Hot Docs

How to Film Politicians: A Guide to Gaining Access from the Filmmakers of 'Caucus'

Bryce J. Renninger — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:33:19 GMT

AJ Schnack and Nathan Truesdell are well known in the documentary community; they work with Esther Robinson and others to stage the Cinema Eye Honors every year. They're also filmmakers in their own right. Both filmmakers had two films at this year's Hot Docs. Schnack co-directed, with True/False co-director David Wilson, the Branson, Missouri doc "We Always Lie to Strangers." Truesdell produced the short "Dear Valued Guests," directed by Jarred Alterman and Paul Sturtz (the other co-director of True/False). They both worked together on the Iowa Republican Caucus film "Caucus," which had its world premiere at Hot Docs. Schnack is the film's director; Truesdell produced the film.

The film takes us back to the winter of 2011/2012, when a hearty handful of Republican hopefuls were vying for the presidential nomination. These were the days when Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann's popularity surged and then plummeted, pizzaman Herman Cain and Texas Governor Rick Perry both had a brief spike, and former Pennsylvania Rick Santorum eked out a win over Mitt Romney.

When one watches vérité films about electoral politics like Robert Drew's "Primary" or D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hedges' "The War Room" (which screened as a 20th anniversary screening at the festival), one is astounded at how much access the filmmakers are given and at the vulnerable moments the filmmakers have captured. These moments surely couldn't be captured today, with 24/7 handlers and carefully curated public appearances and statements...could they?

Schanck and Truesdell proved they could. Here's how:

Start Making Connections Early

Schnack: When I first went to Iowa, I had some meetings with campaign managers who were starting to pair up with campaigns. With Bachmann, we went to her state chair before we ever showed up on her campaign. We wanted them to have a sense of who we were. They're doing they're job. They ask questions: "Who are these people with cameras? Where's this footage gonna show up?"

We needed access to those special moments. What I always loved about "Primary" was you'd have these rallies and these meet-and greet-moments. But that moment just before -- like John and Jackie's moment backstage. The goal was to always find the moment people knew -- the public moment -- and the private moment that was just before or just after.

Know What You're There For

Schnack: I had experience with the caucus from when I was at a student at Mizzou. I covered it for the newspaper then. People running for President were running were walking on the above-ground catwalks over the streets of Des Moines. And you'd run into everybody and they'd say "Do you want to talk to the candidate?" I'd always wanted to do something about the caucuses.

The early caucus and primary states are a very specific thing. I follow politics pretty closely. There are a lot of things about the way things happen in Iowa that were surprising to see close up. Some of it makes it seem more circus-like. There's this weirdly handcrafted part of this process that seems from afar to be one mess of a process that's infiltrated with money, media, sometimes bad intentions. When you're there happening in a small space with a lot of regular Iowans who have decided to take an hour out of their day to see a potential candidate it doesn't feel slick it doesn't feel perfect it feels like a hometown kind of thing.

It's a very public thing that they're doing, and it's a little more loose than we'd imagine. They're working their asses off and -- when that happens -- your real personality's gonna come out. We had an ambitious agenda. I don't think a film has been made like this - "Primary" is about two campaigns. We spent time with 8 and spent some really serious time with four. For a two man crew, we're pretty excited of what we could find and that we could make a vérité film in 2012.

Follow The Politicians to Unexpected Places

Schnack: We went along with Michele Bachmann's first day of campaigning in Iowa, she went to a fair. We were the only people around her with cameras. We followed her around with cameras for an hour. I remember saying to Nate "Oh, we could actually do this. Somehow these people are letting us be two feet away and not saying anything to us."

Truesdell: I never knew politics worked like that. I never knew presidential candidates would be standing in a coffee shop just hanging out.

Be Prepared to Defend Your Intentions

Truesdell: We would tell them, "We're liberal, but we're not gonna attack you."

Schnack: They'd be wondering, "Are you democratic trackers? Are you somebody who just wants to make fun or get that gotcha moment? We had a track record, we had some Republicans in Washington, DC who vouched for us. We were honest about what we wanted to do.

As Much as You Plan, It's Really All Luck

Schnack: You don't want to admit how much of it is luck. Had the story been all about Mitt Romney, he was already operating in general election mode. There was no way in with him. There were awkward interactions with him, but it wouldn't have been more than that. We had the good fortune and luck that Bachmann won the straw poll. We had some time to spend a lot of time in a lot of situations with their campaigns, telling the story of those divergent campaigns. That's never something we could've guessed when we went to Iowa. We worked really hard but there was good luck and good fortune.

'When I Walk,' 'Dragon Girls' Top Hot Docs Winners

Peter Knegt — Sun, 05 May 2013 16:33:27 GMT

The 20th edition of Hot Docs concluded this weekend with 11 awards and $89,000 in cash and prizes being presented to Canadian and international filmmakers, including awards for Festival films in competition and those recognizing emerging and established filmmakers.

Jason DaSilva's "When I Walk" -- in which the filmmaker grippingly documents his own seven-year struggle with a severe form of multiple sclerosis -- led the Canadian winners, while Inigo Westmeier's "Dragon Girls" -- about the students that train in the ancient Shaolin Kung Fu discipline at a school outside Beijing -- led with the international crop.

Here's a full list of winners. Check out Indiewire's list of 10 films we loved at the fest here.

Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award
WHEN I WALK (D: Jason DaSilva; P: Jason DaSilva, Alice Cook; USA, Canada)
Sponsored by the Documentary Organization of Canada, the award includes a $10,000 cash prize courtesy of Hot Docs.
An additional screening has been added on Sunday, May 5, at 6:30 pm at the Isabel Bader Theatre.

Special Jury Prize – Canadian Feature Documentary
ALPHÉE OF THE STARS (D: Hugo Latulippe; P: Colette Loumède, Éric De Gheldere, Hugo Latulippe; Canada)
Sponsored by the Directors Guild of Canada and DGC-Ontario, the award includes a $5000 cash prize courtesy of Hot Docs.

documentary Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award
Director Nicolas Renaud for BRAVE NEW RIVER (Canada)
Awarded to a first- or second-time Canadian filmmaker with a feature film in the Canadian Spectrum program, the award includes a $10,000 cash prize courtesy of documentary.

Best International Feature Documentary Award
DRAGON GIRLS (D: Inigo Westmeier; P: Inigo Westmeier, Andreas Simon; Germany)
Sponsored by A&E, the award includes a $10,000 cash prize courtesy of Hot Docs.
An additional screening has been added on Sunday, May 5, at 6:30 pm at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema.

Special Jury Prize – International Feature Documentary
CLOUDY MOUNTAINS (D: Zhu Yu; P: Han Lei; China)
Sponsored by the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the award includes a $5000 cash prize courtesy of Hot Docs.

HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award
Director Lotfy Nathan for 12 O’CLOCK BOYS (USA)
Sponsored by HBO Documentary Films, the award includes a $3000 cash prize courtesy of Hot Docs.

Best Mid-Length Documentary
THE CIRCLE (D: Bram Conjaerts; P: Kobe Van Steenberghe, Hendrik Verthé; Belgium)
Sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts, the award includes a $3000 cash prize courtesy of Hot Docs.

Best Short Documentary Award
NOTES ON BLINDNESS: RAINFALL (D: James Spinney, Peter Middleton; P: Peter Middleton, Jen Kerrison; UK, Australia)
The award includes a $3000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.
Hot Docs is an Academy Award® qualifying festival for short documentaries, and as winner of the Best Short Documentary Award NOTES ON BLINDNESS: RAINFALL will qualify for consideration in the Documentary Short Subject category of the Annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided it complies with Academy rules.

Inspirit Foundation Pluralism Prize
Director Khoa Lê for BÀ NỘI (Canada)
Selected by the Inspirit Foundation, the award includes a $10,000 cash prize courtesy of the Inspirit Foundation.
An additional screening of BÀ NỘI has been added on Sunday, May 5, at 7:30 pm at the Hart House Theatre.

Lindalee Tracey Award
This award honouring an emerging Canadian filmmaker with a passionate point of view, a strong sense of social justice and a sense of humour, was presented to two recipients: Antoine Bourges and Rocco Barriuso, both of Toronto.
Each recipient received a $5000 cash prize from Tides/Lindalee Tracey Fund and $5000 in production services from Technicolour Canada.

2013 Hot Docs Outstanding Achievement Award
Les Blank
Having tragically passed away on April 7, 2013, the award was accepted on his behalf by Chris Simon and Maureen Gosling, his longtime friends and collaborators.

documentary’s Don Haig Award
Winnipeg-based producer Merit Jensen Carr
This award includes a $10,000 cash prize courtesy of documentary.

2013 Doc Mogul Award
Debra Zimmerman (Executive Director, Women Make Movies)

The Netflix Audience Award and audience top ten favourite films of the 2013 Festival, determined by audience ballot, will be announced on Monday, May 6. The public can contribute to a cash prize for the Netflix Audience Award on Hot Docs’ crowd funding service Doc Ignite. Also announced on this day is the Filmmaker Award, determined by ballots cast by Hot Docs 2013 filmmakers.

The 2013 awards for films in competition were determined by three juries.

The Canadian Feature Documentary Jury: Karen Gordon (film reviewer, CBC Radio One’s Metro Morning), Michał Marczak (director, FUCK FOR FOREST), Katherine Monk (national movie writer, Postmedia News Service), Roxanne Sayegh (executive director, Montreal International Documentary Festival).

The International Feature Documentary Jury: Dan Berger (acquisitions, Oscilloscope) Leslie Feist (musician), Raoul Peck (director, FATAL ASSISTANCE), Dawn Porter (director, GIDEON’S ARMY).

The Shorts and Mid-Length Jury: Susan MacKinnon (producer), Ann Pick (producer, director), Rick Salutin (author and journalist, The Toronto Star).

10 Films You Must See From This Year's Hot Docs

Peter Knegt, Bryce J. Renninger and Basil Tsiokos — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:45:57 GMT

The 20th anniversary of Hot Docs -- the largest documentary film festival in North America -- comes to a close this weekend after a discovery-filled 11 days where many notable docs made their festival debuts ahead of what will surely be healthy stints on the circuit.

Indiewire offers up 10 of such films -- all world premieres -- below, all of which you should definitely look out for at a film festival near you (and hopefully also in theaters):

"American Commune"
In 1970, a countercultural caravan of 300 people left San Francisco to return back to nature, ultimately landing in rural Tennessee. There, under the leadership of spiritual mentor Stephen Gaskin, The Farm was established, an experiment in communal living that attracted 10,000 curious visitors at its height. Filmmaker siblings Rena Mundo Croshere and Nadine Mundo were born there, the children of the rocky union between a Beverly Hills Jewish girl and a Bronx-born Puerto Rican. Like many other members of The Farm, the Mundos left in the mid 1980s amid massive shakeups and quickly assimilated into "normal" society. Two decades later, they return, exploring their personal history and that of the larger alternative community of which they were once a part. The sisters make ideal guides into the world of the legendary commune - their first-hand perspective, combined with interviews with other former members and fantastic archival footage, conveys an intimate and tangible sense of the would-be revolutionary spirit at play on The Farm and in Gaskin's teachings, hand-in-hand with the more sobering reality of the challenges that made such a vision ultimately unsustainable. [Basil Tsiokos]

"Caucus"
The 2012 Republican Primary may seem like old news by now, with even Mitt Romney being a long-gone memory, but AJ Schnack's film "Caucus" brings us back to that time in full color. In the electoral season's first contest -- the Iowa Caucus -- the voters in one state in America's Heartland dominate national media attention and candidates' energy. The Iowa Caucus was the time when Michele Bachmann's surge was overtaken by Rick Perry's and then Herman Cain's and then, ultimately, Rick Santorum's. It was a confusing time for the nation's political commentators, and Schnack's film doesn't make any more clear why those poll numbers were on a roller coaster. What it shows instead is each candidate trying out their campaign strategy in Iowa's characteristic county fairs, bars, and Republican clubs. Following the lineage of "Primary" and "The War Room," "Caucus" is all the more striking in showing our nation's politicians -- mostly because opportunities for unguarded moments are so rare in an age when any slip-up goes viral on YouTube. [Bryce J. Renninger]

"The Ghosts In Our Machine"
The "ghosts" in Liz Marshall's film are various animals, used by humans for food, clothing, or research, as captured by documentary photographer Jo-Anne McArthur as part of her advocacy work to force us to confront our beliefs about animal sentience and rights. Making her way, often clandestinely, into factory farms and other sites of what she views as animal exploitation, McArthur bears witness through the haunting still photographs she takes of deplorable conditions and frightened creatures - but she faces an uphill battle to find a mass audience for her work, since it is too disturbing for most magazine editors. That's exactly her point, to provoke the viewer into empathizing with the various species on display - from dairy cows condemned to death after just a couple of years of milking, to minks raised in sparse cells for their fur. As a needed counterpoint in an often disturbing film, Marshall shows McArthur in more peaceful surroundings in a farm sanctuary in upstate New York which takes in abused animals and often saves others from unnecessary death. Marshall succeeds in creating a portrait of a driven activist that shies away from outright polemics to perhaps preach beyond the converted. [Basil Tsiokos]

"I Will Be Murdered"
Shortly before his death, Guatemalan attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg, whose clients were recently assassinated, recorded a video accusing President Alvaro Colom of his murder. After his execution, his confidante released the video and it became a nationwide sensation, leading to calls for Colom to resign. Public pressure forced an in-depth investigation in a country where 98% of murders go unsolved, but what the head of the taskforce found is wholly unexpected. Justin Webster crafts an investigative documentary that humanizes its victim even as it reveals genuinely surprising details about his case. Despite its twists and turns, the various nefarious figures that pop up, and the competing theories thrown in and out, Webster maintains a clarity of storytelling that might all too easily have become a muddled mess in other hands. What results is an absolutely stranger than fiction tale of lives cut short by corruption and secrets, and a demonstration of the power of the public to demand an end to impunity for even its highest elected officials. [Basil Tsiokos]

