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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Hot Docs 2014: Alakaflim, Alakaflam!

May 3, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

An Honest Liar (DIR. Justin Weinstein & Tyler Measom) By: Addison Wylie An Honest Liar is a chip off of James “The Amazing” Randi’s block.  Justin Weinstein and Tyler Measom’s doc is as entertaining and clever as any of Randi’s illusionary deceptions. Residing in Toronto, Ontario before joining the circus and becoming one of the most successful magicians of all time, Randi set out to disprove charlatans and phonies claiming to have mystical powers when really they…

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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Hot Docs 2014: One-On-Two with Hotline’s Tony Shaff and Miss Cleo

May 1, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie As I state in the interview, part of the reason I love Hot Docs is that I usually have the chance to sit down with people I wouldn’t have expected to talk to. Miss Cleo is someone who I grew up watching on TV during commercial breaks.  The infomercial psychic movement she created with her catch phrase and bright on-screen personality is something that couldn’t be ignored.  She became a nostalgic icon to…

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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Hot Docs 2014: Crouching Arpaio, Hidden Elliot

May 1, 2014Addison Wylie4 Comments

Kung Fu Elliot (DIR. Matthew Bauckman & Jaret Belliveau) By: Addison Wylie Matthew Bauckman and Jaret Belliveau’s Slamdance favourite Kung Fu Elliot goes through three stages. First, there’s the ultra cheese.  Elliot Scott (also known as “White Lightning”) is a martial arts expert and is set on being Canada’s first notable action star.  He’s produced a few independent films to which he also peddles out.  The films shine of lo-fi aesthetics, but it’s hard to not turn…

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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Hot Docs 2014: Deep Rooted

April 30, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

The Last Season (DIR. Sara Dosa) By: Gesilayefa Azorbo It’s often said that there’s nothing stronger than the bonds of brotherhood forged between fellow soldiers.  Regardless of place of origin or beliefs, the experiences that form one’s life as a soldier are often common across borders, with a mutual understanding that often transcends other differences. The Last Season is ostensibly a film about a mushroom hunt.  The town of Chemult, Oregon, population 135, is also home to…

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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Hot Docs 2014: Hunky-Dory Heartbreak Doc

April 29, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

Sleepless in New York (DIR. Christian Frei) By: Addison Wylie There’s narration – nay – lots of narration in Christian Frei’s Sleepless in New York from lonely people who have been dumped.  The voiceovers wear thin after a while, but they do serve a purpose. The doc is a film that gets “the break-up” right.  Frei is fortunate to have received good applicants from his open casting call (street-laden flyers inviting heartbroken souls to participate), and those…

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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Hot Docs 2014: Everything is Political

April 27, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

Shield and Spear (DIR. Petter Ringbom) By: Parker Mott “Everything is political”, a group of South African artistes extol as mantra in Shield and Spear, which has its world premiere at Hot Docs.  This saying is called, in conventional wisdom, “The Activist’s Argument”;  it also resembles Ai Weiwei’s line that “art is politics” from his documentary Never Sorry (the latest documentary on the provocative Chinese artist, The Fake Case, is also at Hot Docs).

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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Hot Docs 2014: A Doc with Braaains

April 26, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

Just as other festivals offer a “Midnight Madness” selection, Hot Docs hopes to bring in the same crowd with its Nightvision screenings. These documentaries feature brazen topics and massive cult followings;  films that are certainly unlike any other.  An added bonus is the discounted price of films screening after 11:00 p.m.  For a cool $7, treat yourself to some of these neat docs. If you’re into horror, you should give Alexandre Philippe’s doc a shot. Doc of the Dead (DIR. Alexandre Philippe)…

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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Hot Docs 2014: Fittingly Framed

April 24, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

Crime often features some prime subjects for documentarians. The stories sometimes serve up a ruthless criminal, unbelievable twisty pasts, and layers upon layers of aggressive activity with hopes that justice will prevail. The docs are even more riveting because none of this is fiction. This year’s festival isn’t without a few crime docs. Let’s take a look at a couple of them. Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger (DIR. Joe Berlinger) By: Addison Wylie…

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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Hot Docs 2014: Baring It All and Barely Keeping Quiet

April 21, 2014Addison Wylie2 Comments

The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is fast approaching, which means it’s time to  check out some of the docs that will be playing this year. The festival has been known to feature a variety of different work capturing all sorts of subjects and world events.  There’s simply no other festival like it, which explains why it’s become the largest film festival for docs in North America. Hot Docs is one of my favourite festivals…

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Reviews

Mistaken for Strangers

April 10, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie There’s this strange little number named Mistaken for Strangers that has me all around impressed.  The documentary is a peculiar one because it plops the audience in a position that automatically has us feeling very skeptical moments out of the gate. We’re quickly introduced to the film’s focus – the rock and roll band The National – and shown the key element all five musicians have in common.  Each member has a…

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