The documentary Meet the Patels continues its Toronto theatrical run by opening today at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema for a week-long run. The documentary focuses on Ravi Patel, who undergoes …
Hot Docs 14
The documentary The Overnighters opens this Friday, November 7, 2014 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. The film focuses on the booming oil town of Williston, North Dakota and the local …
The 2014 edition of Hot Docs has finally concluded. This was my fourth time attending the festival and my second time providing full coverage as accredited media. I went all …
Here are my brief thoughts on the four short documentaries I saw during Hot Docs: Love YaScreening with Mugshot, this short consisted of a split screen view of six couples …
Aside from his main career as a documentary filmmaker, Doug Block has had a 20 year side-career as a wedding videographer. As he prepares to do the wedding video for …
Alexander is a teenage boy with autism, who has just finished school and is preparing to head out to live on his own. Following his 18th birthday, Alexander goes on …
In 2006, Baltimore native Matt VanDyke went on a 3 year motorcycle trip across North Africa and the Middle East in a self-described “crash course on manhood.” Along the way, …
Aubrey de Grey and Bill Andrews are two scientists, who hope to find a way to cure the human aging process. Aubrey is using his company SENS to research ways …
Giuseppe Andrews is a former child actor, who had parts in films such as Detroit Rock City, American History X, and Independence Day. Living in a trailer park, Giuseppe has …
This semi-experimental documentary features intimate confessional interviews with 50 unique individuals. Sitting in front of a blank white screen, these people talk about everything from relationships, the search for identity, …
Narrated by Fairuza Balk, Beyond Clueless is a cinematic essay that looks into the mind, body, and soul of the teen movie. The documentary consists clips and examples from over …
Winner, Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award In this follow-up to last year’s NCR: Not Criminally Responsible, director John Kastner returns to the Brockville Mental Health Centre, which is a forensic …
All over the world, people call telephone hotlines for a wide variety of reasons. Some people may be looking for support, through LGBT or suicide-prevention lines. Others may be looking …
Best known for their 1995 hit song “Common People,” British rock band Pulp stopped playing around 2001-02. With frontman Jarvis Cocker wanting to give the band a happy ending, they …
Described as true stories from the other side, The Darkside features ghost stories from all across Australia. A number of Australia’s most beloved actors, such as Claudia Karvan, Aaron Pedersen, …
Hot Docs has announced the awards for this year’s festival, which were presented yesterday Windsor Arms Hotel in Toronto. The awards were determined by four juries: The Canadian Feature Documentary …
Celebrity apes are the subject of the observational documentary See No Evil. Cheeta is the last of the apes to play the sidekick of Tarzan and is celebrating his birthday; …
Inspired by the blog of fashion photographer Ari Seth Cohen, Advanced Style follows a group of seven New York women, aged 62 to 95, who have maintained a sense of …
In 2005, Scottish rock musician Edwyn Collins, best known for his 1994 hit “A Girl Like You,” suffered a serious stroke. After waking up, Collins was only able to utter …
Originating after the invention of the daguerreotype in the 19th century, mugshots were originally intended to keep track of criminals. However, aside from their use in law enforcement, they are …
Over the past 30 years, obesity has essentially become an epidemic, with two out of every three Americans being overweight. Narrated by journalist Katie Couric, Fed Up examines why the …
In this follow-up to his 2011 documentary You’ve Been Trumped, Scottish director Anthony Baxter gives an update on the fight against Donald Trump‘s golf course in Aberdeenshire, while also exploring …
Elliot “White Lightning” Scott is a man from Halifax, whose goal is to become Canada’s first action hero. Claiming to have 7 lightweight kickboxing titles, Scott has written, directed, and …
Rich Hill, Missouri is a small town with a population of only 1393. Andrew is a 14 year old, whose family is frequently moving; Appachey is a violent and foul-mouthed …
From directors Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen (Metal: A Headbangers Journey) and Reginald Harkema (Leslie, My Name Is Evil) comes this “doc opera” about the career of Alice Cooper. Narrated …
In May 2008, same-sex marriage became legal in California. However, mere months later, conservative forces placed a proposition on the November ballot, which defined marriage as being between a man …
Inspired by the memoir by author Poe Ballantine, Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere examines an unsolved mystery in the isolated prairie town of Chadron, Nebraska. In …
From Oscar-nominated director Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost) comes this film, which follows the 2013 trial of Boston ex-mobster James “Whitey” Bulger. Bulger has ruled the organized crime world in Boston …
Passed from generation to generation, the Slavic folk tale of Baba Yaga tells the story of a pair of children, who find the witch living in a hut perched on …
During his career, magician James “The Amazing” Randi was known as the greatest escape artist since Harry Houdini. Randi always started his shows by describing himself as a “liar, cheat, …
Inspired by the book A Problem from Hell by Samantha Power, Watchers of the Sky looks into the history of genocide. The term was coined by Raphael Lemkin, who was …
Cenk Uygur is a Turkish-American political commentator, who is the creator and host of The Young Turks, which is described as the largest online news program in the world. After …
Mark Landis is one of the most prolific art forgers in U.S. history. For over 30 years, Landis has forged over 100 pieces, donating them to 46 museums in 20 …
From director Alexandre Philippe (The People vs. George Lucas) comes this examination of the evolution of the zombie in film and literature, as well as its impact on pop culture. …
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vazir is best known to professional wrestling fans as “The Iron Sheik,” who was one of the most hated villains from the 1970s and 1980s. Born in …
George Takei is best known to fans for his role as Hikaru Sulu on the television series Star Trek. Takei came out as homosexual in 2005 and has since become …
In 1990, 21 year old Pamela Smart was arrested for plotting the murder of her husband, which was committed by three teens – one of whom Smart had an affair …
Ray Klonsky is a Jewish-Italian man from a racially mixed neighbourhood in Toronto. When Ray’s father started to notice he was starting to go down a troubled path, Ray was …
In this follow-up to their 2010 documentary The Clean Bin Project, Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story follows filmmakers Jen Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin on a six month challenge …
While growing up as a first-generation Indian-American, Ravi Patel lived a double life. At home he maintained a traditional Indian lifestyle, while in the outside world he lived as a …
Anyone who grew up watching the long-running children’s television series Sesame Street would likely be familiar with the show’s signature Muppet characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. However, fans …
Following the fall of the Soviet Union, there was growing perception that all the women from Ukraine become prostitutes. To combat this, the feminist activist organisation FEMEN was formed. FEMEN …