"The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne"
Kirk Marcolina and Matthew Pond's "The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne" tells the remarkable story of their titular subject -- a woman who went from a poor, single African-American mother from segregated 1950s America to becoming one of the world’s most notorious jewel thieves. Doris Payne -- now 81 years old -- comes across as blissfully unapologetic and unusually inspirational in the film, which uses interviews with Payne (who is very charismatic) and her friends and family as well as archival footage and recreations to tell her mind blowing tale. She was a black woman traveling around the world hobnobbing in circles in Monte Carlo and Paris in high end jewelry stores. She was convincing people she was one of their ilk when in the States she had to sit at the back of the bus. In some ways, she's very much a pioneer for civil rights. And "Life and Crimes" definitely does her justice. Check out Indiewire's profile of the film here. [Peter Knegt]

"Lucky"
Laura Checkoway's "Lucky" follows an impoverished young gay woman who was abandoned by her parents and now moves from shelter to shelter in inner city New York. She dabbles in prostitution with men because she has to survive and provide for her children. Her life has been far from what her name suggests, but she continues to dream of stardom and success and finds solace in the many loved ones she surrounds herself with. Lucky's story makes for a powerful documentary, one first time filmmaker Checkoway world premiered at Hot Docs. It's an individual tale of survival that very much speaks to more universal themes of pain and suffering that too many have experienced. And it helps that its protagonist -- with her sharp tongue and a face covered with tattoos (which she started doing in her youth to mask her pain) -- is ridiculously charming and charismatic, often a joy to watch even through her tough times. Check out Indiewire's profile of the film here. [Peter Knegt]

"The Manor"
After spending a decade as a film animator, Shawney Cohen got burnt out and decided it was time to take a break from his career to spend some time working at the family business. It just so happens that business was The Manor, a strip club located 40 miles west of Toronto, Canada. After three years of shooting (culminating in 200+ hours of footage) and 15 months in the editing room, "The Manor" came together, opening Hot Docs last week -- the first debut film from a Canadian filmmaker to do so in the festival's 20 year history. And with good reason. "The Manor" is a fascinating, respectful depiction of a very dysfunctional family that will likely be a major highlight on this summer film festival circuit. The film could have easily come across as exploitative or slight, but Cohen's focus on his family over the hijinks at the strip club allows "The Manor" to rise to the ranks of some of the best family portrait documentaries. Check out Indiewire's profile of the film here. [Peter Knegt]

"River"
Bowing to the spirit of youthful adventure, Bill and Turner Ross, the film duo behind acclaimed documentaries "45365" and "Tchoupitoulas," set out with their younger brother Alex and best friend Kyle on a perhaps not-quite perfectly planned Mississippi River odyssey. Launching the Rosemarie, a perfectly ramshackle houseboat, from their home state of Ohio, they four young men aim to make it down to New Orleans in three weeks, with Bill filming their escapades, Turner and Kyle somewhat arbitrarily sharing the captain role, and young Alex looking to earn his sealegs. Stopping along the way to refuel and to deal with unexpected - and even life-threatening - emergencies, the foursome continue their adventures on land, crashing birthday parties, evading frisky womenfolk, singing karaoke - and engaging in lots and lots of drinking. Though wildly different from the previous Ross films, and perhaps a challenge for some viewers at just under three hours, the film is incredibly entertaining and warm, possessed of an infectious spirit of fun, and perfectly captures its subjects - both the Rosemarie's crew and the various indelible characters they meet as they make their way to the Big Easy. Originally presented as a series of webisodes, Hot Docs' single screening this past week marks the debut of the film's feature version - and, despite the assertions made by the Rosses, one hopes that it won't be the only time it's presented in this form. [Basil Tsiokos]

"Shooting Bigfoot"
Morgan Matthews' "Shooting Bigfoot" follows three sets of Bigfoot hunters as they, all in their own ways, try to prove to the filmmaker that they have seen the creatures or feed them regularly. With each set of Sasquatch experts, Matthews, a Brit, uncovers a different set of American experiences. One man, Tom Biscardi, seeks to profit from his Bigfoot expertise by selling videos he's made interviewing others who have had sightings. Two lovable older men in rural America drive Matthews out to a field in which they feed, exchange calls with, and snap photos of Bigfoot. Finally, there's Rick Dyer, a former corrections officer who had previously been behind a hoax carried out with Biscardi (Biscardi counters that he has lied to, and released "Anatomy of a Bigfoot Hoax" to defend his name...and profit). Dyer leads Matthews into the woods for several nights in a "Blair Witch Project"-style series of bizarre scenes that may or may not include a Bigfoot experience that left the filmmaker beaten and bruised. [Bryce J. Renninger]

"Unclaimed"
Edmonton filmmaker Michael Jorgensen offers one of the best Canadian-made offerings of Hot Docs with "Unclaimed," a riveting, controversial film about a quest to prove identity and the two men whose lives become intersected through it. One of those men claims to be former Special Forces Sgt. John Hartley Robertson, who was declared dead after being shot down in a 1968 classified mission during the Vietnam War. The other is Tom Fraunce, a Vietnam War vet who was initially skeptical of Robertson's alleged identity, but becomes certain and convinces Jorgensen to make a documentary about his story as a way to unite the man with his family. An emotional and certainly at times unbelievable story, Jorgensen doesn't give us any easy answers, instead letting the audience decide whether or not to believe the man who claims he's
John Hartley Robertson. [Peter Knegt]

10 Things Every Filmmaker Should Know From John Sloss's Hot Docs Master Class

Peter Knegt — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:48:12 GMT

Few folks in the independent film industry are more qualified to teach a master class on rights management and film distribution than John Sloss. Founder of Cinetic Media, a co-founder of both FilmBuff and Producers Distribution Agency (the theatrical distributor of "Exit Through the Gift Shop," "Senna," and more), Sloss himself has facilitated the sale and/financing of well over 300 films including "Before Midnight," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Precious," "Super Size Me," "The Kids Are All Right" and "We Need To Talk About Kevin."

Sloss has been at it for 30 years, and at Hot Docs Thursday he indeed taught a master class, opening this up by noting that he's never been "at a more dynamic transitional period" in terms of the way he does his job in a quickly changing world of film distribution.

"For me, it's extremely exciting," he said. "It creates great opportunities for people making movies."

For nearly 90 minutes at Hot Docs' industry center on the campus of the University of Toronto, Sloss sat down with a good hundred budding filmmakers, answering their questions about how to get their films out into the world. Here's 10 highlights:

1. On how to utilize the current state of distribution as a filmmaker: "Our general feeling at Cinetic -- and we say this on a daily basis -- is that all good films have one community in common: Cinephiles. Which are people who just love good films. But if you push through that and go beyond it, every film has other identifiable communities. What the promise of infinite storage in cyberspace brings -- together with the ability to market directly to the core community for your film -- is this idea that you can now go out and monetize. You can go find the eyeballs that we meant to see your film even if you don't get the interest of the various distributors that usually pay money to pick up all the rights and release films theatrically."

2. On the importance of a theatrical release (or lack thereof): "If you want the most amount of people to see your film, it isn't something you'll necessarily accomplish by insisting on that it go through a theatrical release. There are films that lend themselves to theatrical release because of their spectacle or subject matter. But if you go to New York there are 22 films released every weekend and 18 of them just die a painful death. And I think those films actually get damaged in the after-market from having been released theatrically."

3. On handing over transactional rights to broadcasters: "The short answer is that you should be mindful of this as a filmmaker. The default position of any broadcaster is to take all the rights, but most of them will get off that position if they really want your film."

4. On what to look out for with digital aggregation: "I'm sick of the opaqueness of Hollywood accounting. Of distributors who basically tell you you are on a need-to-know basis. There are different components to aggregation. There's optimizing the film and being smart enough to know what the sequence of windowing and where the film should be so you can optimize the revenue. I'll give this example. I sold two films at the same time. One was "Freakonomics" and one was "Client 9." "Freakonomics" did huge business on iTunes and no business on cable/VOD. "Client 9" did huge business on cable/VOD and almost no business on iTunes. There's a lot of accumulated knowledge that comes with putting those films out and knowing what the sequence is. Can you do a stunt on Hulu for a day that functions as a word-of-mouth for transactional? It's sort of the wild west now... There's so many ways you can stunt and sequence a film to optimize it. And I think an aggregator should know that."

5. On how the filmmakers role does or doesn't change in the VOD space: "I don't really see the filmmakers' role changing. I think filmmakers have an obligation to shill for their movie. And I think anyone who doesn't see it that way deserves the consequences. Especially in documentaries. You can have the subject and the subject can be out there selling the film. But it's about storytelling. The business we are in is storytelling. If the storyteller basically can't get out and tell the story about the story they are telling, then why are they doing it? I've always taken that point of view.
6. On expectations for documentary filmmakers in particular: "If you're not Michael Moore or Morgan Spurlock, you're not necessarily going to immediately make millions of dollars. I mean, Alex Gibney made serious money off "Client 9" but made almost nothing off 'Taxi From The Dark Side,' which is the film that won him an Academy Award. You have to responsibly look at the subject that you're writing about and whether it is a commercial subject. Not everything is."

7. On piracy: "Piracy is a drag. I believe in copyright. I know that's probably unpopular point of view among the youth of today. But I'm very concerned about it. I've always said that I'm not concerned about the demise of the DVD. I'm all in favor of economic efficiency. If the right price for content is $1.99 then that's what it should cost. The free market system should determine that. If you have something that is completely viral and people have to have it and you want to charge $50 or it, then more power to you. But the only thing that cuts against that is piracy. Piracy is a big concern. My own point of view about it -- and I don't know if people feel the same -- is that it is less about the desire to have something for nothing than it is about the desire to have something when and where you want it.

8. On how that applies to the film industry today: "The mistake the music industry made was thinking they control when people would listen to music. If iTunes had started the same day as Napster then the music industry may look very different today. The equivalent of that in the film space is the insistence of theaters on windowing. On having there be four months between when you can see something in a theater and when you can see it at home. If say to a 25 year old today who can just go to BitTorrent that they can't buy something even if they wanted to. They're gonna say screw you and they're going to download it... It's a real concern. I am a huge advocate of collapsed windows. Most studio heads are, oddly enough, huge advocates of collapsed windows. The only people who aren't are the people who own movie theaters."

9. On what kind of films do well on various platforms: "There are certain films that do well in general on VOD and those are films that are genre or have movie stars in them. The films that do well on iTunes are the ones that skew younger because of the sort of broadband utility. The people who tend to watch films on cable and VOD tend to be older and less technology savvy. There's a better, more specific answer to that... But that's sort of at a top level what the difference is.

10. On crowdfunding: "I am a gigantic fan of crowdfunding. I'm super annoyed I didn't do the first mega one... the Veronica Mars or Zach Braff. I'm also very concerned that left to its own devices, it's going to be sort of tarnished by being used incorrectly... Someone said something to me very early on that really resonated with me. Which is that crowdfunding is less about raising money than it is about building community. To finding the people that really support what you do. What I love about crowdfunding and what I'm dedicated to seeing happen is to use crowdfunding in essence to build loyalty. And I think the best use of crowdfunding is pre-selling. I've been making this point to filmmakers lately. The notion that there's some guy who needs to give you permission to make a film -- that being the financier -- and then the film gets consumed is a very primitive notion in a universe where you can now go to the people who will eventually consume the film and get them to help finance the movie."

Hot Docs Gets 'Lucky' With World Premiere of New Film About a Woman Overcoming Every Possible Odd

Peter Knegt — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:04:41 GMT

"I felt like I had to trust somebody in order to be heard," Lucky Torres said after the world premiere of "Lucky," a documentary by Laura Checkoway that chronicles Torres' life. "That was the only way for others to know why I am who I am and what's happened to me in my lifetime. And it's going on out there everyday. You just don't hear about it and you just don't see it."

What you don't hear about and don't see -- at least from their perspectives -- are the lives of Lucky and the people she represents. She's a impoverished young gay woman abandoned by her parents who moves from shelter to shelter in inner city New York. She dabbles in prostitution with men because she has to survive and provide for her children. Her life has been far from what her name suggests, but she continues to dream of stardom and success and finds solace in the many loved ones she surrounds herself with.

Lucky's story makes for a powerful documentary, one first time filmmaker Checkoway premiered at Hot Docs in Toronto last night. It's an individual tale of survival that very much speaks to more universal themes of pain and suffering that too many have experienced. And it helps that its protagonist -- with her sharp tongue and a face covered with tattoos (which she started doing in her youth to mask her pain) -- is ridiculously charming and charismatic, often a joy to watch even through her tough times.

"I thought Laura showed me more love and was more of a friend than just taking this on as a job or a subject or a project," Torres explained as to why she let Checkoway film her story. "She treated me like I was something special to her. So I had to trust her in order to be heard. And I'm here now."

Checkoway was sitting on the Christopher Street pier in New York City one night in 2007 when she met Torres. She was waiting for someone else, but ended up speaking to a group of young women. Lucky was one them.

"Actually, she was there to interview someone else," Torres explained on stage. "And since I'm very well known down in Greenwich Village. I'm very popular down there so what I say goes. Once I speak everybody shut the hell up. So when I saw Laura interviewing with the camera I was like 'and who are you and what's going on here?' I basically took the spotlight off of that individual."

"Lucky came up to me and put her phone number in my hand and said 'you're not paying enough attention to me and you need to call me,'" Checkoway added.

Checkoway was journalist at the time she met Torres so it started as a magazine story.

