She was threatened, nearly run over, and even shot at as she captured the efforts of Appalachian miners to get a union contract. The result is one of the best documentaries ever made.
Midnight Radio: Life in Technicolor 2011 pt 3
Wednesday night found me in a slightly louder environment – namely a brisk rooftop patio where I was introduced to this guy… He’s the subject of BEAUTY DAY, an awesome documentary by director (and fellow blogger / podcaster) Jay Cheel. Jay is very much in demand around Hot Docs so this episode will be short…
Hard Time: LOVE SHINES Plays Hot Docs
Elton John once said that some musicians are born into the wrong era; that there are many artists on the scene right now (and more from the past) that would have done immensely better commercially had they been playing to an audience with a different sensibility. While Sir Elton might not have named him specifically,…
‘Zat You Santa Claus? : BECOMING SANTA Plays Hot Docs
Every year, it seems as though retailers want us to start thinking about Christmas earlier and earlier. Here in Toronto, it’s not unusual to see shops with their Christmas decorations up before October has ended. With such commercialism commonplace, and the pressures of the season climbing as we all get older, it’s no wonder that…
Midnight Radio: Life in Technicolor 2011 pt 2
I hope you’ve all been good little boys and girls this year, because today’s guest is the sort of cat who makes a list and checks it twice. Another documentarian is the guest for this episode. In times like this I haven’t met my guest before sitting down to chat, thus I’m not always entirely…
Local God: SUPERHEROES Plays Hot Docs
We’ve all heard stories of crimefighters like Superman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, and Captain America. But have you ever heard tales of the mysterious Master Legend? How about Mr. Extreme? I’d guess you probably haven’t, because they’re not characters created by artists at DC or Marvel – they are living breathing defenders of truth, justice, and…
Midnight Radio: Life in Technicolor 2011 pt 1
We now interrupt this regularly scheduled blog to talk documentaries… Today begins a special series of my regular Matineecast, talking about all thing festival related. The format will be a little different than usual, namely episodes will be a bit shorter, and sometimes more raw as I won’t be finessing all of them through editing…