The Writer with No Hands Nightvision In 1997 screenwriter Raw Deal screenwriter Gary DeVore disappeared. A year later his body was found submerged in the California aqueduct without his hands. No one knows what happened, but British writer Matthew Alford has been obsessed with the case for years. He’s convinced that Alford was murdered as […]
Whitey: The United States v. James J. Bulger Special Presentations Paradise Lost trilogy filmmaker Joe Berlinger looks at one of the most notorious and wanted gangsters in US history: James “Whitey” Bulger, the notoriously iron fisted and widely feared head of Boston’s Irish mob who disappeared almost without a trace in 1994 until his capture […]
The Theory of Happiness Canadian Spectrum Gregory Gan’s The Theory of Happiness is a magnetic, upsetting, consistently good looking and compelling documentary about a Ukrainian math cult. A journal of his time spent as a newbie in P.O.R.T.O.S. – a collective based on a spiritual math equation for happiness – this documentary starts off as […]
Super Duper Alice Cooper Special Presentations/Hot Docs Live Special Event Teaming Monkey Warfare director Reginald Harkema with rock doc royalty Sam Dunn and Scot McFayden (Metal: A Head Bangers Journey, Metal Evolution), this supposed first ever “rock doc” takes archival footage and sound bites to tell the story of Detroit born Vincent Furnier and his […]
Self(less) Portrait Canadian Spectrum At the outset, Self(less) Portrait is alluring, presenting a collection of French-Canadian interview subjects telling anecdotes and personal secrets, while director Danic Champoux visually plays with forms or darkness and light. There’s a sense of mystery at the top of the film that proves intriguing, but quickly this is revealed as […]
The Sheik Special Presentations Whether you know him from the WWE, Howard Stern, YouTube, or Twitter, chances are you’ve got a special place in your heart for the Iron Sheik. He was one of the greatest wrestlers who ever lived and a star with a tragic fall from grace. This new documentary covers it all, […]
Rich Hill Special Presentations This look at growing up poor in Middle America would make for an excellent double bill with this year’s (admittedly more successful) The Overnighters, but Andrew Droz Palermo and Tracy Droz Tragos’ Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner offers up a poignant and often bittersweet look at three underprivileged at risk teenage […]
Red Lines World Showcase In the fight to bring democracy and peace to war torn Syria, two activists from vastly different backgrounds have teamed up to amass a greater network of contacts and connections on the ground than any other humanitarian organization in the world. Razan Shalab al-Sham is a former socialite from old money […]
Pulp Nightvision One thing that made the Brit-pop explosion of the 90s brilliant was how every band had their own sound and image to match. There was Oasis with their balls-to-the wall Manchester working class swagger, Blur with their London educated art-rock, then there was the less easily defined Pulp, born in the unlikely town […]
The Overnighters Special Presentation Jesse Moss’ outstanding and arresting Sundance award winner has rightfully earned all of its comparisons to being a modern day Steinbeck story. This tale of one boom town in modern America bursting at the seams is proof that a new Great Depression is here whether some folks care to admit it […]
The Secret Trial 5 Canadian Spectrum An in depth look at an ongoing thirteen year nightmare for five Canadian families, The Secret Trial 5 examines the shadowy and highly unethical concept of detaining those suspected of having committed or potentially committing crimes to be held on “security certificates.” A remnant from the Cold War, these […]
Out of Mind, Out of Sight Canadian Spectrum There’s a lot to like about Canadian documentary Out of Mind, Out of Sight: a film about the inmates and staff of Brockville Mental Health Centre, a forensic-mental hospital in Ontario. Primarily orbiting a single primary subject – schizophrenic patient Michael Stewart – the film paints a […]
The Notorious Mr. Bout Special Presentations It’s not often that a character from a Nicolas Cage flick is the subject of documentary, but then there really is only one Viktor Bout. The man, legend, and loose subject of Lord of War was one of the most notorious arms dealers who ever lived. Co-directors Tony Gerber […]
Mugshot Next Is someone’s arrest record snapshot something that the whole world should see? How much should the public be allowed to know after someone’s arrest? Historically, what if mugshots are the only ways of identifying certain marginalized people who have fallen through the cracks that should be preserved? These are the questions being asked […]
Mateo Next Matthew Stoneman doesn’t look like much until you hear him sing. Riding his very unique gimmick of being “America’s First Gringo Mariachi Singer”, he puts in the hours to attain success and stardom. An ex-con who ended up falling in love with music, he saves every nickel that he has in order to […]
