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
This year’s Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival opened with Bee Nation, a crowd-pleasing feel-good story about First Nations kids and their families as they fought like hell to win Canada’s Spelling Bee Competition (yes, we have one–it’s not just an American thing). The uplifting doc, which was made by a non-Indigenous filmmaker in an
The Tesla World Light (Canada, 8 min.) Dir. Matthew Rankin Peter Mettler’s Picture of Light proves that a filmmaker can capture the fleeting radiance of the Northern Lights to create an image of dreamlike beauty, but can one also control light to express illumination? Director Matthew Rankin (Mynarksi Death Plummet) and his team at
Back in 2013, Jason Mojica, who heads Vice Documentary Films, the recently launched new division of Vice Films, encountered Kim Jong-un. He met North Korea’s Blessed Leader during production of Vice on HBO’s Season One finale. “It was the most surreal experience of my life,” recalls the affable, thoughtful Mojica. “We were invited to a special private dinner,
It’s the Canadian sesquicentennial, a time when this country can engage in celebrations, critiques and a vast array of looks at what has happened here over the past 150 years. CBC must have been pleased when Big Cedar Films’ producer-director Geoff Morrison suggested that his company make a ten-part series about Canada’s “brand” and how
Risk (USA/Germany, 92 min.) Dir. Laura Poitras Featuring: Julian Assange, Sarah Harrison, Jacob Appelbaum, Jennifer Robinson, Edward Snowden Communications, security systems and global politics have shifted dramatically since Julian Assange started WikiLeaks in 2006. An Internet startup like no other, Assange’s organisation hasn’t made billions but it’s changed the world. The complete tale of