The Dork Shelf Guide to RIFF 2014
We take a look at some of the offerings for this year's second annual musically minded Reel Indie Film Festival, running at The Royal in Toronto this week.
Reel Indie Film Festival 2014
RIFF 2014: Interview: Edward Lovelace and James Hall
It’s hard to imagine what it’s like to have a stroke without knowing someone who’s been through one. The human brain is a tricky beast on the best of days, and it’s hard to put into words much less into visuals on a screen. But directors Edward Lovelace and James Hall get closer than anyone […]
RIFF 2014: A Curious Life Review
A Curious Life A different sort of musical oral history, Dunstan Bruce’s A Curious Life charts the rising success of British folk-punk act The Levellers mainly through the eyes of a specific band member, dreadlocked and upbeat bassist Jeremy Cunningham, who will act as a host of sorts. Famous for producing a string of seven […]
RIFF 2014: Born to Ruin Review
Born to Ruin This behind-the-scenes look at Toronto indie rock act Wildlife as they produce their make-or-break sophomore album in Connecticut and Brooklyn opens with band members confronting their keyboard player about a drinking problem about halfway through the recording process. It’s necessary to start with this because without the conflict, the film itself from […]
RIFF 2014: Alive Inside Review
Alive Inside Michael Rossato–Bennett’s look at the effects of music therapy on the minds of patients with Alzheimer’s disease is a terrible made and constructed film, but it makes up for its lack of subtlety and tact (and the fact that it’s essentially product placement for the core organization involved) with a great amount of […]
RIFF 2014: The Possibilities Are Endless Review
The Possibilities Are Endless After suffering a hemorrhagic stroke, Scottish singer-songwriter Edwyn Collins ended up slipping into a coma. After waking, it was discovered quite quickly he had suffered acute aphasia, a condition that affects the brain and leads to problems using language. Other than yes and no, the only other phrases Edwyn could use were […]
RIFF 2014: Folk Review
Folk Folk takes a well travelled formula for a music doc and looks a three very different sets of musicians as they continue to try and live the dream of playing folk music with hopes of making a living at it. With the landscape of the music industry changing almost at an hourly rate, it’s […]
RIFF 2014: Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty Review
Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty chronicles the highs and lows in the life of a blues icon and a man who certainly never looked the part that he played so well on stage. Through interviews with friends and contemporaries likes Joe Perry, James Cotten, Susan Tedecshi, Billy Gibbons and Tommy […]
