Doc Blog

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Archival footage
Hero to some; traitor to others
Hollywood History

Biography
Hero to some; traitor to others
Caught in the middle
The Emperor Himself
Becoming a Shaolin Master
A Woman of Power

Celebrities
"It's all a Spectacle"
Michael Moore on the road again
Demme & Moore docs in Special Presentations!
Yes, it's THAT Phil Donahue
Wyclef Plays at TIFF Party

Cinematography
Colourful, Enigmatic and Humble
Night is not so dark
Reflections on "A Jihad for Love"
Lawrence Johnston heads deep into "Night"
Blindsight Opens Eyes and Hearts

Directors
Life at the Beach
Rising stars
Saving the world's largest creatures
Battle for Survival
This is not a place for take out

Distribution
Doc Corner: Exchange of Ideas
Industry survey: W. Wilder Knight II
Industry survey: Cara Mertes, Sundance Doc Film Program
Industry survey: Jan Rofekamp & Diana Holtzberg, Films Transit
Industry survey: Peter Broderick, Paradigm Consulting

Editing
This is not a place for take out
Last Minute Finishes
Another Fragment from Iraq

Free Speech
Battle for Survival
Make your voice heard
Can I get an Amen...
Read more on "Obscene"
TIFF picks from Renew Media's Brian Newman

Human Rights
Caught in the middle
Young Girls Speak Out
One trip to Iraq, three Real to Reel films
Pakistani Women’s Activist speaks at TIFF
Unorthodox Shooting on SHAME

Humour
Can I get an Amen...
Play on Playa'
Sick Humor Makes Us Well

Memories
Life at the Beach
Back to Reality
Growing up on the Kibbutz
TIFF memory: US vs John Lennon
Memories of Summercamp! at TIFF 06

Music
Rising stars
Colourful, Enigmatic and Humble
TIFF memory: US vs John Lennon
Getting Close to Philip in "Glass"
Wyclef Plays at TIFF Party

Panels
Make your voice heard
Covering War
Complicated Lives
Living to the Fullest
Let's Talk about Darfur

Parties
Time to Relax and Mingle
TIFF picks from True/False's David Wilson
Memories of Summercamp! at TIFF 06
Celebrating Office Tigers
Docs Discussed Over Breakfast

Picks
Down to the wire
The race begins!
TIFF picks from Michaelle McLean, Hot Docs Forum
Meet the Press
TIFF picks from Sean Farnel of Hot Docs

Politics
Read more on "Body of War"
Collaborating with Ariel Dorfman on "A Promise to the Dead"
From TIFF to Congress race
Yes, it's THAT Phil Donahue
Iranian Cinema Part of the Revolution

War & Conflict
Read more on "Body of War"
Collaborating with Ariel Dorfman on "A Promise to the Dead"
From TIFF to Congress race
Yes, it's THAT Phil Donahue
Former US Soldier Speaks at Premiere of Iraq films

Wavelengths
Wavelengths, part III
I'm writing to you from Kuala Lumpur...
Docs in Wavelengths, Part II
Exploring the world of Schindler's Houses
Docs push boundaries in Wavelengths

September 15, 2021
Tribes bash TIFF statement by energy corporation...
Posted By Ben Kempas At 3:03 PM
Following the North American Premiere of Upstream Battle at TIFF, the Karuk and Hoopa Tribes in California reacted to a recent statement on the film by Warren Buffett's PacifiCorp.Our film documents the tribes' fight for the survival of their salmon-based culture. They demand complete removal of four large hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River which are owned by PacifiCorp, an energy company controlled by Buffett, the richest man in the world. PacifiCorp managers issued their first public statement in response to Upstream Battle (see my report last week) They surprisingly announced:...

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September 14, 2021
You Say You Want A Revolution?
Posted By Andrew McIntosh At 11:46 AM
It was 1968 all over again at the Isabel Bader theatre on Saturday afternoon during the Mavericks presentation of A Time to Stir, Paul Cronin’s exhaustively researched and thoroughly engaging documentary about a pivotal student protest at New York’s Columbia University in April 1968. Introducing the film, Cronin admitted that the four hour film we were about to see was a work in progress, and that he’d even filmed two more interviews during his time at the Festival that he needed to figure out how to cut in with the rest of the...

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September 12, 2021
Down to the wire
Posted By Heidy Morales At 1:17 PM
File under: Picks
Well, there are less than two days left and there are still about twenty-five documentary screenings for you to attend.  Some of them include environmental issues like Upstream Battle and At the Edge of the World.  Others bring you music like Sounds Like Teen Spirit: A Popumentary, It Might Get Loud and Soul Power.   If you are a Kung Fu fan, I'd suggest trying to see The Real Shaolin.  If sports are your thing, there is Harvard Beats Yale: 29-29 or More Than A Game.  What...