"The first six months to a year I followed her for a written piece I published and then it blossomed into a film," she explained. "The film spans nearly six years. As a journalist there are a lot of ethics. But for me I just always led with my heart and for me there was always an unspoken bond between Lucky and I. She let me into her world, and I went."

"Once I get a hold of you and I consider you my family, you ain't going anywhere," Torres said in response. "That's just it."

Their relationship has culminated -- so far, at least -- in last night's screening, which should hopefully be the beginning of a considerable life for "Lucky" on the big screen.

Hot Docs: Technological Revolution, 'Total Disruption,' Stolen Privacy

John Anderson — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:20:53 GMT

“Isn’t it ironic that I’m having all these technical problems when I’m supposed to be talking about technology?” director Ondi Timoner asked a very patient (for awhile) Hot Docs audience Monday. Well, yeah, but it’s hardly the only irony that’s been on display here in Toronto.

Just as Hot Docs prepares to break its own attendance records, Canada’s federal George W. Bush impersonators have been cutting doc funding to the CBC, Telefilm and the National Film Board of Canada (prompting sit-ins in Montreal and filmmaker Kevin McMahon, in the National Post, to make a case for the documentary as Canada’s official art form. Maybe then it would get as much respect as, say, lacrosse). The NFB, at the same time, has been allowing its attention to be diverted toward transmedia projects, rather than traditional film, which is symptomatic of officialdom’s desperate-seeming effort to be hip.

Then there’s the likable Timoner, who’s won the top Sundance doc prize twice (for “Dig!” and “We Live In Public”) and was supposed to be delivering the Hot Docs keynote address to a just-about-packed house about the state of internet technology and its influence on doc-making. As advertised, Timoner would draw “on her research into how innovators in technology and business are permanently transforming our lives as well as her own experience as a content creator in this rapidly evolving landscape, to address what this means for the media industries.” In a talk titled “Total Disruption,” Timoner would address the “revolution taking place on millions of screens.”

To a crowd that had clearly come to hear some news they could use, the most trenchant observation coming for Timoner was that they all live in a time when they might as well forget about their rights as artists. “If you don’t give it away, it’s stolen anyway.”

Timoner is smart and talented, and like many who would presume to explain the current media landscape, a hustler; she can’t explain it, because at the moment it can’t be explained, even though some obvious and awful things are happening -- as was in fact explained the day before, with horrifying clarity, by one of those pieces of “old media” that everyone but audiences seems to want to run away from. How ironic.

“Terms and Conditions May Apply” is Cullen Hoback’s exploration of everything from the fine print on an iTunes user agreement to the National Security Agency’s surveillance of the American public (which Canadians shouldn’t feel too smug about). No one reads the fine print on all those seemingly boiler-plate forms that accompany virtually everything you want to use on-line; one of the better-known stories, repeated in “Terms” concerns the British firm GameStation and its inclusion of a clause in which users agreed to forfeit their immortal souls. Seven thousand souls were collected before the company took the clause out.

By the way, irony seekers: Here’s Hot Docs’ user agreement. “Terms and Conditions” will make anyone reconsider how they use the internet, post personal info on Facebook and otherwise expose themselves to government intrusion. The film includes real-life stories of people being stopped at Customs for tweets, and being visited by SWAT teams for frivolous Facebook posts. It makes the revolutionary suggestion that it may be too late for people to choose whether to give their privacy away on line. Because it might be stolen anyway.

Feel Good Jewel Thief Tale 'Doris Payne' Charms Hot Docs Audiences

Peter Knegt — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:04:50 GMT

One of the many world premieres that enjoyed a warm response from Hot Docs' opening weekend (here's our take on another), Kirk Marcolina and Matthew Pond's "The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne" tells the remarkable story of their titular subject -- a woman who went from a poor, single African-American mother from segregated 1950s America to becoming one of the world’s most notorious jewel thieves.

Doris Payne -- now 81 years old -- comes across as blissfully unapologetic and unusually inspirational in the film, which uses interviews with Payne and her friends and family as well as archival footage and recreations to tell her mind blowing tale. She was a black woman traveling around the world hobnobbing in circles in Monte Carlo and Paris in high end jewelry stores. She was convincing people she was one of their ilk when in the States she had to sit at the back of the bus. In some ways, she's very much a pioneer for civil rights.

"I think there are lessons to be learned from Doris," Pond told Indiewire this weekend. "There's a real joy that she has to her. And she lives in the moment. I think part of what enables her to do what she does is her fearlessness. If she gets caught and thrown in jail, she still maintains that joy. There's no deterrent for her because she has such an innate joy. Her happiness level is set to a high bar."

Pond -- making his feature film debut with the film (Marcolina previously directed 2006's doc "Camp Out" with Larry Grimaldi), went and visited Payne in an Orange County jail a little over 3 years ago after reading about her in the newspaper.

"I drove down to the jail and introduced myself," he said. "She was behind the glass. I had a phone, and she had a phone, and we just started talking. From there, we developed a relationship and I'd go visit her once a week. She was released a few months after that and then Kirk and I started filming shortly thereafter."

Pond said that the process that came after was easy in the sense that Payne very much likes the camera, but not so easy because she's, well, a jewel thief.

"Part of her MO is to deceive people," he said. "She lies, but she's charming and sweet at the same time. So there was a lot of push-pull, push-pull. She was very guarded at times with what she'd share with us."

"I think it was a case of mutual seduction," added Marcolina. "We wanted to make a documentary about this interesting character but at the same time she is proud of being a jewel thief. She feels that this her legacy and she's very proud of it. She wanted her story to be shared with the world. So she was seducing us because she had this great story and we were seducing her because we were providing an outlet for her to tell her story which she really wanted to get out there."

Marcolina said working with Payne was always a bit complex.

"I always think of her like an onion," he said. "You peel back another layer and you see another side of Doris. At times, we were charmed by her. At times, we wanted to pull our hair out. She could be very frustrating and hard to work with. But most of the time it was just fun to sit there and listen to her stories."

So what were some of Pond and Marcolina's favorite Doris tales?

"We were never entirely sure if what she was telling us was entirely truthful," Pond said. "But we got the FBI files from the Freedom of Information Request and they backed up so much of what she had said. She escaped at least four times from custody. She told us about two of them. Jumping off trains, forging her way out of jail... She's truly resourceful and outrageous and lives in the moment."

Marcolina added that they'd wrap the interview and think there was no way that story could be true.

"And low and behold, we get the FBI files and it's all true," he said. "You're never quite sure if she's telling the truth or not at any given time. She lives in a world where creating stories and playing roles. So when those FBI files came in and backed up so much of what she said I was just 'wow... she really is as good as she says she is."

"Or even better," Pond added. "She's a badass with a good heart."

Pond said he likes to think of "Doris Payne" as a "feel good crime story."

"There's no guns, there's no violence," he said. "She does take advantage of people but they are jewelry stores with insurance companies."

Marcolina said that was how Payne seemed to feel about it.

"She would always say she's not really hurting people," he said. "They have insurance and they are just going to get paid by the insurance company. They might make more money that way then selling this ring. In her mind, she didn't feel like she was doing any harm."

Judging from the intense applause at the end of the film's world premiere in Toronto, the audience so far seems to agree with Payne. You can see for yourself as the film continues what will surely be a healthy run on the festival circuit (and hopefully beyond).

Hot Docs Wrap: Canadian International Film Festival Celebrates 20th Anniversary, Winnows World's Best Docs

John Anderson — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 18:47:29 GMT

Like a lot of people, the Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival (official name) is "trying to figure out who we are," according to program director Charlotte Cook: In other, trying to figure out where they’re going to go, now that the fest has hit its 20th year -- a convenient moment to reassess, if not necessarily change your whole MO.

Which the festival certainly is not about to do. No, it’s not as intimate as it once was, back when it was confined to uptown – theater closings last year forced the festival into the less-than-intimate Scotia Bank multiplex that is less than beloved by Toronto Film Festival audiences. But while Amsterdam’s IDFA still reigns supreme in the doc world by virtue of size and coffee shops, Hot Docs is the go-to nonfiction fest in North America, by virtue of expansive programming and progressive intelligence. There are plenty of premieres, but good films are good films and if they’ve happened to play elsewhere they’re still welcome here. Hot Docs also provides showcases for films that will, by definition, winnow out the wussies: A tribute to cinematic mad scientist Peter Mettler this year includes his delirium inducing "Gambling, Gods and LSD" and a live performance with the group Biosphere (with Mettler sitting in on edit software). The "Made in Poland" section is simply a really good idea.

The doing-better-by-being-smarter approach, as antithetical as it may seem to the movie business at large, is behind Hot Docs policy re: live people. "A lot of festivals bring in celebrities to drive attendance," Cook said. "One of the things we’re doing is looking at the films, and bringing in speakers who make sense." Cook had to fly off – she wanted to watch Anita Hill ("Anita") do a Q&A. Others visiting Hot Docs include Romeo Dallaire ("Fight like Soldiers, Die Like Children"), the Canadian senator and former UN general who was thwarted in his efforts to halt the Rwandan genocide of 1993-94; and Richard Dawkins ("The Unbelievers"), evolutionary biologist, atheism-advocate and author of, most famously, the "The God Delusion."

"We’re not doing anything the filmmakers aren’t already giving us," Cook said.

Docs raise questions. And while they more commonly concern matters of politics, humanity and social progress, they also probe matters of filmmaking itself, notably in "The Expedition to the End of the World," Danish director Daniel Dencik’s tale, set aboard what looks to be an 18th-Century pirate’s galleon, and amid scientists and artists, to previously inaccessible, ice-packed fjords in Greenland. Counterpose the technology necessary to make such a beautiful movie, with the technology that lay behind the global warming that has now made the fjords accessible, and you have a tidy metaphor for misguided human.

But you also have a tension between the kind of real-world cinematography of "Expedition," which provides genuine thrills, and the CGI-generated imagery of so much studio product. When you know a director can do anything, it produces yawns. When you can’t figure out how the underwater shots were done, or are watching a glacier collapse in real time, it makes you wonder. And that’s what movies are supposed to do.

Riveting Strip Club-Set Family Saga 'The Manor' Opens Hot Docs In Style

Peter Knegt — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:20:00 GMT

After spending a decade as a film animator, Shawney Cohen got burnt out and decided it was time to take a break from his career to spend some time working at the family business. It just so happens that business was The Manor, a strip club located 40 miles west of Toronto, Canada.

"I reached a point in my early thirties where I was just kind of trying to figure out what to do," Cohen said. "But I always kind of avoided the strip club. It was part of my life, but I just reached a point where my parents were in their sixties and I didn't spend much time with my brother, so it seemed like a good idea to try working there. In retrospect, just jumping into that business was a bit naive because I had no experience. I thought it would be an easy gig, but it wasn't. It was tricky."

The first week Cohen worked there he tried to break up a fight in the champagne room and got pushed through a plate glass window.

"It occurred to me then that maybe this was a mistake," he said.

But Cohen persisted, and in the process decided to start taking out his camera and shooting ongoings at the club as well as his family and their relationship to the business and to each other.

"The first thing I shot was my father," Cohen said. "He was sitting in his office, 400 pounds, smoking a cigar and swearing in Hebrew. I had no intention at that point of making a documentary but I started filming him and he just jumped into the lens."

Slowly but surely, Cohen decided to start actively pursuing the idea of turning the footage into a film.

"I think once I built trust with my family and the employees at the club it got more serious," he said. "It's important to know that I didn't decide to make a film immediately."

Over three years of shooting (culminating in 200+ hours of footage) and 15 months in the editing room, "The Manor" came together. And last night it opened the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival -- the first debut film from a Canadian filmmaker to do so in the festival's 20 year history. And with good reason. "The Manor" is a fascinating, respectful depiction of a very dysfunctional family that will likely be a major highlight on this summer film festival circuit.

The film could have easily come across as exploitative or slight, but Cohen's focus on his family over the hijinks at the strip club allows "The Manor" to rise to the ranks of some of the best family portrait documentaries.

"The core of the film is really about my parents' relationship," Cohen said. "It wasn't until I began filming my mother that I knew that there was an important story here. She struggles with addictions and eating disorders and I felt that she rarely talked about it in public. She didn't talk about it with us. She was very private about it. The second I started filming her, it was amazing. She just opened up to the camera in a way I didn't expect. I thought that was important for her. She began to use the camera as a therapeutic tool to tell us how she felt about her life and her relationship with my father and the strip club. The film is really about their relationship and everything else -- the bar, my brother and I -- are just a dimension of that."

Cohen said his family grew to really trust his project and he felt a responsibility to make "The Manor" as honest a documentary as possible.

"There are a lot of films I watch that are very constructed," he explained. "Great films, but I felt the only way this would work is if we let the story arcs unfold naturally and be as truthful as possible."

That approach was helpful in many ways. When Cohen showed it to his parents for the first time, he was very nervous because he'd thought maybe he'd pushed the limits too much and the act of him filming could have caused damage to their relationship. Be he was wrong.

"Really, I think they appreciated the truthfulness of it," he said. "Right after the screening, my mother looked at my father and said 'Roger, that's exactly how you are' and then she laughed. It occurred to me then that I don't really understand my parents' relationship. It's funny to say that but I think some kids just don't understand that. And that's okay. Shortly after that they went on a trip to the Bahamas together. Despite all this dysfunction and verbal abuse and co-dependence and craziness, they persevere. And I find that amazing."

Despite already gaining considerable attention for "The Manor" (with surely much more to come), Cohen said he'll continue to work at the bar.

"I think people find that unusual, I don't find that unusual," he said. "I work Sundays and Mondays. But I am planning a new film. I want to think long and hard about what the perfect fit will be so I don't like to talk about it. When you work on a film for four or five years you want to make sure you commit to it. But I want to continue making documentaries for sure. I feel like filmmaking is in my blood."

