Welcome to POV‘s destination for coverage from the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. Bookmark this page for word on the documentary beat at #TIFF21 as our writers deliver reviews, interviews, and more on the non-fiction slate at the fest.
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Now Streaming, Beba Is an Unapologetically Fierce Debut
Rebeca Huntt's raw and ruthlessly poetic Beba is now streaming on MUBI.
Is Canadian Doc Nuisance Bear an Oscar Frontrunner? Watch It Now!
Watch Nuisance Bear, a Canadian film among 15 titles shortlisted in the Oscar race for Best Documentary Short.
Alanis Obomsawin and the Power of Documentary Filmmaking
Reflections on Alanis Obomsawin, her career, documentaries, influence, and legacy among Indigenous filmmaking.
Acknowledging Alanis
An appreciation of Alanis Obomsawin's legacy as a filmmaker and an acknowledgement of her vital contribution to our understanding of this land.
Considering Three Minutes
A personal consideration of Bianca Stigter's Three Minutes - A Lengthening and the history that endures in images and archives.
Flee and the Weight of Shadows
An interview with Flee director Jonas Poher Rasmussen on his animated doc.
Three Minutes—A Lengthening Review: A Holocaust film without the Holocaust
hree Minutes—A Lengthening incorporates history, home movies, the Holocaust, memory and the importance of capturing images.
Attica Directors Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry Bring History Into the Present
An interview with Attica director Stanley Nelson and co-director Traci A. Curry on the 50th anniversary of the prison riot and brutal act of state-sanctioned violence.
A Deep Dive with Liz Garbus and the World of Becoming Cousteau
An interview with Liz Garbus about her underwater archival odyssey Becoming Cousteau and the extraordinary life world of Jacques Cousteau.
RIDM Announces Futura and Gabor as Opening/Closing Films
Alice Rohrwacher, Pietro Marcello, and Francesco Munzi's Futura will open this year's Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), while Joannie Lafrenière's Gabor will have its world premiere on closing night.
Attica Review: A Vital Doc
Stanley Nelson looks back at the 1971 Attica Prison riot and massive case of police brutality that followed. The doc is a vital contribution that speaks to the ongoing fight against systemic racism.
2021 TIFF Docs Report: Where Toronto Stood Tallest
Highlights from the documentary side of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival include Flee, Julia, The Rescue, Comala, Becoming Cousteau, Attica, and Listening to Kenny G.
TIFF 2021: Wochiigii Io: End of Peace Review
Heather Hatch confronts the devastating effects of the Site C dam in British Columbia's Peace River, and the consequences that First Nations communities in the region will suffer at the expense of its creation.
Beba: Rebeca Huntt’s Poetic Ode to the Self
Beba, Rebeca Huntt's raw, tender, and poetic celebration of selfhood, is now streaming on MUBI.
The Rescue Wins TIFF People’s Choice Award for Documentary
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi win the TIFF People's Choice Award for Documentary again after scooping the prize for Free Solo.
TIFF 2021: Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair Review
Alanis Obomsawin's Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair salutes the man tasked with chairing the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, and shares his message of hope and peace.
Penny Lane Talks Kenny G and the Matter of Taste
Penny Lane discusses her documentary Listening to Kenny G and the question of who has the right to judge another person's taste.
TIFF 2021: Futura Review
Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi, and Alice Rohrwacher tour Italy to ask youths how they feel about the life ahead in Futura, a refreshingly open debate about where we want to go.
TIFF 2021: Burning Review
Academy Award winner Eva Orner chronicles the 2019-2020 Australian wildfires in Burning and asks what we'll do when the world goes up in flames.
Saturday Night Director Rosana Matecki Talks Tango and Leonard Cohen
Rosana Matecki's Saturday Night explores the tango of alienation and inclusion in urban life as the director visits a dance hall through the perspectives of two immigrants.
TIFF 2021: The Rescue Review
Free Solo directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin offer another gripping and inspiring adventure as they recount the 2018 Thai cave rescue that had the world in suspense.
TIFF 2021 – Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine Review
Sam Dunn and Marc Ricciardelli deliver an old-school rock doc that should please fans of the band in Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine -- and hopefully attract some new fans along the way.
Julia Review: Comfort Food for the Soul
Julia serves comfort food for the soul as RBG directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West chronicle the life and work of an American icon who empowered women through food.
Jagged Review: Celebrating Alanis
Alison Klayman revisits Alanis Morisette's groundbreaking album Jagged Little Pill and unpacks the significance and longevity of an album that changed rock.
