Hot Docs will always hold a special place in my heart as my son was born right in the middle of last year’s festival. With a newly renovated home at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, this year’s edition of the festival has much to celebrate. Last year Hot Docs screened many great documentaries including PROJECT NIM, BEING ELMO, BEAUTY DAY, and BEATS, RHYMES, & LIFE: THE TRAVELS of A TRIBE CALLED QUEST. Not do be outdone, this year’s festival features documentaries centered around the likes of musicians such as LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy and Bob Marley, female wrestlers, and even DRIVE director Nicholas Winding Refn. There are also documentaries that focus on marketing sex to tweens, the life of Ethel Kennedy, corruption in Liberia, and a look at how the economic crisis has crippled the city of Detroit from the directors of JESUS CAMP. Believe me, that is not even scratching the surface of what the festival has to offer this year. Below are a few of the highlights from the various Hot Docs programs: In addition to the opening night Canadian premiere of Alison Klayman’s AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY, an up-close portrait of the renowned Chinese activist and artist, other notable films in the Special Presentations program include: Bart Layton’s THE IMPOSTER, which depicts a lost and found boy who may not be who he claims; James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot’s INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE, a look into the lives of video game developers; Lauren Greenfield’s THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES, a portrait of an eccentric billionaire family facing the ...
Big Thoughts From A Small Mind
21 March 2012