FatLabs Composer Vikas Kohli Heads to Cannes and HotDocs (VIDEO)

Ryan Lattanzio — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:54:17 GMT

Indo-Canadian composer Vikas Kohli of FatLabs has two films gearing up for the festival circuit.

Kohli wrote the score for Samuel Kiehoon's short film "Rattan," an homage to B-movies in which a bicycle basket anthropomorphizes into a possessed murderer. He also composed the music for Michelle Latimer's Toronto-based rapper documentary "Alias." "Rattan," which already picked up an award at the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival earlier this year, will screen in the short film program at Cannes this year. "Alias" will have its world premiere at the Toronto film Festival Hot Docs this Friday, April 26.

"Writing the music for 'Rattan' was really fun because we wanted to pay homage to classic horror movies without actually making the music cheesy and over-the-top," said Kohli, who has previously scored a number of short films. "Scoring for 'Alias' was different than any other project I worked on. From the outset, director Michelle Latimer and I discussed how what I composed needed to be subtle, nuanced," he added.

FatLabs is a Canadian audio production studio. Watch the trailers for "Rattan" and "Alias" below.

Exclusive: See the Lengths People Will Go to Preserve Their Dead Pet's Memory in 'Furever' Trailer

Cameron Sinz — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:21:31 GMT

When Amy Finkel's post-mortem pet preservation documentary was first put Kickstarter two years ago, it managed to more than double its $5,000 donation goal and inspire quite a bit of interest in its covering of how we handle animal deaths in varying capacities. Now with the film complete and screenings at Toronto documentary film festival Hot Docs scheduled, Finkel's film has released a new trailer for the film (exclusive to Indiewire), reveling in the insane lengths we will go to to preserve a memory.

Citing our increasing emotional devotion to the animals in our lives, "Furever" follows various individuals attempt to grapple with the deaths of their lifelong pets, ranging from the tragic grieving process, to more "creative" methods, whether it be retaining their image in plaques, mummifying their remains, or resorting to taxidermy, with some treating it as if they never left.

The film is now on the festival circuit with many screenings still being added. Head to the film's website here for a complete list of upcoming screenings, and watch the trailer below.

Exclusive: 2 Powerful Scenes From Health Insurance Doc 'Remote Area Medical'; Premieres at Full Frame

Mark Lukenbill — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 21:08:06 GMT

Last year, filmmaker duo Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman (2010's election doc "Gerrymandering") made a three minute informational doc on Remote Area Medical, a free, three day pop up medical clinic in Tennessee that specializes in providing care to Americans without health insurance. You can see the short here, but ever since the two have been working on completing a full length version of the doc.

The feature, also titled "Remote Area Medical," aims to put a human face on what it means to not have health insurance. It will have its world premiere at Full Frame Film Festival, which runs from April 4th to 7th in Durham, North Carolina. It'll then move over to Hot Docs, the Canadian International Film Festival, from April 25th to May 5th. The moving doc boasts a score from longtime David Gordon Green collaborator David Wingo and was cut by Spike Lee's go to doc editor Sam Pollard. You can check out two exclusive scenes from the film below.

Hot Docs Sets Full Lineup For 20th Anniversary Fest

Peter Knegt — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:34:44 GMT

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival has announced the full film line-up for its 20th edition -- running April 25 to May 5 in Toronto, Canada -- at a press conference yesterday at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. From 2,386 film submissions, this year’s slate will present a whopping 205 titles from 43 countries in 11 screening programs.

"This year’s festival is about looking back and celebrating our 20th anniversary, and also looking forward,” said Hot Docs director of programming Charlotte Cook. “This year we are celebrating, big ideas, innovation and the future. We will have many new and exciting experiences at the festival to give back to the local, and filmmaking, community that have supported us for two decades. This festival is for them."

The festival will open with the world premiere of Shawney Cohen’s "The Manor," a first-time filmmaker’s intimate tragi-comic family portrait. Cohen was a strip club manager before taking on the film. As described by Hot Docs: "When he was six years old his father bought 'The Manor,' a strip club attached to a seedy 32-room motel in Guelph, Ontario. Years later, his father has seen his weight balloon to 400 pounds, while his mother struggles to survive at 85 pounds. Hoping to understand what happened to his once-recognizable family, Shawney spends three years filming in a shadowy world of sex, drugs and family feuds. His role as filmmaker and son provides an astonishingly intimate and rarely seen perspective on a family facing the consequences of their livelihood, dependence and love."

“I could not be more thrilled that we are opening the Festival with 'The Manor,'” said Cook. “This is an incredible story and a stunning film. To be able to open the Festival with a film by a new talent in Canadian filmmaking, Shawney Cohen, is a real joy.”

Other films in the program include: Gus Holwerda’s "The Unbelievers," which follows renowned scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss advancing the importance of science and reason; AJ Schnack’s "Caucus," a behind-the-scenes look at the 2012 Iowa Caucus; Malcom Ingram’s "Continental," a stylish portrait of the legendary NYC gay bathhouse; Lucy Walker’s "The Crash Reel," a high adrenaline look at snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s fighting for his life; Penny Lane’s "Our Nixon," a revealing look at one of the most controversial presidencies in US history; Marta Cunningham’s "Valentine Road," depicting a heartbreaking tragedy in which at an eighth-grader fatally shoots his LGBTQ classmate; and Raoul Peck’s "Fatal Assistance," a portrayal of the failure and corruption behind international aid post-disaster.

In the competitive Canadian Spectrum program, notable films include (with descriptions provided by the festival): Michelle Latimer’s "Alias," which illuminates the lives, music, and dreams of five rapper’s in Toronto’s street hip-hop scene; John Kastner’s "NCR: Not Criminally Responsible," a compassionate portrayal of the dilemma between the rights of the mentally ill and the safety of others; Charles Wilkinson’s "Oil Sands Karaoke," the story of oil sands workers easing their loneliness at their local karaoke bar; Hans Olson’s "The Auctioneer," a charming portrayal of a man helping his rural Alberta neighbours deal with a transforming culture; Anne Wheeler’s "Chi," following actress Babz Chula’s journey to India in hopes of finding a cure for her cancer; Liz Marshall’s "The Ghosts in Our Machine," which captures the sentience of animals through stunning images; and Nimisha Mukerji’s "Blood Relative," the story of a man’s fight to obtain life-saving medical treatment for young people in India.

In the competitive International Spectrum program, notable films include (with descriptions provided by the festival): Lotfy Nathan’s "12 O'Clock Boys," the story of a young boy longing to join a notorious dirt-bike gang; Matt Wolf’s "Teenage," a look at the rise of teenage culture; Inigo Westmeier’s "Dragon Girls," a glimpse at the young female warriors-in-training at an ancient Shaolin Kung Fu school outside Beijing; Jessica Oreck’s "Aatsinki: The Story of Arctic Cowboys," a wholly absorbing portrait of reindeer herders in Lapland; Jon Bang Carlsen’s "Just The Right Amount of Violence", the story of troubled teens ripped from their beds by intervention specialists and involuntarily placed in reform school; Zhu Yu’s "Cloudy Mountains," which follows a father and son working in the toxic cloudy mountains of Western China; and Ran Tal’s "Garden of Eden," a look the revealing interaction between a diverse group of vacationers in an Israeli national park.

The festival will also present two retrospective programs: Focus On Peter Mettler, a mid-career retrospective of the filmmaker’s work; and the Outstanding Achievement Award Retrospective, honouring the influential work of masterful filmmaker Les Blank. They also announced the launch of the Scotiabank Big Ideas Series, a new speaker series featuring some of the high-profile subjects appearing in this year’s films. The inaugural series will present best-selling authors evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, the Honourable LGen Roméo Dallaire, and Prof. Anita Hill.

“Hot Docs’ audiences have always embraced the idea that great documentaries should be a starting point for great conversations,” says managing director Brett Hendrie. “With the launch of this year’s Scotiabank Big Ideas series, we are showcasing three of the most compelling films in the Festival in a way that provides Toronto audiences a special opportunity to hear from leading thinkers who are shaping our shared dialogue on important social, scientific and cultural topics. We expect lively and thought-provoking conversations that hold true to the Festival’s motto of being outspoken and outstanding.”

For information on the Big Ideas series, and a list of all of the 205 films heading to Hot Docs, click here.

Hot Docs Sets 28 Films For 2013 Edition

Peter Knegt — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:51:46 GMT

Toronto's Hot Docs has announced 28 documentary features that will be a part of this year’s Special Presentations program, a "collection of world and international premieres, award-winners from the recent international festival circuit, and works by master filmmakers, and featuring some star subjects."

These films will screen as part of the 2013 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, running April 25 to May 5 (Indiewire will be on the scene).

“We are thrilled to be announcing this year's Special Presentation films,” said Hot Docs director of programming Charlotte Cook in a statement. “We are especially proud to be announcing three fantastic world premieres: 'Caucus' is AJ Schnack's intimate and fascinating behind the scenes look at the Republican candidates of the Iowa caucus, 'Prepare For The Worst' is Barry Avrich's portrait of comedy icon David Steinberg, and Gus Holwerda's 'The Unbelivers,' which follows renowned scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss as they spread the message of the importance of science and the power of reason.”

The Special Presentations program will present a special 20th Anniversary screening of "The War Room," with filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus in attendance.

“We are also extremely proud to be screening D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus' 'The War Room' in partnership with the Cinema Eye Honors, at which it was awarded this year's Legacy Award,” says Cook. “Being able to screen The War Room is especially meaningful for us as the film shares its birthday with Hot Docs and will also be celebrating its 20th anniversary. In addition, this year D.A. Pennebaker was the first documentarian to receive an Honorary Academy Award, so we hope you can join us to celebrate the numerous achievements and milestones that this film represents.”

Special Presentation titles appears below, ordered alphabetically. The full selection of films to screen at Hot Docs 2013 will be announced on March 19, including the 2013 opening night film.

AFTER TILLER
D: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson | USA | 2013 | 88 min | International Premiere
Personal struggles, compassion and moments of deeply rooted self-doubt reveal a deeply human portrait of the only four remaining doctors willing to provide third-trimester abortions in the U.S.A.

ANITA
D: Freida Mock | USA | 2013 | 84 min | International Premiere
In 1991, Anita Hill's powerful testimony against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas brought sexual harassment into America's national spotlight. For the first time on film, she speaks about the testimony that shaped her life.

BLOOD BROTHER
D: Steve Hoover | United States | 2012 | 93 min | Canadian Premiere
Surprised by his friend's sudden move to India to care for HIV-positive orphans, the director follows on what he suspects is a self-centered journey of self-discovery, only to find both their lives forever changed in this Sundance award-winner.

CAUCUS
D: AJ Schnack | United States | 2013 | 109 min | World Premiere
Republican leadership hopefuls compete at the 2012 Iowa Caucus amidst a battlefield of county fairs and petting zoos. This is a different behind-the-scenes look at politics, offering remarkable access to candidates and a very unlikely underdog story.

CONTINENTAL
D: Malcolm Ingram | United States, Canada | 2013 | 95 min | Canadian Premiere
Continental is a stylish portrait of the legendary NYC gay bathhouse that became a force for a sexual revolution, where Bette Midler honed her chops and straight celebs rubbed shoulders with hunky men in towels.

THE CRASH REEL
D: Lucy Walker | USA | 2013 | 100 min | Canadian Premiere
At the height of his career, just days away from the Olympics, championship snowboarder Kevin Pearce was left fighting for his life after a major brain trauma. The Crash Reel is a high adrenaline film about discovering what's most important.

FATAL ASSISTANCE
D: Raoul Peck | France, Haiti, United States, Belgium | 2013 | 100 min | North American Premiere
The director, Haiti's former minister of culture, reveals international aid to be a resounding failure rife with organizational ineptitude, broken promises and hidden agendas in this eye-opening condemnation post-disaster naiveté.

FIGHT LIKE SOLDIERS DIE LIKE CHILDREN
D: Patrick Reed | Canada | 2012 | 83 min | Canadian Premiere
When you've been to hell and back, how do you shake the memories? Celebrated author and humanitarian LGeneral (ret'd) Roméo Dallaire travels to four African countries on a new mission: to end the use of child soldiers.

GIDEON'S ARMY
D: Dawn Porter | USA | 2013 | 96 min | International Premiere
In this study of exceptional grace under extreme pressure, a trio of public defenders makes considerable personal sacrifices to shield their indigent clients from the full weight of the judicial system.

GOD LOVES UGANDA
D: Roger Ross Williams | United States | 2013 | 83 min | Canadian Premiere
Uganda has become a battleground between human rights groups and the American Evangelical movement, which uses money and fabrications to promote anti-homosexuality laws, many of which carry mandatory death sentences and create a modern theocracy.

HIGH FIVE: A SUBURBAN ADOPTION SAGA
D: Julia Ivanova | Canada | 2012 | 95 min | Toronto Premiere
A suburban Canadian couple travel to Ukraine to adopt five siblings, ages 6-16. The successful adoption, however, is just the beginning of a four-year odyssey to create a family.

LET THE FIRE BURN
D: Jason Osder | United States | 2013 | 93 min | International Premiere
Why did Philadelphia police bomb a row house occupied by radical group "MOVE" in 1985? What caused authorities to stand idly by for over an hour before fighting the blaze? Using archival material, this film investigates the ultimately tragic conflict.

THE MACHINE WHICH MAKES EVERYTHING DISAPPEAR
D: Tinatin Gurchiani | Georgia, Germany | 2012 | 97 min | Canadian Premiere
In her home country of Georgia, the director organizes a casting call. Collecting a series of "auditions," she captures extraordinary stories about war, love, dreams and poverty through the eyes of modern-day Georgian youth.

MUSCLE SHOALS
D: Greg 'Freddy' Camalier | USA | 2013 | 111 min | International Premiere
Mick Jagger, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Gregg Altman, Bono and more share how the tiny backwater town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, made them stars in one of the greatest untold American music stories.

