In some ways it’s difficult to write about a film like AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE. Not to play the cop-out card, but for many reasons you’ll either like it, or you won’t. For starters, there’s the fact that we are listening to a person tell their life story piece by piece through cobbled monologues.…
Hot Docs Reaction: THE COMPLAINTS CHOIR
“My boss outsourced my job but gets to keep his” Funny thing about complaining – we all do it. Heck, the city I call home that is hosting this film festival seems to partake in it with unheralded gusto. Thus a doc about complaining was probably something begging to be made. However, Finnish artists Tellervo…
Hot Docs Reaction: HIS & HERS
As a whimsical score echoes from the soundtrack, HIS & HERS begins with a shot of a newborn infant girl. As it happens, she’s the only woman out of the seventy we meet in the next eighty minutes who doesn’t say a word. Pity – I imagine she has a lot on her mind. The…
Running On Faith: DAVID WANTS TO FLY Plays Hot Docs
Imagine meeting your idol. Imagine that the meeting isn’t just a moment to express admiration, get a photo, or snag an autograph. Imagine instead that they reach out a hand of encouragement. In a practically unsolicited show of support, your idol offers to mentor you in a way that can make you more creative and…
Hot Docs Reaction: LISTEN TO THIS
In Toronto’s inner city, Thompson Egbo-Egbo has started an Arts Foundation that looks to instil a positive change and a sense of self worth into elementary school students. Much of this is done by getting the students to express themselves through music. We get a sometimes sad, but ultimately moving look at their work through…
Midnight Radio: Life in Technicolor part iii
Another day, another director in conversation… This time out, it was a chance to speak with director Nick Sherman the morning his wonderful film SOUNDTRACKER premiered. As an unexpected treat, Sherman was good enough to invite the film’s subject- Gordon Hempton -along for the ride. Thus a very memorable discussion was there for the recording!…
Hot Docs Reaction: GASLAND
Remember that part of ERIN BROCKOVICH where an entire county was getting sick because an energy company was contaminating the drinking water. Kinda scary concept isn’t it? Well prepare to be scared, because as Josh Fox’s documentary GASLAND points out, an awful lot of America is dealing with water and air contamination. Right off the…