TIFF 2021: Hold Your Fire Review
Stefan Forbes’ investigative documentary Hold Your Fire recounts the events of the two-day hostage siege and asks questions about racial bias, hostage negotiations, and restorative justice.
TIFF 2021: The Devil’s Drivers Review
Daniel Carsenty and Mohammed Abugeth's The Devil's Drivers is a high-octane human rights thriller with real world stakes thanks to its portrait of an underground taxi service that navigates the Israel/Palestine border.
Bianca Stigter Explores History and Film in Three Minutes – A Lengthening
Bianca Stigter asserts the presence of lives lost to the Holocaust in Three Minutes - A Lengthening, which interrogates a snippet of footage shot in Poland in 1938 and considers the history that resides in film frames.
Listening to Kenny G Review: What is Good Sax?
Penny Lane's Listening to Kenny G playfully debates musical tastes by looking at the career of the iconic jazz man and the fine line between good sax and bad sax.
Cooking up a doc on Julia Child
Julie Cohen and Betsy West tell all about why they decided to profile cookbook pioneer Julia Child in their new documentary Julia, which has its Canadian premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
TIFF Review: Comala Is an Intimate True Crime Tale
Gian Cassini's Comala is a potent true crime family saga as the filmmaker explores his father's life as a hitman. He encounters the victims left to tell the tale in a country in which violence is a part of daily life.
Terril Calder Crafts a Duel of Sacred Teachings in Meneath
Terril Calder's Meneath: The Island of Hidden Ethics, now streaming from the NFB, is a darkly funny film about a baby Métis girl caught between a dance between Jesus's debilitating teachings and the healing wisdom of her ancestors.
A Night of Knowing Nothing Review: A Thrilling Debut
Payal Kapadia makes a poetic and invigorating feature debut in this Cannes winner that charts a young woman's personal and political awakening amid student protests in India.
Nuisance Bear Is Not Your Average Nature Doc
An interview with Nuisance Bear directors Jack Weisman and Gabriele Osio Vanden on their TIFF 2021 short that observes polar bears and the humans who like to watch.
TIFF 2021: Flee Review
Flee documents the unfilmable. Jonas Poher Rasmussen's doc rewards repeat viewings with its animated portrait of life always on the run.
Revisiting The Eyes of Tammy Faye Ahead of Jessica Chastain’s Drama
The Eyes of Tammy Faye is a 2000 cult hit with its queering of a Christian icon. POV looks back at the doc, narrated by RuPaul, and considers its place within the queer canon before the adaptation starring Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Baker debuts at TIFF.
The POV TIFF ’21 Hub!
Welcome to POV's destination for coverage from the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. Bookmark this page for word on the documentary beat at #TIFF21 as our writers deliver reviews, interviews, and more thoughts on the non-fiction slate at the festival.
TIFF Adds Dionne Warwick, Danis Goulet to Tribute Award Honourees
Dionne Warwick, who appears in the TIFF doc Don't Make Me Over will receive the Special Tribute Award at TIFF this year.
Julie Cohen and Betsy West Discuss ‘Julia’, Unveil Clip
“Her whole life story presented a fully realised, accomplished, and smart person apart from her husband. Empowering women to create deliciousness…amen to that!”
TIFF Adds Julia Child Doc, Announces Industry Line-up
Julia from RBG directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West adds more star power to the TIFF Docs line-up, while names like Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin join Industry side.
First Clip from Alanis Obomsawin’s ‘Honour to Senator Murrary Sinclair’
Obomsawin’s new doc Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair debuts at TIFF’s “Celebrating Alanis” retrospective.
TIFF Unveils Line-up for ‘Celebrating Alanis’ Retrospective
Alanis Obomsawin's Honour to Murrary Sinclair will debut within TIFF's "Celebrating Alanis" retrospective, while TIFF also announced the annual Platform competition and Short Cuts selections.
Alanis Obomsawin to Be Celebrated at TIFF Tribute Awards
TIFF will celebrate Canadian directors Alanis Obomsawin and Denis Villeneuve during the TIFF Tribute Awards at the 2021 festival.
Dear Evan Hansen to Open TIFF 2021, Alanis Morissette Gets Gala Treatment
Musical Dear Evan Hansen, starring Blen Platt, Julianne Moore, and Amy Adams, is this year’s TIFF opening night Gala.
TIFF 2021 Returns by Celebrating Alanises Obomsawin and Morissette
The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival will put a special spotlight on Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, while Canuck rocker Alanis Morissette is among the first titles announced for the fest with the doc Jagged by Alison Klayman.
