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…
Midnight Radio: Life in Technicolor part ii
Pardon the interruption in service, but while mypodcast.com figures itself out, I’ve decided to move this series to podomatic for the time being. Part two of this series allows me to have my first face-to-face conversation with a film director. After watching Ken Wardrop’s stunning documentary HIS & HERS, Wardrop was nice enough to sit…
Hot Docs Reaction: THE "SOCALLED" MOVIE
There are a handful of artists out there who colour with every crayon in the box. Then there’s Socalled. There aren’t enough colours in the box for what he wants to colour. Especially since he wants to colour the world using music, magic, art, and film. Every single idea in his head is truly original,…
Speed of Sound: SOUNDTRACKER Plays Hot Docs
When director Nick Sherman first read about Gordon Hempton, he saw a chance to make a documentary that could evoke naturalists like Muir and Thoreau. In Hempton, he had a subject matter that felt a deep connection to the natural world, and a desire to preserve it. However, in documenting Hempton’s lifes work and passion,…
Hot Docs Reaction: CANDYMAN, THE DAVID KLEIN STORY
CANDYMAN is the story of David Klein, the eccentric inventor of Jelly Belly jellybeans. We learn of his humble beginnings, his massive effort to make the idea work, and how the product became such a wild seller. Front and centre is Klein as a man – a guy who likes to take the scenic route…