Hot Docs turns twenty

IT WAS TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY It was a year like any other – the ceremonial swap between less liberal and more liberal leader of the US took place when Clinton picked up where Bush left off (launching a cruise missile attack on Iraq just half a year into his term and fine-tuning the ongoing regime of domestic and international deregulation for the next eight), Czechoslovakia emitted more post-Soviet fragmentation moans and became two independent states, North Korea announced its imminent withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and Canada saw…read more

Free International Women’s Day Films at NFB.ca

The beaten (by the Canadian Conservative budget cuts) but not down National Film Board of Canada is offering a treasure trove of titles for free streaming today, in celebration and recognition of International Women’s Day. Included in the bunch is the 2012 experimental short by Jenn Strom, below (after the jump), called ASSEMBLY. We’re not talking about a couple of films here, we’re talking dozens of amazing documentaries. The section also features a forward by Ravida Din, Director General of English Program, who discusses the NFB’s herstory with the women’s…read more

The Documentary Download Dilemma

Much ink has been spilled and pixels punctuated regarding the ongoing controversial topic around the copyright, downloading, streaming and file sharing of creative content — yet there has been little discussion (outside of organizational listserves and at festival forums) of documentary cinema and file sharing. This may be in large part due to the fact that public discourse is catching up to a trend that is really less than five years old. Whereas commercial and mainstream fiction cinema has been swapped, downloaded and streamed online since file sharing’s early days, documentary has…read more

Scrap America

This week’s Friday Film Pick is the beautifully shot and tenderly rendered Scrappers, a documentary that quietly follows two Chicago residents as they eke out a living from the salvaging of metallic refuse. It’s not fist-in-the-air advocacy filmmaking for the downtrodden, but in its own way Scrappers gets under the skin, forcing a closer look at the stark indexes of inequality present in contemporary America. With a subtle grace and empathic approach this gorgeous film challenges the notion of the “American Dream” — the mainstream media and Hollywood fairytale that…read more

Russian LGBT Film Fest pushes ahead despite attacks

It is an extreme act of bravery and commitment to put on a queer film festival in many parts of the world, where the cultural politics of film festivals play out in ugly and often violent manifestations of hatred and ignorance. Homophobia is rampant the world over, but in countries like Russia the fear and hatred leveled against queer compatriots is often given state-sanctioned space to flourish and impinge on the rights of others. Gay pride parades in Russia and many locations throughout the former Soviet block have become battlegrounds…read more

Love and death on the side of the road

Posted by ezra in Art, Art Threat, Interviews

Kate Puxley is a visual artist whose work has drawn attention to the Harper government’s damaging policies toward art and culture as well as our relationship with animals and the natural environment. Arresting, breathtaking, and inimitable, her drawings, paintings, installations, and most recently her taxidermy sculptures, are provocations and interventions in the social, political and environmental landscapes. Art Threat got a chance to talk with her about some of her recent works and what it means to transform the dead into art. Ezra Winton: Your roadkill series is exceptional —…read more

Hot Docs 2012

This article was originally published on Art Threat. The 19th edition of North America’s largest documentary showcase and one of the world’s largest film festivals begins this week, running from April 26 to May 6 in Toronto. With Charlotte Cook replacing Sean Farnel as head programmer, new directions (fewer films, more focus is the official line), new initiatives (Hot Docs’s very own Kickstarter, Doc Ignite), new sponsors (Nescafé, Dundee Wealth and Sun Life Financial, to name a few of the more spurious corporate inductees) and a gorgeously renovated, and reinvigorated, venue…read more

Let’s Do This

The optimism in David Gauntlett’s Making is Connecting (published by the fantastic UK outlet polity) is difficult to escape. Much like the plethora of networks, groups, clubs and civil society manifestations he describes, the book is largely held together with positive attitudes about culture and communication combined with a philosophy that triumphs creativity over consumption. In that he forms a very accessible and sound argument centered on creating and sharing as the cornerstones to individual happiness and healthy community in a society saturated with messages imploring and coercing us to…read more

Go Madison!

[Originally posted on Art Threat] The above video, shot and edited by 22-year old videographer Matt Wisiniewski, transforms footage of Wisconsin activists demonstrating, marching, speaking, singing and occupying into a beautiful montage music video. While the political context is not present in such works (why they are protesting, what’s at stake, etc) Wisniewski’s talented hand crafts an electrifying, inspirational and emotional ode to popular uprising, dissent and critical public intervention. This video, which is more like a music video (complete with the ever-popular Arcade Fire as soundtrack) than a documentary,…read more

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