The 2011 Hot Docs Film Festival is bigger than ever this year with over 200 movies being screened of the course of 11 days. I understand that the choices are overwhelming this year, but here I am to briefly give all you fine Dork Shelf readers my top five picks of the festival and five other films that are in smaller categories of competition that you shouldn't overlook.
This year's Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival kicks off tomorrow and runs through May 8. Featuring over 200 films in total, picking which films are worth seeing is a tall order for even the most seasoned fest-vet. With that in mind, allow us to present the first part of our Hot Docs coverage - A selection of documentaries that may just pique your interest.
There is a particular subgenre of kitschy horror film that comes out of countries like Spain and Italy. Usually something to do with some dark legend, a dark devil, and a group of hot young people who get caught up in the madness. Spanish director José Luis Alemán continues with his Valdemar series in La Sombra Prohibida, based on H.P. Lovecraft's work. You have the ingredients for a cult Spanish horror film, but unfortunately the film doesn’t entirely work out.
The 14th annual Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival starts today and runs through November 15th. The festival is Canada’s premier pan-Asian film festival, showcasing the best in Asian and Asian-Canadian cinema. Reel Asian also hosts a number of industry panels, as well as events for film fans.
The 14th annual Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival is Canada's premier pan-Asian international film festival, fostering the exchange of cultural and artistic ideals between east and west. It provides a public forum for homegrown Asian media artists and their work, and fuels the growing appreciation for Asian cinema in Canada.
Easy Money (Snabba Cash) is easy viewing for anyone who likes a good crime story that examines the relationship between gangs, drugs and big business. Set in Stockholm where organized crime is still relatively young, the film follows three very different protagonists who all become vested in one big drug shipment. Jorge is a recently […]
Since the 30 films already picked by Will and Shelagh only represent about 10% of what’s shaping up to be another great program at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, it wasn’t hard for me to find 10 more that I think are worth checking out. The lineups have been crazy and of course advance […]
A lot of the films Will picked, I picked as well, so here’s a selection of the others that I am quite excited about. These lists should provide a good starting point, but be sure to read the full TIFF 2010 schedule. Strange Case of Angelica Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal/Spain/France/Brazil A photographer falls in the […]
With the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival just under a week away, I figured that now would be as good time as any to write up a list of films that I think are worth checking out this year. The 2010 edition of the fest has some truly wonderful offerings from around the world. You […]
Identical twins have always played a large part in film fantasies both titillating and frightening. It’s no surprise that this genetic and reproductive anomaly is fascinating, and Scooter Corkle takes advantage of this fascination in his film Chloe and Attie. Identical twin sisters Jacqueline and Joyce Robbins play the title characters. Chloe looks after her […]
Celebrities have their picture taken on an almost constant basis. Often by fans, sometimes by professionals, but only occasionally by certain photographers who have a knack for showing a side of the celebrity that is never seen on camera, often they can capture the loneliness that comes from lack of anonymity. For rock stars in […]
Before the days of iPods, televisions, and even radio or mass print publications, humans entertained themselves and each other by telling stories. In small groups around campfires, communities would tell each other the stories of their past and present. Fastforward to the 21st century, and Argentinean filmmaker Daniel Burmeister seems to have resurrescted this spirit. […]
As part of the former USSR, Estonia was geographically closer to (supposedly) democratic Finland than the communist powers in Moscow. When Finland began to broadcast television, they showed not only their own programs, but American ones as well. The north coastal Estonian city of Tallinn was only 80 km from Helsinki, and as much as […]
Rush is probably the strangest anomaly in rock music. They have sold the third most number of albums worldwide of any band (after The Rolling Stones and The Beatles), but have never had a number one single. Their fans are arguably the most devoted in the world, and yet (until recently), Rush has been panned […]
The 2010 Hot Docs International Documentary Festival starts on Friday, April 29th. Showcasing the best in documentary filmmaking from Canada and around the world, Hot Docs is playing some really wonderful films this year. Like last year, Dork Shelf has compiled a list of the suitably dorky films that we’re planning to see at this […]