NARCO CULTURA
D: Shaul Schwarz | USA | 2012 | 103 min | Canadian Premiere
With the rise of Mexican drug wars has come a musical culture that glamorizes the violence and those who perpetrate it. Following a new kind of superstar, Narco Cultura delves into the tragic and disturbingly glorified conflict.

OUR NIXON
D: Penny Lane | United States | 2013 | 85 min | Canadian Premiere
500 reels of long-forgotten super 8 footage unwittingly recorded by three of Richard Nixon's most trusted associates form the raw material for this revealing behind-the-scenes look at one of the most controversial presidencies in U.S. history.

PREPARE FOR THE WORST: THE DAVID STEINBERG STORY
D: Barry Avrich | Canada | 2013 | 80 min | World Premiere
Second only to Bob Hope for guest appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, David Steinberg influenced a generation of comedians from John Belushi to Larry David-not bad for a Jewish kid from Winnipeg.

PUSSY RIOT – A PUNK PRAYER
D: Maxim Pozdorovkin, Mike Lerner | United Kingdom | 2012 | 86 min | Canadian Premiere
This candid look at Pussy Riot unmasks the brains behind the balaclavas of the next wave of Russian revolutionaries, and shows how one act of protest led to a show trial that captured the world's attention.

REMOTE AREA MEDICAL
D: Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman | USA |2013 | 79 min | International Premiere
Hundreds wait in line for days, hoping for a chance at free basic eye, dental and medical care. This is not Haiti or Darfur, but less than 100 miles from Knoxville, Tennessee, in the heart of the U.S.A.

RENT A FAMILY INC.
D: Kaspar Astrup Schroder | Denmark | 2012 | 77 min | North American Premiere
I Want To Cheer You Up Ltd. is a one-man operation in Japan. He offers stand-in family members for business or social engagements to those who have secrets, while hiding his own from his family.

SALMA
D: Kim Longinotto | United Kingdom/India | 2013 | 89 min | Canadian Premiere
Locked in her home for 25 years, a Tamil woman achieves overnight success for a book of poetry illuminating the struggle for independence in a repressive village. Salma exemplifies the perilousness and the necessity of non-conformity.

THE UNBELIEVERS
D: Gus Holwerda | United States | 2013 | 76 min | World Premiere
With their (r)evolutionary creed "believe in science, not God," renowned scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss court controversy, enraging as many as they enlighten. Witness them crusade to replace religion and politics with a far more powerful idea: reason.

VALENTINE ROAD
D: Marta Cunningham | United States | 2013 | 87 min | Canadian Premiere
In 2008, an eighth-grader shot and killed his openly gay classmate at point blank range for asking him to be his Valentine. This heartbreaking film explores the tragedy and the shocking aftermath.

THE WAR ROOM
D: Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker | USA | 1993 | 96 min | Special 20th Anniversary Screening
One of the greatest political documentaries of all time, and winner of this year's Cinema Eye Legacy Award, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus' THE WAR ROOM celebrates its 20th anniversary with Hot Docs. The filmmakers will be in attendance for this special screening.

THESE BIRDS WALK
D: Bassam Tariq, Omar Mullick | USA | 2012 | 77 min | Canadian Premiere
The Edhi children's shelter is a rare safe haven for Karachi's runaways. Over three years, its cranky founder, a spirited child, and a gold-hearted ambulance driver are filmed, creating a tender portrait of where a city's most vulnerable and dedicated souls meet.

WHICH WAY IS THE FRONT LINE FROM HERE? THE LIFE AND TIME OF TIM HETHERINGTON
D: Sebastian Junger | United States | 2013 | 78 min | Canadian premiere
In April 2011, filmmaker and photographer Tim Hetherington was killed covering the Libyan civil war. In an intimate portrait by those closest to him, he's revealed to be as much a humanitarian as he was an artist.

WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL?
D: Marc Silver, Marc Silver | UK, Mexico | 2013 | 80 min | Canadian Premiere
Arizona's desert claims another migrant's life. With only the tattoo "Dayani Cristal" as a clue, a search begins across the continent to discover his identity and the people he may have left behind. With Gael García Bernal.

WRONG TIME WRONG PLACE
D: John Appel | Netherlands | 2012 | 80 min | Canadian Premiere
The young survivors of the 2011 Norway attacks recall the tragic events and the role that chance played in placing them in harm's way, but also in their ultimate survival.

Hot Docs Review: 'Detropia' A Beautiful & Affecting Portrait Of A City In Decline

Samantha Chater — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:57:00 GMT

"Detropia" is more than just a portrait of a city. The latest film from "Jesus Camp" filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady is ultimately a moving and powerful micro-portrait of a hurting nation.

Detroit, a city built on the manufacturing boom, largely of the Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors companies -- hence the nickname of “Motor City" -- is emblematic of both America’s success and the failures that have caused its slow and steady decline. Ewing and Grady harness what is powerful about the documentary film medium what is largely absent from news reports and op-eds -- the ability to create an empathetiic connection. Not that the film is a solution to America’s problems, but it is an eloquent and powerful awareness-builder.

The opening scene, the demolition of an abandoned house covered by a local TV news crew, informs us it's one of many, and it sets the tone of decay and destruction the film carries. In short, this is Detroit today. The rest of the film is comprised of various personal stories of local Detroit residents, young and old, who have remained in the city, despite half its population fleeing. From a local blogger/waitress who explores the fascinating abandoned and decaying buildings around town, to a United Auto Workers chapter head trying to deal with an unfeeling auto industry who’ve found greener pastures in Mexico, to a a retired teacher turned blues bar owner trying to make ends meet, to a couple of young installation artists who've relocated from Hawaii, among others. The latter couple are one of the too-brief but bright spots in "Detropia," people who are actively moving to Detroit to take advantage of the lowered cost of living. The apparent influx of young people into the city is one of the interesting counterpoints to the doom and gloom of all the decay.

All too many of the residents realise that globalization and international competition is one of the main reasons behind Detroit's downfall. One of the most candid, yet beautifully captured, moments is of a group of young people tearing down an abandoned house for scrap metal to sell. They are all too aware of the irony of their task, ripping apart Detroit’s ruined buildings for dollars per pound of scrap to export to China, who will then sell it back to the USA as something new.

Though the overall tone of the film is sombre, there is also a sense of ragged hope from many of the residents. The filmmakers also sit in on town meetings, where Mayor David Bing's plan to “downsize” or condense Detroit to better serve the remaining constituents is met with both outrage and proclamations of civic pride by the opponents of the proposal, who wish to maintain the integrity of the city they’ve lived in for so long. Also examined is the local opera company, another source of local pride, that has survived so far from auto industry patronage, but is now threatened with closure. The opera’s board has an engaging fighting spirit and determination to survive.

There is an eerie and majestic beauty to this once great city, which is captured in gorgeous HD between stories. In a candid moment, some Swiss tourists who happen upon a cafe comment on the novelty of the ageing and rundown look of the city, compared to the stark “newness” of Switzerland. However, notably absent is much talk of the city's high crime rate, though unemployment is more thoroughly explored. But as gritty as "Detropia" is, it’s not investigative journalism -- the film presents only a few facts and statistics, and it has no overarching narrative or narration to make the connection between the various personal stories, but instead, it allows the viewer to contemplate the subjective meaning behind what they are seeing.

A lyrical snapshot of a city on the brink, as well as a nation, "Detropia" is not only beautiful in form, but also a vital and affecting work, that hits close to home. [A-]

'Chasing Ice' and 'The Imposter' Take People's Choice and Filmmakers Awards at Hot Docs

Devin Lee Fuller — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:28:06 GMT

The votes have been tallied and now Hot Docs has announced the final winners at this year's festival. Jeff Orlowski's "Chasing Ice" took the People's Choice Award and Bart Layton's "The Imposter" won the Filmmakers Award.

"Chasing Ice" follows "National Geographic" photographer James Balog as he documents the world's changing glaciers, while "The Imposter" explores the mysterious return of a child three and a half year's after he was kidnapped.

This year's festival is reported as the largest edition ever with an estimated audience of 165,000 over 11 days.

"In these challenging times for Canadian doc-makers, our audience numbers have broken all previous records,” say Chris McDonald, Hot Docs executive director. “This country has a global reputation for outstanding documentary filmmaking, and Toronto audiences are quite possibly the best in the world. We need to support our filmmakers and their contributions to Canadian culture as best we can. As was so eloquently argued by director Kevin McMahon this weekend, documentary should be Canada’s national art form.”

Full press release below:

HOT DOCS’ LARGEST FESTIVAL EVER SEES AUDIENCES OF 165,000
CHASING ICE NAMED PEOPLE’S CHOICE AND THE IMPOSTER TAKES FILMMAKERS AWARD

Toronto, May 7, 2012 – Hot Docs has wrapped its most successful Festival to date with audience numbers reaching an estimated 165,000. The 11-day event featured 395 public screenings of 189 films on 14 screens across Toronto, an internationally renowned conference and market for documentary professionals, and Docs for Schools, a phenomenally popular education program for youth. New this year, Hot Docs partnered with Cineplex Entertainment to simulcast the Canadian premieres of two Canadian documentary films to 37 cinemas across the country. A total of 143 screenings went rush, and the box office saw a ten per cent increase in revenue. The Festival welcomed nearly 200 filmmakers and special guest subjects from across Canada and around the world to present their films and take part in special post-screening Q&A sessions with audiences. Official film selections were chosen from a total of 2085 films submitted to the Festival.

"In these challenging times for Canadian doc-makers, our audience numbers have broken all previous records,” say Chris McDonald, Hot Docs executive director. “This country has a global reputation for outstanding documentary filmmaking, and Toronto audiences are quite possibly the best in the world. We need to support our filmmakers and their contributions to Canadian culture as best we can. As was so eloquently argued by director Kevin McMahon this weekend, documentary should be Canada’s national art form.”

After the final screening yesterday, audience votes were tallied for the People's Choice Award. The winner is CHASING ICE (D: Jeff Orlowski, USA), which follows renowned National Geographic photographer James Balog on a harsh Arctic expedition where he captures a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers. New this year, a cash prize for the People’s Choice Award winner was crowd-funded from audiences through Hot Docs’ Doc Ignite (www.hotdocs.ca/docignite) platform. Currently in excess of $4000, the public can further contribute to this cash prize until Monday, May 14.

The top ten audience favourites as determined by audience vote are:

1.         CHASING ICE (D: Jeff Orlowski, USA)
2.         BIG BOYS GONES BANANAS!* (D: Fredrik Gertten, Sweden)
3.         G-DOG (D: Freida Mock, USA)
4.         WE ARE WISCONSIN (D: Amie Williams, USA)
5.         LIFE IN STILLS (D: Tamar Tal, Israel)
6.         BROOKLYN CASTLE (D: Katie Dellamaggiore, USA)
7.         5 BROKEN CAMERAS (D: Guy Davidi, Emad Burnat; France, Israel, Palestine)
8.         JASON BECKER, NOT DEAD YET (D: Jessie Vile, UK)
9.         CALL ME KUCHU (D:Malika Zouhali-Worrall, Katherine Fairfax Wright; USA)
10.       THE WORLD BEFORE HER (D: Nisha Pahuja; Canada, Germany, USA, UK)

Also during this year's Hot Docs Festival, attending filmmakers with official selections in the Festival were invited to vote for their favourite film. The winner of the 2012 Filmmakers Award is THE IMPOSTER (D: Bart Layton, UK).

A full week of industry programming entitled Doc to the Future was attended by 2279 delegates from around the world. Hot Docs mounted a roster of four workshops, 10 conference sessions, 20 networking and market events, three Kickstart panels for emerging filmmakers, 12 micro meetings, the Doc Summit, International Co-Production Day, and the Hot Docs Awards Presentation. The Hot Docs Forum, Hot Docs' key international co-financing market event, saw two days of brisk pitching, networking and deal-making. In total, 25 projects representing 14 countries were presented to a panel of over 170 key commissioning editors and funders. Hot Docs also hosted six official delegations from China, Germany, Israel, the Nordic region, South Africa, and the UK.

Doc for Schools, Hot Docs' education program that runs during the Festival and offers free in-theatre and in-school screenings of select Festival films, reached a record number of students in 2012. Close to 73,000 students participated in the program, including schools in Toronto and throughout Ontario.

First-Time Directing Duo Talk Ugandan LGBT Rights Doc 'Call Me Kuchu'

Peter Knegt — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:27:51 GMT

Malika Zouhali-Worrall and Katherine Fairfax Wright's Ugandan LGBT rights doc "Call Me Kuchu" has been met with considerable accolades in its short span on the festival circuit.

Upon its world premiere at the Berlinale, the film won the Teddy Award for best LGBT documentary. Then last week, it made its North American debut at Hot Docs and ended up winning the prize for best international feature. Sure to be a staple on the film festival circuit for the next few months, the film takes on a pivotal international human rights issue: LGBT rights in Africa.

Specifically focused around LGBT people and activists in Uganda, "Call Me Kuchu" (gay and transgendered citizens are called "kuchus") centers around the life and tragic death of David Kato, a veteran activist who spent years fighting against his country’s insanely homophobic society. Among other terrifying things, an anti-homosexuality bill proposing death for HIV-positive gay men is introduced and Kato is one of the few brave enough to try and stop it. Unfortunately, after courageously changing the face of LGBT rights in the country, Kato was brutually murdered early last year.

Indiewire caught up with Zouhali-Worral and Fairfax Wright ahead of their Hot Docs premiere. Canonizing Kato's life and shedding light on the remarkable efforts of people like him, their first film as feature directors is a powerful and important one that should not be missed.

How did each of you get into filmmaking?