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September 11, 2021
Town & Country
Posted By Andrew McIntosh At 10:05 PM
Seeing the latest film from Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke in front of a TIFF audience is always something of a treat. Although his acclaimed films typically receive theatrical distribution in Canada, it's usually of the art house variety that sees his work shine on 200 seat theatres before making the silent segueway to DVD. The chance to see the final Festival screening of his recent foray 24 City, an evocative blend of fiction and documentary, in front of a full house of 600 at the AMC multiplex was not to be missed. Jia had already returned to China...

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The Making of American Swing Part Two...
Posted By Jon Hart At 3:07 PM
Not surprisingly, a cornucopia of characters hung out at the notorious swingers club Plato’s Retreat in New York City. With my collaborator, Mathew Kaufman, we attempted to track down every one of them. Fortunately, we dug up the former managers of the club, Charlie and Annie Grippo, who actually lived at nightspot for a few years in the late 70s, only leaving their basement bungalow for groceries and incidentals. From our very first phone call with Charlie and Annie, we knew that they would make a wonderful addition to our...

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Life at the Beach
Posted By Heidy Morales At 12:39 PM
File under: Directors, Memories
One of France's well known filmmakers Agnès Varda brought her latest film to TIFF last night at the Varsity theatre.  In Les Plages d'Agnès, we are taken on a journey through Varda's life both personal and professional.Varda's style is sublime.  She uses still photography, family video footage, scenes from her films and those of her partner, Jacques Demy to create a tapestry that is her life; keeping the theme within her love of beaches.   And what an amazing life she's enjoyed thus far.  As she told us last night, "I...

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Hero to some; traitor to others
Posted By Heidy Morales At 11:39 AM
File under: Archival footage, Biography
Last night, a full house were the first to see Gaylen Ross' documentary Killing Kartszner.  It was a film that brought forth the story of Dr. Israel Kartszner, who many considered a hero yet many others considered him a traitor for having negotiated with the Nazis to save the lives of over 1600 Jews in 1944; the largest number of Jews saved during that time.The film was emotionally gripping; I heard people sobbing.  It was interesting to see the interview Ross did with the man...

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September 10, 2021
Falling in Love, Sight Unseen
Posted By Andrew McIntosh At 11:52 PM
“This is a very unusual film, knowing that the people it’s about will never see it,” noted an audience member during the Q&A of director Juraj Lehotský’s gentle, perceptive and winsomely unconventional documentary Blind Loves, which profiles the lives of three blind couples and a teenaged girl as they search for or live with the loves of their lives.Peter is a middle-aged music teacher who lives in a cramped apartment with his wife. Their relationship is a comfortable and jovial one, as we see them joke with each other over...

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Rising stars
Posted By Heidy Morales At 4:59 PM
File under: Directors, Music
Some of us on this side of the world may not heard of Eurovision, much less of Junior Eurovision.  First time director Jamie Jay Johnson (pictured right) takes us to the Junior 2007 finals in the film Sounds Like Teen Spirit: A Popumentary.  We come to know several contestants coming from countries like Georgia, Belgium, Bulgaria and Cyprus.During the screening, the audience laughed and clapped.  At the end, during the credits, people were clapping to the beat of one of the winning songs.  Everyone enjoyed themselves.Someone asked...

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"It's all a Spectacle"
Posted By Heidy Morales At 1:34 PM
File under: Celebrities
These are the words of Paris Hilton as seen in Adria Petty's documentary Paris, Not France, which only screening took place Tuesday evening at the Ryerson theatre.  The film follows Hilton all over the world promoting her brand, which essentially is her name and fame.  Like in the film, papparazzi follow Hilton day in and day out, the same scene took place just outside the theatre minutes before.In the film, Petty (pictured right with Hilton) shows Hilton behind the scenes. She lets Hilton speak about what it...

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Making of 'Citizen Juling' Part 2
Posted By Ing K At 11:55 AM
The airport was ready for a siege, with barricades stacked up but not in place. Otherwise there was no sign of trouble. Still, I didn't know until that moment whether I'd physically make it to Toronto.In the week preceding my departure from Bangkok, thousands of people had descended on Government House (the Thai equivalent of the White House), exuberantly and unstoppably flooding through the gates and ant-hilling over the stately wall to set up camp with plastic sheets; 3 days before departure the government sent in riot police to evict...

