Hot Docs 2018: ‘Playing Hard’
Playing Hard (DIR. Jean-Simon Chartier) Jean-Simon Chartier’s behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of video game development is engrossing, informative, and unexpectedly full of tension and drama.
Documentary
Hot Docs 2018: ‘The Cleaners’ and ‘Turning Tables’
The Cleaners (DIR. Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck) Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck’s The Cleaners is a documentary that claims to be one thing, but is really about another topic.
Hot Docs 2018: ‘Golden Dawn Girls’ and ‘Transformer’
Golden Dawn Girls (DIR. Håvard Bustnes) Håvard Bustnes’ Golden Dawn Girls is a feature-length interview-of-sorts with several female relatives of Nikolaos Michaloliakos, the head of the far-right, Greek “social nationalist” party known as Golden Dawn.
Mighty Ground
By: Trevor Chartrand Documentary filmmaker Delila Vallot brings the world passion and soul personified in her emotionally-charged character study, Mighty Ground.
The China Hustle
As a film critic, you try to keep an open mind; especially with subject matter that may not be of personal interest in the first place. Those films have the opportunity to teach something new. That said, economical documentaries are still my kryptonite – they’re still too dense to comprehend. Jed Rothstein’s The China Hustle – a film about devious activity on Wall Street – is more proof of that, but it also surprised me.
Maker of Monsters: The Extraordinary Life of Beau Dick
A new documentary called Maker of Monsters: The Extraordinary Life of Beau Dick was formally titled Meet Beau Dick. The older title is fitting because, over the course of 90 minutes, that’s exactly what the audience does thoroughly. I assume the name change was for keepsake purposes since Beau Dick passed away last year at the age of 61. But no matter what it’s called, Maker of Monsters is a good movie. Standardly structured, but an honourable film…
Catwalk: Tales from the Catshow Circuit
Last year’s Kedi, one of the best films of the year, showed us just how much potential there is in cat documentaries. This year, CBC Docs attempted to follow that nascent tradition in Canada with Catwalk: Tales from the Catshow Circuit, a study of people and their pets who participate in such performances. And, yes, there’s a healthy dose of cute cat action.