There was a scene that nearly broke my heart as I watched Alphee of the Stars last night at the Lightbox. Hugo Latulippe is sitting across from his daughter, Alphee as they are travelling via train through a snow-covered Switzerland, and in a scene completely played in silence you can see as he watches…
Tag: hot docs
Hot Docs: High Five: A Suburban Adoption Saga – Julia Ivanova
When Cathy and Martin Ward, a suburban Canadian couple living in Surrey, BC, decide to adopt a child from an orphanage in the Ukraine, they have their sights and hearts set on a single infant or toddler. While waiting for the child they want, however, they agree to host a 4-year-old girl, Alyona, for the…
Hot Docs: The Life And Crimes of Doris Payne – Matthew Pond and Kirk Marcolina
When I first read the synopsis of this film – about an 80-year-old notorious international jewel thief – I knew I would be in for a fantastic story, if nothing else. Just looking back on what this woman has seen and done in her lifetime was bound to be incredible. What I didn’t expect, however,…
Hot Docs: Shooting Bigfoot – Morgan Matthews
I want to believe. I’ve always wanted to. I like the idea that the legends and stories of monsters and creatures of unknown origin can exist in our world, it adds mystery and excitement to things. Growing up I would read about UFOs, aliens, Loch Ness, ghosts, and bigfoot. These ideas fascinated me, and from time…
Hot Docs: Maidentrip – Jillian Schlesinger
Laura Dekker wants to sail around the world. Alone. She’s 14. (When I was 14 I had a ridiculously early curfew – RIDICULOUSLY(!) – and wasn’t allowed to do a lot of after school activities, and we were living on a 23 square mile island!) 519 Days, 27,000 nautical miles. Alone. No support crew, no follow…
Hot Docs: Valentine Road – Marta Cunningham
This is another one of those cases where I wish I was a better writer, because nothing I can come up with could possibly cover the gamut of emotions and questions and reactions to this amazing documentary. It’s something I feel everyone should see, and talk about, and then see again. I started my…
Hot Docs: When I Walk – Jason DaSilva
When director Jason DaSilva is suddenly stricken with a severe form of multiple sclerosis, everything changes. Everything about his exterior reality becomes more difficult – and sometimes impossible – and is in constant battle with his internal reality, which feels as though he should still be able to do all the things he could…
Hot Docs: Fatal Assistance – Raoul Peck
Fatal Assistance is a complex film discussing the nature of foreign aid in disaster situations and its actual practice, Peck gives the viewer a glaring indictment of the actions of international aid organizations and their impact on Haiti after the horrific earthquake of 2010. He shows us a broken system. Instead of funneling the aid…
Hot Docs: Good Ol’ Freda – Ryan White
I became a Beatles fan in 1988, my junior year at Mt. St. Agnes academy, and I voraciously hunted down the albums on vinyl, I read books, and watched Help! and A Hard Day’s Night repeatedly. I had the music books for everything they recorded, but even then I knew I wasn’t the biggest fan,…
Hot Docs: Dragon Girls – Inigo Westmeier
Even a late start and sound issues couldn’t ruin this doc that screened last night at the Royal. The entire audience was swept up in the opening shot, which features a massive parade ground and a huge rush of hundreds, no thousands (35,000 – to be a little more exact) kung fu students running in…
The Mind Reels 