Katherine Fairfax Wright: In college, I studied anthropology and film, so for me documentary is a natural intersection of the two. I was the type of student who was really keen to think about a lot of things from a lot of angles, but perhaps not to the degree that would require one to hyper-focus on a single discipline or vocational niche. So filmmaking allows to me to pursue my myriad interests concurrently, to consider complex geo-political issues, questions of logic and of humanity, but with a creative mindset and output. A character-driven documentary such as "Call Me Kuchu" also enables me to explore a situation on a nuanced individual level from the point of view of a select few, but then to share that intimacy on a macro level with countless viewers and points of view—and I find that a really fascinating dynamic to take part in.

In terms of developing a skill set, my undergraduate studies were mostly film theory not practice, so as a supplement to that I began interning on a couple of film productions, then associate producing, then producing, set photography, and various other roles. But this is my first film in this capacity—as co-director, director of photography, and editor.

Malika Zouhali-Worrall: Before "Call Me Kuchu," I was working as a print and video journalist, reporting from the U.S., China and India for CNN.com and other publications. After a couple of years of freelancing, I started to feel creatively stifled by short-form journalism and having worked for a couple of production companies as a documentary researcher, I soon realized that the intimate, creative and in-depth nature of storytelling in documentary film was what I was yearning for. That was around the same time that I first heard about Victor Mukasa, a Ugandan transgender man who, in 2008, had won a landmark case against the country’s Attorney General in Uganda’s High Court. It was too late to make a film about Victor’s case alone, but it seemed that there was still a film to be made about the East African LGBT community, so I started speaking with activists in the region, and shared my research with Katy, who had also been closely following the situation there. From there we decided to make a film.

What was the genesis of "Call Me Kuchu" as a project? What drew you to the material?

Katherine Fairfax Wright: We had both read about the tabling of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in October 2009, and we were increasingly disturbed by its implications. But Victor Mukasa’s case had also intrigued us, because it showed that while the country’s sodomy laws were still routinely enforced, and even harsher laws were being considered, the country’s judicial system was independent enough to allow LGBT people, or “kuchus,” to reclaim their constitutional rights. We also soon learned that there was an increasingly organized LGBT community in Uganda that was fighting state-sanctioned homophobia through the courts and other means. Within just a couple of weeks, we found ourselves on a plane bound for Kampala.

Malika Zouhali-Worrall: David was the first person we met up with after we arrived in Uganda. We had to find him in the restaurant of a specific hotel -- the only place he felt safe in the city center. He reeled off names and numbers and introduced us to various people in the kuchu community, so initially he was somewhat of a fixer to us. But as we spent more time with him, we were increasingly intrigued by his fierce intelligence and passion, and realized that he was one of the most outspoken activists in the community. It soon became clear that he was the protagonist of "Call Me Kuchu."

What do you hope people take from it?

Malika Zouhali-Worrall: "Call Me Kuchu" tells the story of the last year in the life of David Kato, Uganda’s first openly gay man, up until his brutal murder in early 2011. We followed David over the course of a year as he worked to combat both an Anti-Homosexuality Bill that proposed a death penalty for gay men, and a gay-bashing tabloid newspaper that was outing members of the LGBT community with vicious fervor.

Of course, David’s brutal murder changed our motivations for working on the film to some extent. While we had always been keen to get the story of Kampala’s kuchus out into the world, that sentiment became far more urgent and personal when David died. We had essentially documented the entire last year of his life, and since his life was cut short, we had been filming during a time when he was at the pinnacle of his activism, when his philosophies and oration were most concrete and well-formulated, and when his voice and understanding of the complexity of the scenario was strongest. Therefore, both of us felt the responsibility to honor his life by making the best film we could, and ensuring that it has as broad of a reach as possible.

Katherine Fairfax Wright: Since his murder, David has been mythologized as a courageous and passionate human rights activist -- which is exactly what he was. However, over the time that we spent filming with him, we also got to know a man who was charismatic yet vulnerable, sharp witted, and often afraid to sleep alone. As is true of the heroes of any movement, some of these character and situational subtleties have been overshadowed by the broad strokes of his accomplishments. Our hope is that "Call Me Kuchu," as a long-format character study, will help supplement the canonized David Kato, and ensure that people understand that he was a normal man who went to astounding lengths to liberate Uganda’s LGBT community.

We also hope our audiences will take away a fresh understanding of Kampala’s kuchus and what they’ve achieved as a community. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill has received plenty of coverage from the international news media, however, in most cases the dominant narrative is that of victimization. While the LGBT community certainly suffers under Uganda’s harsh state-sanctioned homophobia, many of the kuchus we met were not only victims. David and his fellow activists worked hard to change their own fate through every means possible: the Ugandan courts, the United Nations, the international news media. There is a reason why everyone is talking about this issue, and it’s because the kuchus have worked relentlessly to push their movement forward. As a result, "Call Me Kuchu" is a nuanced story of empowerment as much as of persecution.

The access you got for the film is quite remarkable? How did you manage that?

Malika Zouhali-Worrall: As we said, David was among the first people we were in contact with when we started researching the film in 2009, and it was he who introduced us to the kuchu community, a gesture that proved to be a crucial step towards gaining the community’s trust. From there, we took careful measures to approach everyone respectfully, and explained exactly what we were trying to do. We also tried to make clear to them that we wanted to document their stories well beyond the sound bites they were accustomed to providing to journalists. We really had to convince them we were in it for the long run, that we wanted to be around for hours on end as they moved house, had meetings, watched TV, ate dinner, etc. There were definitely people who chose not to be filmed, and we respected their wishes of course. But those who decided to let us into their lives did so because they wanted to be involved in a project that would get their stories out, and we were surprised at the intimacy that engendered. In many cases, it seemed that those members of the LGBT community were looking for an outlet through which to share their individual experiences.

What were some other challenges? This must have been an emotionally stirring process, to say the least.

Katherine Fairfax Wright: Most definitely, and by far the hardest moments for us were in the weeks immediately after David was killed. One of the most difficult moments to film came when we visited David’s mother with Naome, David’s close friend and fellow activist, and Bishop Senyonjo, a retired bishop and staunch supporter of the LGBT community. We had spent time with David’s mother before so she was comfortable with us filming, but it was nonetheless a very tough experience. The pain of her loss was so raw, and our memories of David so fresh, that we were both sobbing as we tried to operate the cameras and sound equipment. It was moments like these that forced us more than ever to ask ourselves what exactly we wanted to achieve with the film and how we should go about it.

What do you think is the legacy of David's story? Where do you think the narrative regarding LGBT rights in Uganda is heading?

Malika Zouhali-Worrall: The power of David’s story lies in his relentless dedication to inculcate LGBT rights into the status quo in Uganda, and to change the situation for the kuchu community. He was willing to do interviews with Ugandan television when few others dared, to approach politicians who had made their views clear, and to file lawsuits against powerful gay-bashing newspapers in Uganda’s High Court. His legacy does live on: in fact, his memory has galvanized Kampala’s kuchus to redouble their efforts to repeal Uganda’s sodomy laws. In August last year, five months after David’s murder, the LGBT community launched the “Hate No More” campaign to educate the Ugandan population on LGBT rights. At the press conference, members of the LGBT community openly addressed the audience and the news media to describe the persecution they have suffered.

But as the LGBT activist community becomes stronger and more visible, so too do its opponents. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill that failed to pass last year, in part because of David’s work, has now been retabled in Uganda’s Parliament, and just a few weeks ago, the Minister of Ethics and Integrity shut down an LGBT activist meeting in Kampala. Needless to say, it’s still a very unstable time in Uganda for the kuchu community.

Hot Docs Review: 'Bones Brigade' Another Winning Look At Skateboarding Culture From Stacy Peralta

Samantha Chater — Sun, 06 May 2012 15:10:05 GMT

Most people don't have enough happen in their life to make one documentary, but it turns out Stacy Peralta has enough to make at least two. Eleven years after he delved into his own adolescent history with “Dogtown And Z-Boys,” Peralta has made another skateboarding doc about the next phase of his career after the Z-boys. When Peralta founded his skateboard company Powell Peralta in the late '70s, he brought together a bunch of unknown amateur skaters, cherry picked from around the USA -- including Steve Caballero, Tommy Guerrero, Tony Hawk, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain and Rodney Mullen, among others -- and created a skate team called the Bones Brigade. In case you know less about skating than me, these guys pretty much all grew up to be the top competitors of the 1980s, and went on to inspire and shape the next generation of skaters and their culture -- in short, they are skate legends.

Instead of the usual cautionary tales of too-much too-young burnouts that so many skateboarding docs end up telling, “Bones Brigade” instead follows the ultimate success story for Peralta and his kids. The Bones Brigade team did it all, from inventing revolutionary skate tricks to becoming skate video superstars and helping reinvigorate the sport when it seemed like another fad that might die away.

Not that it's all sunshine and roses the whole time, as they all seem to have suffered from some inner turmoil that comes with a lot of success, combined with coming of age. It's pretty sweet to see these grown-up kids talk about their teenage insecurities, family problems, responsibilities and how they all dealt with the fame and success. For the Bones Brigade team, it seems that Lance Mountain, Rodney Mullen and Tony Hawk got a little more than the others, and as such they come off as some of the more screen-time worthy characters. Mountain struggled to come to terms with his own lack of ability as a skater amongst all these obviously gifted athletes, as well as his responsibilities as a young father. Mullen, on the other hand, grew up with his own difficult controlling father as well as a more withdrawn, introspective personality, and Hawk had a rivalry with fellow pro skater and former Bones Brigade member Christian Hosoi. One of the most interesting parts of the documentary is again Hawk and Mullen, the two that won the most competitions, talking about the pressures and the hollowness of competing and how they both managed to reignite their passion for the sport after burning out on competing.

With “Bones Brigade,” Peralta has managed to make a skateboarding documentary that while still being rambunctious is also at times more contemplative, often purely by nature of his now middle-aged interview subjects. Though this is clearly a personal project, Peralta does a great job at being relatively even handed with the ups and downs, and there are some hilarious quotes from Duane Peters and Tony Alva talking about the Bones Brigade squeaky clean image. Peralta also uses personal connection to his advantage by coaxing honest, insightful and often emotionally charged interviews out of some of his more difficult interview subjects.

One thing that has stood out in all of Peralta's films is his ability to mix old footage with new, with a fun rhythmic editing style and a stellar soundtrack. "Bones Brigade" is no exception, as Peralta makes particularly good use of the early skate videos of the Bones Bridgade, like “Future Primitive” and “The Search for Animal Chin” with a bunch of garage punk tracks thrown in to evoke a previously dormant (at least in me) sense of '80s nostalgia.

“Bones Brigade” is sure to be adored by skateboarding enthusiasts, and though it doesn't quite measure up to "Dogtown And Z-Boys," it's still a fun and interesting film for anyone interested in pop culture, skateboarding fan or no. [B+]

'World Before Her,' 'Call Me Kuchu' Lead Hot Docs Winners

Peter Knegt — Sat, 05 May 2012 14:31:59 GMT

Hot Docs has announced the winners of the festival's 2012 awards, with Nisha Pahuja's "The World Before Her" and Malika Zouhali-Worrall and Katherine Fairfax Wright's "Call Me Kuchu" taking top prizes in the Canadian and international categories, respectively.

The ceremony took place at the Windsor Arms Hotel in Toronto last night. Ten awards and $71,000 in cash prizes were presented to filmmakers.

The award for Best Canadian Feature was presented to THE WORLD BEFORE HER (D: Nisha Pahuja; P: Cornelia Principe, Nisha Pahuja, Ed Barreveld), a look at the clash between modernity and tradition faced by young women in India. Sponsored by the Documentary Organization of Canada, the award includes a $10,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.

“For its brave and provocative exploration of the role of women at its two extremes in contemporary Indian society, the jury recognizes the exceptional storytelling of THE WORLD BEFORE HER," the jury said.

The Special Jury Prize – Canadian Feature was presented to PEACE OUT (D: Charles Wilkinson; P: Tina Schliessler), which explores the high costs of energy development in Canada’s pristine Peace River. Sponsored by the Directors Guild of Canada and the DGC-Ontario, the award includes a $5000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.

The jury stated: “For its intelligent treatment of the environmental debate around the Peace River, an urgent Canadian issue with global implications, the jury recognizes PEACE OUT as a necessary call to arms."

New this year, the Inspirit Foundation Pluralism Prize was awarded to a film in the Canadian Spectrum program that presents an accessible perspective (or perspectives) of one or more belief systems in such a way as to contribute to the development of mutual understanding, respect and inclusion among young people in society. Selected and presented by the Inspirit Foundation, the inaugural prize was awarded to THE BOXING GIRLS OF KABUL (D: Ariel J. Nasr; P: Annette Clark), the story of a courageous group of young Afghan women who risk persecution to become world-class boxers, training in a stadium where the Taliban once executed women. The award comes with a $10,000 prize courtesy of the Inspirit Foundation.

The award for Best International Feature was presented to CALL ME KUCHU (D: Malika Zouhali-Worrall, Katherine Fairfax Wright; P: Malika Zouhali-Worrall; USA), which looks at the formidable efforts of Ugandan activist David Kato to fight his country’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill and liberate his fellow LGBT citizens. Sponsored by A&E, the award includes a $10,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs. Jury statement: “CALL ME KUCHU explains a great injustice with life-and-death consequences and accomplishes the rare achievement of showing both the human tragedies and the triumphs of the struggle. Combining directorial intent with the prescience and persistence that enables a documentary's crew to be in an important place at an important time, we the Jury recognize CALL ME KUCHU for its wrenching yet inspiring depiction of people trying to succeed as humans and as activists in the face of hatred.” CALL ME KUCHU will screen again on Saturday, May 5, at 9:00 p.m. at the Isabel Bader Theatre (93 Charles Street West) and on Sunday, May 6, at 6:00 p.m. at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (506 Bloor Street West).

