisings, Africville in Black and White, and The CANADALAND Guide to Canada, as well as nine VR films that were free and open to the public throughout the festival at
The spark of documentary in Atlantic Canada was first lit with the legendary Challenge for Change films shot on Newfoundland’s Fogo Island, introducing a marginalised community to the use of media for the purposes of self-representation. Many of the Fogo films were not intended for wide distribution, but the lyricism of films like The Children of Fogo
While it may not have been the best-attended presentation at Hot Docs 2017, The Maribor Uprisings was surely one of its most interesting. The one-night-only screening at Innis Town Hall was guided by co-director and producer Maple Razsa, who had likewise led its world premiere at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen. With a filmography focused on the examination of protest movements,
Small Talk (Taiwan, 88 min.) Dir. Hui-Chen Huang “It’s not good to talk about this,” mutters Anu after her daughter, the film’s director Hui-chen Huang, wonders why her mother has never opened up about her sexuality. A Taoist priest, divorcee and a daring gambler, Anu identifies as a lesbian, the word which Anu’s family
My Wonderful West Berlin (Mein wunderbares West-Berlin) (Germany, 97 min.) Dir. Jochen Hick Paragraph 175 in the German Criminal Code made intimate acts between people of the same gender illegal and was vigorously utilised by the Third Reich. While the Nazi regime was abolished after the War, paragraph 175 continued as the law for
Film histories are highly selective and reflect the biases, tastes and viewing experiences of those who write them. I hope that my following sampling of inward-looking political and activist docs may help readers discern a cursory chronicle of doc dissent in a Canadian context. Speaking of Cancon, one of Canadian cinema’s enduring features describes a