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Festival Coverage

Festival Coverage

Hot Docs 2015: ’Live From New York!’ and ‘The Queen of Silence’

May 2, 2015Addison Wylie1 Comment

Live From New York! (DIR. Bao Nguyen) By: Trevor Jeffery How do you describe a forty-year “New York institution” in 90 minutes?  Live From New York! explores both the mythos and the cultural significance of the longest running sketch comedy series, Saturday Night Live (SNL). The documentary covers a lot of ground: the rise (and fall and rise);  behind the scenes;  cultural impact;  and the ongoing issues with race and gender dynamics.  While each topic…

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Festival Coverage

Hot Docs 2015: ‘3 Still Standing’ and ‘Deep Web’

April 27, 2015Addison Wylie4 Comments

3 Still Standing (DIR. Robert Campos, Donna LoCicero) By: Trevor Jeffery What do you call three comics who keep doing stand-up instead of landing a sitcom role?  “Working”. 3 Still Standing looks into the lives of three comedians who never took their career beyond the microphone.  In their early days, political satirist Will Durst, funny everyman Johnny Steele and self deprecating Larry “Bubbles” Brown were part of the 1980s San Francisco comedy boom that launched careers…

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Festival Coverage

Hot Docs 2015: ‘Monty Python: The Meaning of Life’

April 26, 2015Addison Wylie1 Comment

Monty Python: The Meaning of Life (DIR. Roger Graef, James Rogan) By: Addison Wylie If Monty Python Live (Mostly) was the comedy troupe’s last hurrah, Monty Python: The Meaning of Life is their congratulatory curtain call and encore. It goes without saying that Roger Graef and James Rogan’s film is essential viewing for any Monty Python fan, or anyone who caught their live show.  This documentary provides audiences with alternate angles, exclusive behind-the-scenes tomfoolery, and…

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Festival Coverage

Hot Docs 2015: A One-On-One With Committed’s Vic Cohen

April 24, 2015Addison Wylie4 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Where there’s a Howie Mandel production, Vic Cohen is most likely close by.  It’s quite obvious the two comedians are close supportive friends, however audiences are seeing that connection run deeper in the documentary Committed. For twelve years, Mandel has recorded Cohen with a video camera and chronicled his budding career as a comic and as an outrageous, fearless performer.  The documentary has been also been shaped by co-directors Reed Grinsell and Steve…

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Hot Docs 2015: ‘Elephant’s Dream’ and ‘Milk’

April 23, 2015Addison Wylie2 Comments

Elephant’s Dream (DIR. Kristof Bilsen) By: Addison Wylie As Kinshasa’s struggling economy heals after the civil war in the DRC, its population waits for stable change.  People try to march on with their community through unfortunate situations with limited resources, but it’s achingly hard.  A sequence featuring a reckless fire burning downtown shows the audience how dire Kinshasa’s firefighting team is. Supreme danger spirals out of control, the help is flustered, and panicked pedestrians criticize. …

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Hot Docs 2015: ‘Nuestro Monte Luna’ and ‘Welcome to Leith’

April 22, 2015Addison Wylie3 Comments

Nuestro Monte Luna (DIR. Pablo Alvarez-Mesa) By: Trevor Jeffery Nuestro Monte Luna is a story of a bullfighting school, and the teenage boys who attend to train in a well-hated tradition. Nuestro Monte Luna’s narrative starts strong.  It manages to immediately set up the scenario – you’re not just watching people in Choachi, but you are experiencing the little Colombian town through the camera.  However, as the movie trails on, interest wanes and clarity takes a…

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Hot Docs 2015: ‘The Circus Dynasty’ and ‘The Messenger’

April 20, 2015Addison Wylie1 Comment

The Circus Dynasty (DIR. Anders Riis-Hansen) By: Gregory Breen The Circus Dynasty’s opening caption prepares the audience for the doc’s concept – a grand dynamic between two of Europe’s greatest circus families. The Berdino family (one of Europe’s largest families of artists) and the Casselly family (the world’s most award-winning artist family) have been delighting audiences all across Europe with the joint circus Arena for 21 years.  A special relationship has developed with the two clans creating…

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Hot Docs 2015: ‘The Amina Profile’ and ‘Seth’s Dominion’

April 19, 2015Addison Wylie2 Comments

The Amina Profile (DIR. Sophie Deraspe) By: Trevor Jeffery The Amina Profile is three stories in one: a three-part politically charged long-distance romance with a twist;  a bit of Going the Distance meets a bit of Milk, with a lot of Catfish. It’s a story of civil unrest under a dictatorship told through a somber love story: two women meant for each other, with half a world between them – Sandra in Montreal and Amina in Damascus.  Six…

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Hot Docs 2015: ‘Lowdown Tracks’ and ‘Orion: The Man Who Would Be King’

April 17, 2015Addison Wylie5 Comments

Lowdown Tracks (DIR. Shelly Saywell) By: Gregory Breen If you have ever stopped to smell the roses and listen to a busker, chances are Lowdown Tracks will bring a tear to your eye.  In this heartfelt and engrossing film, activist and musician Lorraine Segato seeks to meet Toronto’s street musicians and record some of the wonderful tunes they play. Segato meets Woody Cormier, Anthony Van Zant, Maryann Epp, Bruce Bathgate and Katt Burr – five very special,…

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Hot Docs 2015: ‘Committed’ and ‘Hadwin’s Judgement’

April 16, 2015Addison Wylie5 Comments

Committed (DIR. Howie Mandel, Reed Grinsell, Steve Sunshine) By: Addison Wylie Vic Cohen was a faithful writer on The Howie Mandel Show, but had the presence of someone who was weak.  Mandel (who is naturally attracted to peculiar, desperate people) wanted to learn more about him, and decided to keep a camera rolling on the pair;  documenting their collaborations as well as Cohen’s growth as a confident performer. By capturing twelve years of footage, Committed…

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