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Saving the world's largest creatures
Posted By Heidy Morales At 11:53 AM
File under: Directors
Many of us are fully aware of how several of the world's sea creatures are on the brink of extinction.  In At the Edge of the World, director Dan Stone (pictured right) introduces us to members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society who protect whales and other animals from poachers from various part of the world.At the end of the film Stone was joined by Paul Watson, a Canadian activist who leads several of the groups for Sea Shepherd.  They received a...

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Battle for Survival
Posted By Heidy Morales At 11:52 AM
File under: Directors, Free Speech
Monday night brought us a film that deals with environmental issues affecting the lives of several Native American tribes of Northern California and Oregon.  Director Ben Kempas brings us their stories in Upstream Battle, which depicts several of these tribes and their determination to close for hydroelectric dams (owned by PacifiCorp) that are killing the salmon population. For the Q&A, Kempas was joined by Ron Reed and his brother Mike Polmateer, who are members of one of the tribes involved in the issue with...

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Horray for Nollywood
Posted By Andrew McIntosh At 1:39 AM
Audience members were treated to an erudite, insightful and informative discussion of the Nollywood film scene in the Q&A following the premiere screening of Peace Mission Tuesday evening at the AMC theatres  as director Dorothee Wenner (above right) and the film’s principal subject, Peace Anyiam-Fiberesima (left), held court. Wenner has worked for years as a delegate for African cinema at the Berlin International Film Festival, while Anyiam-Fiberesima is herself a seasoned Nollywood producer, not to mention a lawyer, so their viewpoints on the dynamics behind Nigeria’s hugely successful...

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Masters of their Domain
Posted By Andrew McIntosh At 12:54 AM
“Thank you for not making fun of us,” said one appreciative fan to the applause of many others during the boisterous and humorous Q&A for The Dungeon Masters, Keven McAlester’s fun, insightful and warmly humanistic doc about people who’ve devoted much of their lives to the classic cult fantasy game Dungeons and Dragons. The film had its world premiere in front of an enthusiastic sold out crowd Tuesday evening at the AMC theatres.  McAlester confessed he’s never played D&D, and admitted that this was a liability when approaching gamers about participating in the film....

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September 9, 2021
MAKING OF: "Biggest Chinese Restaurant", Part 4
Posted By Jean Tsien At 2:47 PM
No food and no God in the old days…For younger generations ignorant of China’s history, this film may give the wrong impression that China has always been a land of plentiful food In fact during the ten years of the Culture Revolution, many people starved to death, and Buddhism and all other forms of religion were banned.  My uncle often talked about the wok in my grandmother’s house having rusted from lack of cooking.  There was literally nothing to cook, and my...

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Caught in the middle
Posted By Heidy Morales At 10:41 AM
File under: Biography, Human Rights
Being a war journalist in Latin America sometimes puts the person at risk and caught in the middle of wanting to tell all sides of a particular issue and keep his/her family safe.  Such is the case of Hollman Morris; the subject of Juan José Lozano's documentary Unwanted Witness.  It's an intimate look at Morris' professional and personal life.The end result is an emotional film that provoked some very interesting comments and questions for the Q&A session that followed Monday's night screening the AMC theatre.One of the first...

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September 8, 2021
This is not a place for take out
Posted By Heidy Morales At 11:21 PM
File under: Directors, Editing
I walked into the screening for The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World not sure what to expect.  It was an entertaining look at West Lake; a restaurant and banquet hall in Hunan Province, China.  Director Weijun Chen introduces us to the owner Mrs. Qin Linzi, members of her staff and customers who come to West Lake for wedding and birthday banquets among other special occasions.The film is colourful, lively and the sounds are vivid with the hustle and bustle that take...

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Unmistakenly Enlightening
Posted By Andrew McIntosh At 10:33 PM
For all that we hear about the Dali Lama, the persecution of Tibetan culture and the admirable tenets of Buddhism, we in the West generally still don’t have a very thorough understanding of the actual mechanics, inner workings and rituals of Buddhism. We know that lamas, enlightened holy men, are believed to be reincarnated, but how exactly is a reincarnated lama identified? How is one located? What steps or rituals are enacted to ensure that a lama is not mistaken? And since lamas are generally brought into the monastery as young children, what kind of impact does...

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MAKING OF: "Biggest Chinese Restaurant", Part 3
Posted By Jean Tsien At 11:36 AM
Chinese food is divided into Hot and Cold, or Ying and Yang. Generally speaking, on hot summer days, watermelon is considered good to cool the body off, but ironically not all fruits are considered “cold.”  In winter, dog meat is considered the best “hot” food for warming up the body.Our film was shot in the summer of 2007.  Nick Fraser suggested an additional shoot of an opening sequence to follow a dish from prep in the kitchen to the mouth of a patron. We...

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