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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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Reviews

The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden

April 8, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie Documentarians Daniel Geller and Danya Goldfine have a fascinating story on their hands with The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden.  It’s a real-life murder mystery that took place in the 1930’s within the secluded collection of islands located near Ecuador. In the late 20’s, a couple seeking independence and an escape from civilization took to Floreana to start a new life.  Surrounded by tortoises and iguanas, Friedrich Ritter and Dore Strauch…

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Reviews

Afflicted

April 6, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie Afflicted isn’t a found footage film, but rather a mockumentary documenting Derek Lee and Clif Prowse’s year long trip around the world.  The film does, however, use the same techniques we’ve seen in previous found footage horrors.  Luckily, the filmmakers in charge of this creature feature know what they’re doing. In fact, there are a lot of things filmmakers/co-stars Lee and Prowse do brilliantly in Afflicted.  Firstly, the duo cover their asses extremely…

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Reviews

Run Run It’s Him

April 1, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie If I have one positive to say about Matthew Pollack’s autobiographical documentary, it’s that the film is rightfully titled.  By the end credits, I didn’t want anything to do with Pollack.  I actually wished I hadn’t bothered with this icky film in the first place. Run Run It’s Him is supposed to serve as a coping tool and a means of comprehension for Pollack with his obsessive addiction to pornography.  Matthew’s fascination…

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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes at Hot Docs 2014

March 26, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

Out of all the festivals I’ve ever covered, the Hot Docs Film Festival is one of my favourites.  It’s a festival that always promises a deep array of different types of documentaries from a variety of different countries.  It’s very hard to find one doc that resembles another in Hot Docs. The press conference held at Toronto’s Bloor Hot Docs Theatre on March 18 certainly built the buzz well.  The audience had the pleasure of…

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CrowdFUNding

CrowdFUNding: Jamie Tiernay’s Kenny vs. Spenny: On The Road

March 12, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie It’s no competition that Kenny vs. Spenny – whether you like it or not – has become a staple in Canadian pop culture. Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice’s reality television show featured the buddies going toe-to-toe with each other in various matches such as Who Can Win a Ten Mile Race and Who Can Stay in a Haunted House the Longest.  However, as the competitions became increasingly irreverent and Hotz’s strategies more…

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