By: Addison Wylie Anthony Powell was finding it impossible explaining to others what Antarctic life is really like. For someone who has spent extended time in the chilly climate, it was truly a daunting task trying to find the right words to describe the torrential winds and the degree of cabin fever. Over the next ten years, Powell has made it his quest to create the ultimate tell-all about Antarctica. He built equipment that could…
By: Addison Wylie For those looking for a seasonal flick, Getting to the Nutcracker may hit the spot. Serene Meshel-Dillman’s documentary about the conception of The Nutcracker at Los Angeles’ Marat Daukayev School of Ballet is a eloquent film. If you’re a theatre enthusiast and are already humming Tchaikovsky, Getting to the Nutcracker will have you grinning throughout its entirety. Dillman documents each phase as best as possible leading up to the big show (which…
By: Gesilayefa Azorbo The first question Point and Shoot director Marshall Curry asks his subject off-camera is, “So how did a guy from Baltimore end up fighting in the Libyan revolution?” This is likely the question on the minds of every audience member who sits down to watch this film. And, it’s this question that the film itself repeatedly returns to examine through a mix of personal interviews and exposition via first-person video footage shot over…
By: Addison Wylie Emptying the Skies finds itself in a scenario where the message is greater than the film its wrapped up in. Douglas and Roger Kass have strewn together interviews and clips from conspicuous raids and tense confrontations to make an eye-opening film chronicling the ever-growing problem of bird poaching in southern Europe. The kindheartedness and tenacity of CABS (which stands for: Committee Against Bird Slaughter) is seen throughout, and their hearts remain open…
By: Addison Wylie 2014 has released plenty of exceptional documentaries, but Jesse Moss’ The Overnighters is unlike any of them. The Overnighters is a remarkable film about the human spirit and the struggle to maintain compassion and beliefs within a critical community. Exercising good faith isn’t always a walk in the park when the odds are intimidatingly stacked and judgement is looming. North Dakota’s economy is booming, which has brought plenty of pros and cons…
By: Addison Wylie The September 11th attacks struck fear into our society, providing a sensitive feeling of having our nerves wracked and having a newfound definition to defensiveness. But, sometimes precautions towards the “war on terror” are taken too far and end up doing additional harm to innocent people. Five Muslim men were selected and arrested for having links to terrorism with some of those individuals having a loose relationship to Osama Bin Laden. At…
By: Addison Wylie Every film festival has movies that are so unusual, the audience wonders if the flicks will ever see the light of day. Kung Fu Elliot and Giuseppe Makes a Movie were those films for me at this past year’s Hot Docs Film Festival. The jury’s still out on a release for Giuseppe, but Elliot can be seen by many very soon. It’s a doc that rolls with the punches – no pun intended. The flick starts…
By: Addison Wylie We’re only a few minutes into Citizen Marc, and the audience is already aware of how polarizing pot activist Marc Emery can be. Emery’s button-pushing tactics to challenge the Canadian government can be seen as either courageous or just plain obnoxious. His outspokenness may be a little of column A and B, but documentarian Roger Evan Larry uses this film to portray Emery as real as possible. That image being a passionate,…
By: Addison Wylie Edet Belzberg’s Watchers of the Sky is built on perseverance. It’s the film’s bread and butter. The doc has stories about those who refuse to give up fighting for change. But, the glue holding these stories together is Raphael Lemkin’s unstoppable mission to invent the word “genocide” and give it a meaning. His sweat and tears worked hard to urge the UN to consider the heinous act of ethnic cleansing as an…
By: Addison Wylie Delivery isn’t funny ha-ha, which you would think would be problematic in a documentary showcasing four levelheaded guys challenging themselves to take a one-night stab at stand-up comedy. However, the film itself is more amusing in an endearing way. Sean Menard, Shane Cunningham, Bert van Lierop, and Mark Myers (who also serves as the film’s writer/director, and may be familiarized by his former Much Music title ‘Mark the Temp’) make a pact…