Screening one final time today, is this harrowing look inside a Russian maximum security prison, housing 260 murderers. Set in a forest the size of Germany (!), that takes seven hours to reach from the nearest city, this prison, Penal Colony No. 56, is the modern gulag, and for the first time, a documentary crew…
Tag: hot docs
Hot Docs 2014: An Honest Liar (Justin Weinstein & Tyler Measom)
Put this one at the top of your list of films to check out today! With one last screening at the Lightbox at 6:30 this brilliant film is nothing short of engaging, powerful, funny, and heartfelt. I went into this one almost blind, knowing that it was about a former stage magician and escape artist,…
Hot Docs 2014: Kung Fu Elliot (Matthew Bauckman & Jaret Belliveau)
Screening for the final time toady at the Scotiabank Theatre at 9:30 is this highly entertaining, often funny, film about no-budget movies, bad acting, ‘good’ kung fu, and lies. In Moncton, New Brunswick, we are introduced to Elliot Scott and his girlfriend Linda. Elliot’s only desire is to be Canada’s kung fu star, like his heroes…
Hot Docs 2014: Harmontown (Neil Berkeley)
Screening in a special presentation this evening at the Burwash Quad, is the final showing of Harmontown. A no-holds barred portrait of Dan Harmon, the comedic genius behind the much beloved television series, Community. He is also notorious for being difficult to work with, which resulted in his ejection from the show at the end…
Hot Docs 2014: I Am Big Bird – The Carroll Spinney Story (Chad Walker & Dave LaMattina
There are times when everything comes to a perfect moment, when a film resonates with you, and echoes not only through the memories in the rooms of your mind, but also through the chambers of your heart. The last time it happened to me was Patrick Read Johnson’s 5-25-77, it happened again the other night,…
Hot Docs 2014: Focus On Infinity (Joerg Burger)
Screening this evening at 7pm, with its international premiere at the Hart House Theatre is this documentary posits the eternal queries of who are we, where did we come from and where are we going? It doesn’t provide any answers, it’s more akin to laying on a blanket in the middle of summer and watch…
Hot Docs 2014: Everything Will Be (Julia Kwan)
This evening at 7pm, at the Lightbox, there is the world premiere of Julia Kwan’s gorgeous documentary, Everything Will Be. Set in Vancouver’s Chinatown, the film shows both the beauty and the grit of a dying locale, as condos and new businesses begin to take up residence in what was once a thriving and colorful community….
Hot Docs 2014: The Homestretch (Anne de Mare & Kirsten Kelly)
Screening for the second time this afternoon at 3:30 at the ROM, as well as one final time on 4 May at 7 at Scotiabank is this strong documentary that shines a light on a heartbreaking subject. Opening with some terrifying stats, like there are between 2,000 and 3,000 homeless youths on the streets of…
Hot Docs 2014: Divide In Concord (Kris Kaczor)
Screening for the 2nd time today at the Lightbox, with one final screening 3 May at 11am at the Isabel Bader Theatre is this wonderful David and Goliath tale, set against the reenactment of the opening shots of the American Revolution in a small town called Concord, Massachusetts. Jean Hill is on a mission. She’s…
Hot Docs 2014: Before the Last Curtain Falls (Thomas Wallner)
Having its World Premiere this evening at 8:30, at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, this gorgeously shot film is a stirring documentary about performance, love and sexuality. The center of the film’s focus is a group of aging gay and trans cabaret performers who have gone on tour with their beautifully choreographed stage show, Gardenia. Now, the tour…
The Mind Reels 