The Special Jury Prize – International Feature was presented to THE LAW IN THESE PARTS (D: Ra'anan Alexandrowicz; P: Liran Atzmor, B.Z. Goldberg; Israel), in which the legal minds who worked in the Occupied Territories in the Gaza Strip speak candidly about creating a framework that has had a profound global impact. Sponsored by the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the award includes a $5000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.

The jury explained: “We the Jury recognize THE LAW IN THESE PARTS for its brilliance and simplicity, turning the issues of history in Israel and the Palestinian Territories into a broader and more direct question: How precisely do civilized democracies process legally and morally complex actions in the name of survival? Viewing legislation through the lens of the people who enacted it long ago with a modern and forward-looking sense of filmmaking as art, THE LAW IN THESE PARTS reveals the fragile nature of international law in contemporary conflict.”

The HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award was shared by the directors of two films: Bill Ross and Turner Ross for TCHOUPITOULAS (P: Bill Ross, Turner Ross; USA), and Benjamin Kahlmeyer for MEANWHILE IN MAMELODI (P: Boris Frank; Germany, South Africa). The HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award is sponsored by HBO Documentary Films.

“We the Jury recognize these films because they have an indelible sense of place while speaking to universal concerns of community," the jury said. "We also recognize these films as they represent a superb combination of both the constructed and the found. While each film shows us places we think we know, whether New Orleans or Pretoria, both use the tools and craft of non-fiction storytelling to give the viewer different perspectives and new insights. The Jury awards these prizes in recognition of the merits of these films, but also to note how strongly and sincerely we look forward to the future works from these filmmakers as they continue to push the medium forward.”

The award for Best Mid-Length Documentary was presented to MY THAI BRIDE (D/P: David Tucker; Australia), the story of a Welshman’s complicated marriage to an attractive younger Thai woman. Sponsored by Canada Council for the Arts, the award includes a $3000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.

Jury statement: “MY THAI BRIDE is a film that takes the story of an unlikely couple and through subtle analysis extends their human dramas into a moving examination of political, cultural and economic power dynamics. It is a film that destabilizes its viewer's empathy through a nuanced and even-handed portrayal of charged, contradictory terrain, and reframes who exactly is the conqueror and conquered.”

The Shorts and Mid-Length Jury also gave an honourable mention to NESSA (D: Loghman Khaledi; P: Katayoon Shahabi; Iran).

The award for Best Short Documentary was presented to FIVE FRAGMENTS OF THE EXTINCT EMPATHY (D: Anna Nykyri; P: Joonas Berghäll; Finland). The award includes a $3000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.

"In just seven minutes this film creates a poetry of contraction between its stunning black and white imagery and grandiose music, to illustrate how cycles of violence persist and are imprinted upon the faces of Finnish women," the jury said.

The Shorts and Mid-Length Jury also gave an honourable mention to FAMILY NIGHTMARE (D/P: Dustin Guy Defa; USA).

The Hot Docs Board of Directors acknowledged Michel Brault as the recipient of the 2012 Hot Docs Outstanding Achievement Award, which was presented to the influential Canadian filmmaker at an event earlier in the day.

documentary's Don Haig Award, presented annually to a Canadian documentary filmmaker whose work demonstrates a unique voice and talent, was awarded to Montreal-based director Mia Donovan (INSIDE LARA ROXX, Hot Docs 2011 Official Selection). Awarded by the Don Haig Foundation, the prize includes a $20,000 cash prize courtesy of documentary. Director Charles Officer (MIGHTY JEROME, Hot Docs 2011 Official Selection) received an honourable mention.

The Lindalee Tracey Award, which honours "an emerging Canadian filmmaker with a passionate point of view, a strong sense of social justice and a sense of humour," was presented to Halifax filmmaker Jasmine Oore. As part of the award, the winner will receive a $5000 cash prize from the Lindalee Fund and $5000 in equipment rental donated by SIM Video International.

The 2012 awards for films in competition were determined by three juries.

The Canadian Feature Documentary Jury: Borislav Andjelic (film journalist; director of International Film Festival Belgrade), Maya Gallus (director, THE MYSTERY OF MAZO DE LA ROCHE), Dana O’Keefe (senior executive, Cinetic Media), Basil Tsiokos (programming associate, Sundance Film Festival; film journalist).

The International Feature Documentary Jury: Matthew Akers (director and cinematographer), Avril Benoît (director of communications, Doctors Without Borders - Canada), James Rocchi (film journalist), David Wilson (co-founder and co-director, True/False Film Fest).

The Shorts and Mid-Length Jury: Luis Ceriz (owner, Suspect Video), Marcelle Lean (executive director, Cinéfranco), Chi-hui Yang (film programmer, lecturer and writer).

So You Want To Make a Documentary: Tips From First Time Filmmakers at Hot Docs

Peter Knegt — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:00:26 GMT

So you want to make a documentary? A panel at Hot Docs this week showed just how two team of first time filmmakers did just that. Led by True/False's David Wilson, the panel was essentially a case study of two films -- Elizabeth Mims and Jason Tippet's "Only The Young," and Malika Zouhali-Worrall and Katherine Fairfax Wright's "Call Me Kuchu."

Both docs -- coming off celebrated premieres at other fests (True/False for "Young"; Berlin for "Kuchu") -- are quite different in topic. "Young" depicts three American teenagers -- Garrison, Kevin and Skye -- over their last summer of high school. "Kuchu," meanwhile, is set in Uganda's LGBT community -- focusing primarily on David Kato, a veteran activist who has since been murdered.

But the films have one thing in common: Both are feature film debuts by duos of filmmakers who worked pretty much solely as a team, without very much money. So how did they do it? Here are a few pointers:

You have a film in your head, you want to do this. What's the process?

Tippet: We made a short film before we made this, and it kind of helped us figure out our style. We wanted to shoot everything on tripod, for example. I think with making the short it was a great calling card. We went on to play Sundance and SXSW with it, and it was there we met Derek Waters (the man behind "Drunk History) who decided to help us produce this. We just needed a little bit of money to get our own camera and get sound equipment, and no one really wanted to take a chance. Which was very frustrating -- the pitching process. But then Derek bought us harddrives, and we saved up money and bought our own equipment. At the end of the day, I don't think I'd want to do it any other way. We got to make the movie we wanted to make. No one bothered us about it.

Fairfax Wright: It's funny because in ways our process was very similar [to Tippet and Mims'], and in other ways very different. Part of it was just the urgency of this scenario. We were convinced we'd missed the story. So we just were trying to get all our equipment together. We had very little time. So we divided and conquered. Malika focused on research, and I focus on getting equipment. But we didn't have a chance to talk about style, and we also didn't know each other very well before we went. We knew that we had a lot in common and a mutual respect. But I had no idea what kind of films she liked. We'd never been to a movie together or even talked about movies together. Once we were in Uganda, it was just madness. We were shooting from seven in the morning until like 8pm everyday. And then we'd come back to our hostel and try to ingest all the footage. So that first trip, it was more about content and not so much about style. When we got back and started editing that footage, we had more time to think about things a bit more.

You want to apply for grants. How do you go about that? Do you do it before you start shooting?

Fairfax Wright: When we decided to do this, we were on planes four days later. So we didn't have time to do any of that stuff. But initially because I had all the equipment; it was just harddrives and plane tickets. We used our own money for that. But immediately once we got back we started cutting some scenes and writing to every grant under the sun. It was kind of fortunate because the previous film I'd worked on was about rape in the DRC and that was almost entirely funded by grants. It was kind of the only way I knew, and this was also a big social issue film. I think a lot of people don't realize what a resource those grants can be. Although they are very laborious and difficult to get. It can be kind of a distraction. We spent so much time cutting different trailers for different grants. It's like, this is a human rights grant so we should cut something that reflects that. But on the other hand, it allowed us to continually revisit scenes which is very helpful.

Zouhali-Worrall: I think even though it felt laborious at the time, it all ended up contributing to the edit of the final film.

What kind of budget does a film like this have, before the post-production costs?

Mims: Just the expenses of the harddrive and the equipment initially. So probably about $12,000.

Fairfax Wright: We had the expense of 8 round trip plane tickets to Uganda. So probably $12,000 plus another $10,000? We kept expenses down everywhere we could. We had no crew, we took public transit everywhere. Everything was just the cheapest way humanly possible.

What's the advantage to working in teams of two? And working primarily without a crew?

Tippet: Liz and I really wanted to figure out how we could make a movie and tell the story with just two people. So many other people seemed to need a large crew and a big camera and two people to help AC, etc. It seemed like a larger process than I was interested in doing. So we figured out that she could do sound, and we could work with a smaller camera, and do everything double system.

Mims: It was such an intimate way to make a film. We would have never made these kind of relationships with these kids otherwise. They always knew it was just going to be us.

Fairfax Wright: I think that dynamic was very important for us, too. Once we did have another person working with us and it totally changed the dynamic. I didn't like it at all. Although it was easier, I think there was something about the intimacy of it being the two of us day in and day out made all the difference.

Zouhali-Worrall: Although the guy that helped us was very muscly and often wore tank tops just to show his arms. Everyone fancied him. All of the gay community there was obsessed with him. So it kind of helped. I think he still gets chatted up in Facebook by most of them.

So pro-tip, bring really hot crew members to the field with you.

The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival continues through Sunday.

Hot Docs Review: 'The Final Member' Is Fascinating Phallic Fun

Kevin Jagernauth — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:58:00 GMT

There are few movies this year where you'll see a man get the stars and stripes of the American flag tattooed on the head of his penis. But then again, there are few documentaries like "The Final Member," a warm look at a quirky subject that gets to the human story behind it.

Meet Sigurdur Hjartarson, the founder and curator of the Icelandic Phallogical Museum, the only museum in the world dedicated to the penis. Receiving a bull penis as a gag gift in the '70s, something clicked in Sigurdur's brain and the next thing he knew, he was collecting specimens from any animal he could get his hands on, slowly filling his house with jars of penises of all shapes and sizes, from nearly every creature that walks, swims or flies that you can think of. With his home quickly becoming cluttered, his understanding family joked that he should he open a museum, and a lightbulb went off, and that's exactly what he did. Granted, it's not the Guggenheim, but the modestly sized building is really one of the few places where you can see the penis in the many shapes and sizes that nature has given it.

But now getting older and with his health getting worse, Sigurdur knows he will soon have to step down from the museum and before he does, he wants to make the collection complete. That's right, he wants a human penis. Enter 95-year-old Icelander Páll Arason and 60-something American Tom, both willing to leave their cocks to history, albeit with very different baggage attached. Pall is something of an Icelandic legend, an adventurer who cut a swath across the country's great wilderness, clearing paths, guiding tourists and visitors alike, showing them what the island had to offer. He is also a notorious womanizer, having slept with over 400 women -- not counting prostitutes he clarifies -- and he's something of celebrity for all his deeds both heroic and carnal. He offers to donate his penis after he passes away, entrusting his well traveled dong to the museum for everyone to look at for years and years to come.

Tom on the other hand is upping the stakes, offering to donate his member now -- while he's still alive -- willing to undergo surgery to make it happen. And he's bringing a lot...more...to the table. Amply endowed, his seven inch long, and particularly thick Elmo (named by his ex-wife, and no, not after the Muppet) is certainly more display worthy than Pall's skinnier, shorter five inches (which meets the bare minimum of the "legal length" Sigurdur is looking for). But Tom also has grander aspirations, hoping that his penis takes on some kind of celebrity, and before he even consults on the surgery, he's planning a comic book and starts getting a mirrored display case made for the glorious day when Elmo will be mounted in a museum for all to see.

Directors Jonah Bekhor and Zach Math mostly do a good job of not getting lost in the oddball nature of the entire premise and really deliver a story that turns out be utterly fascinating, and yes, at times funny too. Sigurdur turns out to be a multi-talented individual, with interests that are far ranging. He's an author of twenty-two books and he's also translated a work of 16th century literature, completing one of his two life dreams (and yes, the other one is getting a human penis for his museum). But it's Tom whose story emerges first as eccentric, but takes on elements of tragedy as we learn more. Without giving up the goods, it becomes apparent that there are deeper rooted issues and experiences that may be driving Tom to what he's doing, hinting at a man who's still has yet to deal with the darker furies lurking within him. Behind the comics, the dream of fame and fortune and yes, getting his penis tattooed (a particularly stomach churning sequence for any male member watching) Tom is clearly wrestling with some demons and they are manifesting themselves in a bizarre, exhibitionist way.

Running a lean 75 minutes however, you do wish "The Final Member" had padded things out a bit more. While we learn much about about both Sigurdur and Pall, Tom remains an enigma and the lack of interviews with his friends, co-workers, family -- really, anybody -- is a notable omission that prevents the film from being being a complete portrait of unique story. However, Bekhor and Math do such a good job of laying groundwork that when the finale does arrive (and we'll leave you to watch the film to experience the twists yourself) it's surprisingly moving, with Sigurdur's one time hobby and obsession turning into a life's work and the satisfaction in his face and heart, will be familliar to anybody who has pursued a passion wholly and without hesitation.

Peculiar as the tale is, it never gets in the way of itself and "The Final Member" ultimately reflects on how we choose to live our life, and even more, how we want it to be remembered. That it's a penis museum through which the narrative is pitched certainly makes it compelling and perhaps a novelty, but the sincerity and honesty of the stories within, as odd as they are, make "The Final Member" worth seeking out. [B]

Rick Springfield Heads To Hot Docs For 'An Affair of the Heart'

Peter Knegt — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:09:16 GMT

Thirty-one years after "Jessie's Girl" made him an 1980s pop culture icon, Rick Springfield can still rouse a crowd. On Sunday night in Toronto, Sylvia Caminer's Springfield-centric doc "An Affair of the Heart" made its international premiere after winning awards at US fests like Florida and Nashville. Fittingly, the crowd was dominated by middle-aged women clutching Springfield signature-ready posters because the film is just as much about Springfield's fans as it is about the single.

