When I hear the names “Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker” attached to a project, I drop everything I’m doing. These two filmmakers are showcasing outstanding work in the documentary genre. Their doc Welcome to Leith, about white supremacists targeting and flipping a small town into their own personal basecamp, was a terrifying look at the escalation of evil. At first glance, their latest film Wrinkles the Clown looks to be as scary. Their…
My recommendation of Trixie Mattel: Moving Parts comes with a bit of a bias.
By: Jessica Goddard Margaret Atwood is fairly low-hanging fruit as far as documentary subjects go. At the moment, it’s almost certain she’s Canada’s most recognized, beloved author, and her latest novel, The Testaments, came out in September and is a sequel to her best-known work, The Handmaid’s Tale.
Patricia Marcoccia’s documentary The Rise of Jordan Peterson chronicles just *that*: the increased interest around the University of Toronto psychology professor, leading to his worldwide notoriety and success of his best-seller 12 Rules For Life. But while the movie does a good job bringing uninformed viewers up to speed on the popularity and controversy of Peterson, it doesn’t add much else to the conversation. The movie is just, kind of, “there”.
In his documentary Coppers, Alan Zweig (15 Reasons To Live) interviews Canadian ex-police officers. Occasionally, viewers are given the a ride-along perspective as the subjects drive around their formally patrolled turf and share some unforgettable stories. Most of these interviewees can recall aged confrontations as if it happened hours before Zweig’s camera turned on. For some, these cases have led to current wellness complications. Along with riding shotgun, Zweig has also emulated the atmosphere of…
This Changes Everything comes from a good place. But, the points expressed in this documentary about gender inequality are sometimes muddled by the doc’s filmmaking.
Max Lewkowicz’s documentary Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles teaches viewers about the history of the iconic musical Fiddler on the Roof, as well as the play’s cultural impact which still maintains its relevance to this day since first opening in 1964.
By: Trevor Chartrand Danish filmmaker/journalist Mads Brügger hits an incredible home run with his latest intense and heartbreaking documentary, Cold Case Hammarskjöld. The film sets out to explore a fifty-year-old unsolved mystery, which is intriguing enough, only to end up unravelling a much larger, gut-churningly appalling conspiracy.
Just as a thoughtful retirement video or an in memoriam can do, Avi Belkin’s well produced outside-the-box doc Mike Wallace Is Here encapsulates its subject’s career and tells a personal story through archival footage.
Free Trip to Egypt is the epitome of a “feel-good movie”. The fact that it’s also a documentary is proof that positive affirmations can manifest organically.