Springfield, 61, still gives over 100 performances a year. This includes on a "Springfield and Friends" cruise in which hundreds of fans join him on a ship that sails from Miami to the Bahamas. Caminer's doc take us on the cruise and to dozens of other performances across America (and one at massive outdoor hard rock concert in Sweden, where Springfield wins over a crowd that mostly seems to have no idea who he is).

The doc also focus on a good dozen of Springfield's biggest fans, who seem to devote their lives to following the singer. Springfield knows them all by name (as he seems to with all of his fans) and the charmingly cult-like community based around the singer quickly becomes clear. It never appears exploitative on Springfield's part. He comes across as enjoying the community just as much as his fans, and seems genuinely grateful for the career longevity they've given him.

The doc also makes a few husbands of Springfield addicts primary characters; for them, things aren't so fun. One candidly discusses his jealously for Rick, particularly since he once had hopes of becoming a rock star.

"I hate him," the husband says rather seriously in the film, in a moment that, oddly enough, probably drew the most laughter from audience.

After intense applause as Springfield and the film's team (including some of the fans featured in the film) took the stage after the film, the Q&A expectedly turned into a Rick lovefest.

"When I read your book I was upset for two months because you had sex with everybody in the '80s but me," one audience member said.

"We're going to change that tonight," Springfield joked in response.

Another asked where the scar on his chest came from, while a bunch of groupies in the back started asking who was all going to a Springfield concert planned in Mexico in the near future.

"You going?" Springfield asked. "Well, then you better start drinking now."

Check out full video from the Q&A here. "Affair" screens again this Thursday at Hot Docs.

Hot Docs Roundup: 'Despite The Gods' Fascinates, 'Beauty Is Embarrassing' Is Heartwarming & 'About Face' A Fun Look At Fashion

Samantha Chater — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:57:00 GMT

"Despite the Gods"
Aussie filmmaker Penny Vozniak's "Lost in La Mancha"-esque documentary “Despite The Gods," following director Jennifer Lynch and her experiences making her third film in India, is a low budget docu-delight. Lynch is the beating, empathic heart of the film, an endearing combination of raw emotional honesty and self-deprecating humor. After surviving a critical flogging at 19 for her first film "Boxing Helena," and enjoying the relative success of her second film "Surveillance," Lynch still had a lot to prove with her third film. However it is clear from day one this will not be the film she envisions it to be. The film in question is "Hisss," a Bollywood action tale of a snake that turns into a woman, and then back again. Though Vozniak's film is an interesting look behind the scenes at some the challenges of being an American director shooting in India (no call sheets or safety concerns here) it is the sympathetic portrait of Lynch's experiences and reactions as she struggles against the odds for 8 months (5 months over schedule) to get the film finished the way she sees it, that makes this documentary so absorbing. Lynch remains in good spirits, often in awe of India in all its chaos and mayhem, despite all the factors working against her. Even though her fight against the odds comes to naught, with her film taken away from her to be disastrously re-cut by producers, “Despite The Gods” is a fascinating look at filmmaking as well as a great portrait of Lynch herself. [B-]

"Beauty Is Embarrassing"
Though artist/art director/illustrator/puppeteer Wayne White’s name will be unfamiliar to most, after seeing the doc “Beauty is Embarrassing," he’ll be sure to have a whole new legion of fans. Director Neils Berkley manages to capture White’s charismatic combination of childlike spirit, misanthropic tendencies and bawdy humour, in a likable, if less than cohesive, package. "Beauty is Embarrassing” is comprised of interviews with friends (including Paul Reubens and Matt Groening) and family members as well with White himself, who also narrates, with Berkley mixing in clips of White’s TV work, old home movie footage and animated works from both White and his other half Mimi Pond, an artist in her own right. The doc spends a good chunk of time on what White was best known for, making puppets for the off-the-wall kids show “Pee Wee’s Playhouse," something he had no real prior experience in doing, but ended up being really, really good at, though it came to a bit of a sudden and disastrous end. His post-Pee Wee artistic slump working "for the man" and making music videos for Peter Gabriel and Smashing Pumpkins, is a period White seems less inclined in talking about, referring to the MTV Music Video Awards as the “worst night of my life," which is unfortunate because it sounds pretty interesting. It's his second-act success a decade later that the rest of the doc instead focuses on, as White found inspiration in painting quotable phrases on thrift store landscape paintings, which quickly became hot sellers in upscale L.A. galleries, something White, the perpetual subversive underdog, is not always at ease with. Though some of the mish-mash of footage will be hard to follow for some, Berkley has created an apt portrait of a unique personality and pop culture artist, and the result is both inspiring and heartwarming. [B+]

"About Face"
Photographer-slash-director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders talks to supermodels from the 1950s through to the '80s in his then-and-now documentary “About Face." Greenfield-Sanders' choice to interview some 15-odd supermodels probably widens the pool a little too much, as a lot of the women retread the same thematic ground, repeating the same thoughts on not feeling pretty growing up, whether or not they would have plastic surgery now, and coming to terms with being an ageing beauty. Unfortunately this does a disservice to the other interesting issues touched upon in the film, such as the exploitation of young girls, the heroin-chic period in fashion, the normalized sexual harassment within the business and the misogynistic beauty standards of modern society, which are alluded to, but not fully explored. One issue that Greenfield-Sanders does dig deeper into in the film is racism in the fashion and modeling world over the years, with the director talking to various models of color including Beverly Johnson and China Machado, who all have different and insightful perspectives on the discrimination within the industry that they helped to break down over the years. Some interviewees shine more memorably than others including feisty Avedon muse Machado, the former face of Lancome Isabella Rossellini and the always candid, uber-glamorous Jerry Hall, whose Southern drawl I could just listen to for hours. Greenfield-Sanders mixes these interviews, all beautifully shot with a photographer's considered eye, with carefully curated archive material from runway shows and fashion shoots through the ages. Overall, “About Face” is an elegant documentary about supermodels of the past, and though its hardly the complete history, its a fun film for fashion fans nonetheless. [B-]

Hot Docs Review: 'Big Easy Express' A Rambling, Affectionate Tour Documentary That Should Make Fans Happy

Samantha Chater — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:58:00 GMT

Director Emmett Malloy has returned with an excellent follow up to 2009’s “Under Great Northern Lights” with another winning concert documentary titled "Big Easy Express." In a tight 60-odd minutes, the film follows three bands, Mumford and Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and Old Crow Medicine Show, as they travel from San Francisco to New Orleans, Louisiana, on a sold-out 6-stop tour, aboard the most beautiful-looking train you've ever seen. From the opening tracking shot that follows 'Magnetic Zeroes' singer Jade Castrinos as she walks through the various rustic train cars, past Mumford and Sons playing in one, 'Old Crow' in another and right down the back to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Malloy's film is not only beautifully soundtracked, courtesy of all three bands, but is also dreamily captured.

Though essentially a live concert film, Malloy manages to chronicle the more intimate and visually arresting jam sessions happening off stage, either on one of the ornate train cars, or outside in the desert under the stunningly blue sky. With all the constant musical sequences, sometimes running one after the other, "Big Easy Express" can come off as an extended music video, which is not an altogether bad thing, as Malloy knows how to make a shot perfectly glossy, yet still manage to capture the live energy of the performance.

Malloy does feature short snippets of interviews with various band members (though Edward Sharpe is notably absent from these) but little more than how the bands know each other, how they love each other's music and being on the train tour, is really discussed. Questions like the logistical nature of the tour or where the idea came from are left unanswered. This is not an insightful documentary about any of the bands individually, instead the film chooses to focus on their mutual, earnest and clearly passionate love of performing.

Instead of the usual boring grind of touring a la Radiohead's "Meeting People Is Easy," "Big Easy Express" is a celebration of the romantic Woody Guthrie-cum-Jack Kerouac ideal of being on the road. You'd think with 100-odd people jammed onto a train for a week-and-a-half there would be some personal dramas, but according to the band members, despite some bathing less than others, it was nothing less than a love fest between all.

Malloy knows when to leave a good thing as well, and though die-hard fans could probably do with more live footage of each of the bands, this is something probably better served by DVD extras. The extended multi-band finale performance of Guthrie's "This Train is Bound for Glory" made up of a filmic collage from various performances is definitely a live highlight, and fan or not, its hard to deny the joy and skill that the musicians bring to the stage.

Both Malloy and cinematographer Giles Dunning (who also worked on "Under Great White Northern Lights") have a great eye for framing their shots, whether it be the vintage 1940s, 15-car silvery train coming round the bend, or the dramatic canyons and cloud bursting sky flying by through the top car window. Though Malloy mainly shot on digital, there are some great-looking snippets of 16-mm and Super 8 footage as well that add some fantastic texture to the film.

Though live-in-concert docs are often considered just for fans, "Big Easy Express" is a celebration of music in general (albeit for the more roots-folksy-country inclined) and it also serves as a lyrically shot travelogue, one that is sure to fuel some road trip style wanderlust. [B]

The 10 Hottest Docs to Watch at Hot Docs

Peter Knegt — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:40:07 GMT

The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival began in Toronto last night with the Canadian premiere of Sundance hit "Al Weiwei: Never Sorry." The screening, at the festival's newly renovated hub The Bloor Cinema, kicks off 10 days and nights of North America's largest documentary festival.

While plenty of breakout films from Sundance and other major festivals will certainly be a big part of the festival, Hot Docs also offers plenty of opportunity for discovery. So here's 10 films you might not have heard of yet with buzz heading into Hot Docs. Check them out over the next 10 days in Toronto or -- quite likely -- at many doc film festivals to come:

Affair Of The Heart (directed by Sylvia Caminer)
A Rick Springfield documentary! Sylvia Caminer's "Affair of the Heart" takes on the "Jesse's Girl" singer, checking in with the now sixtysomething Springfield (who still does 100+ concerts a year) and his rabid fans. And yep, Springfield will indeed attend the film's premiere screening on April 29th.

Beauty is Embarrassing (directed by Neil Berkeley)
"Beauty is Embarrassing" is a portrait of American artist Wayne White, who began his career as a puppeteer and got his break as one of the creators of "Pee-wee's Playhouse." Director Neil Berkeley follows White's career through its various highs and lows, offer what Hot Docs calls "a reminder to us all that we should follow our passion." "Beauty" has its international premiere the first Saturday of Hot Docs.

El Huaso (directed by Carlo Guillermo Proto)
One of the many notable Canadian titles at the festival, "El Huaso" follows Gustavo Proto, a Chilean immigrant living in Toronto who is contemplating suicide. But before he makes the decision, he wants to live out his childhood dream of returning to Chile and becoming a huaso, a Chilean cowboy. "El Huaso" has its Hot Docs debut this April 28th.

Laura (directed by Fellipe Gamarano Barbosa)
With a main character described "somewhere between Grey Gardens’ Little Edie and Breakfast at Tiffany’s Holly Golightly," Fellipe Gamarano Barbosa's doc looks like a whole lot of fun. Following Laura, a South American socialite and hoarder living in New York, the film screens this Sunday, April 29th.

The Mechanical Bride (directed by Allison de Fren)
One of the most anticipated world premieres at the fest, Allison de Fren's doc takes a look at the bizarre world of artificial love dolls. Her subjects in the film include a man who takes his doll out on dates and keeps her photo in his wallet, and a widower who bought a “divorcée” on eBay so as not to burden a real woman with his failing health. Sure to be provocative, the film premieres this Sunday night.

My Name is Faith (directed by Tiffany Sudela-Junker, Jason Banker and Jorge Torres-Torres)
Another world premiere, this Adrian Grenier-produced film looks at Faith, a young girl who suffers from Attachment Disorder, a condition associated with neglect from a parent in a child's first few years. Her newly adopted parents are trying to gain Faith's trust, but the film asks whether or not this is possible in light of the damage already done. "Faith" premieres May 2nd.

Only The Young (directed by Elizabeth Mims and Jason Tippet)
After having a very well-received preview screening at True/False last month, first time filmmakers Elizabeth Mims and Jason Tippet are bringing their "Only The Young" to Hot Docs. The film follows three American teenagers -- Garrison, Kevin and Skye -- over their last summer of high school. Gaining intimate access to a particularly tumultuous moment in these young lives, "Only The Young" is sure to be a festival favorite. It first screens on Tuesday, May 1.

Summer of Giacomo (directed by Alessandro Comodin)
Another debut film, Alessandro Comodin's "Summer of Giacomo" also tells a tale of youth, this time in Northeast Italy. Following Giacomo, a 19-year-old deaf boy on a summer's day spent with his childhood friend Stefania, the film is having its Canadian premiere April 30th after screening at fests like Locarno and Rotterdam. It should work as a lovely companion piece to "Only The Young" if you're looking for a double feature.

United in Anger: A History Of ACT UP (directed by Jim Hubbard)
You might have heard of David France's "How To Survive a Plague," which debuted at Sundance earlier this year. But there's another worthy AIDS documentary on the festival circuit this year in Jim Hubbard's "United in Anger: A History of Act Up," which is coming to Hot Docs on May 2nd after a premiere in MoMA's Documentary Fortnight in February.

Wildness (directed by Wu Tsang)
After screening at SXSW, Wu Tsang's "Wildness" makes its way to Hot Docs on May 2nd. In the film, Tsang plays homage to an East Los Angeles bar called the Silver Platter, a safe space in the Latino-LGBT community since 1963 where Tsang himself began a weekly party called "Wildness" in 2008. The film works as a portrait of a unique piece of LGBT history that often goes ignored.

For more information on all screenings, check out Hot Docs' website.