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HotDocs

John Dower Pursues the Mystery of D.B. Cooper

November 25, 2020 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment

This undated artist’ sketch shows the skyjacker known as D.B. Cooper from recollections of the passengers and crew of a Northwest Airlines jet he hijacked between Portland and Seattle on Thanksgiving eve in 1971.

When Kenny Daglish made the transition from Celtic in Scotland to Liverpool in the English Premier League, John Dower’s Scottish father found his European football allegiance transitioning, too. Over the years, the Dower family avidly followed their team, attending the miracle win in Istanbul in 2005 and now enjoying the latest spoils of success under manager Jurgen Klopp, who has led them to Champions League and Premier League titles. But don’t confuse John Dower’s fandom with partiality as the unblinking eyes of a documentarian.

“I’d just love to tell the story of the man who I’m deeply in love with, Jurgen Klopp, who has done extraordinary things in a short amount of time,” he shared via ZOOM from England. “But directors are coldhearted assassins, and I put aside my love when it comes to filming. It would be great to hang out with the guys, but I’m not signing on for a film where the director doesn’t have the final cut. Besides, the best sports dramas are the ones where you don’t really see the sports. The film can’t replicate the drama of the game.”

Dower has done sports stories before, like his documentary Thrilla in Manila, but his latest looks into the legend surrounding D.B. Cooper. While other films had been made trying to investigate what really happened on November 24, 1971, Dower’s look at the hijacker who jumped out of a Boeing 727 with two hundred thousand dollars in ransom money investigates those who believe they know what really happened – because they know the real Cooper.

“We’re not trying to solve it,” explains Dower. “The FBI have tried unsuccessfully for fifty years so how is a guy from South London? If you’re at a pub telling the story, ‘It’s stormy night, it’s Thanksgiving Eve, a guy in a suit and sunglasses gets on a plane.’ It’s not dramatic enough because it’s one of the most passive hijackings ever!”

“He’s so polite, he might as well have been English.”

Dower knows that it would have been easy to mock or satirize the different individuals he interviewed for the film, each who is sure they knew the real D.B. Cooper. Of course they can’t all be right, but their passion for what they believe is captured, fairly, on camera by a documentarian who is more than willing to tell their stories.

“I respect their belief in their stories,” says the director. “Now, I’m not equating myself to him, but when [Steven] Spielberg was making Close Encounters of the Third Kind, he said, ‘I don’t necessarily believe in UFOS but I believe in the people who believe in them. They’re not just the village crazies.’ They’re pouring their lives into why they believe this. As we got deeper, other suspects popped up, like a guy in Long Island who wanted several thousand dollars to tell us it was the guy from Catch Me If You Can. Once you ask for money, you’re instantly dismissed because you’re in it for something else.”

Nancy Abraham told Dower that as people walk up and down passing other people on the street, cheek to jowl, that each has story after story inside of them. It’s those stories that Dower has sought in pursuit of the Mystery of D.B. Cooper, but he’s clear that it’s still a mystery, and it’s not up to him to solve it.

“You’re kind of relieved they lost the cigarette butts,” Dower admits, referring to the lack of DNA evidence. “With the Internet, there’s not a lot of mystery left in the world. That’s the beauty, the purity of Cooper’s uncertain story. You can be part of completing the story.”

Dower believes that any belief system, any perceived story of an individual, has an element of craziness because it’s their story and not rooted in things that the rest of us would call realistic. But he says that the people he interviewed have “D.B. Cooper shaped holes” in their lives, and that as he listened to them, they convinced him. “Maybe I’m just a sucker for a good story,” he admits.

Jaws was the first story that caught his attention like that, at twelve or thirteen, in the theater with his father. It was the first time Dower realized that a movie was made with care and thought, and one scene captured his attention in a way that he can still recount it forty-five years later.

“It’s that moment when they open the town back up and they’re all on the beach. They’re apprehensive, and they do a crash zoom in on Roy Schneider’s face. But then everyone comes rushing out of the water, and one kid is bloody eaten! Then they go crashing into the mother’s face. She’s not the woman you’d expect, not a soccer mom, but someone you could clearly tell was a slightly older woman, a bit spinsterly. This boy was her world and there was no one else. That’s when I realized casting was important, and the storytelling was amazing.”

Dower was drawn into the world of documentaries by films like Errol Morris’ The Thin Blue Line, the story of the trial and conviction of Randall Dale Adams for the murder of police officer Robert Wood, and Nick Brunfield’s Tracking Down Maggie, an access-free documentary that tried and failed to gain access to then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The action turned from watching documentaries to making them at the turn of the century, just as he came across Chris Smith’s American Movie, a documentary about the struggle of Mark Borchadt to get his horror film made.”I still watch it once a year, it’s so wonderful. They make a film about a guy in Wisconsin who is trying to make a horror film with his mate. It’s horrible and he just won’t give up. Documentaries are allowed to have moments that are funny, moments of levity.”

That’s why the strangeness of the various stories about D.B. Cooper’s potential next chapter appeal to him. They are a little off the wall, not as serious in sensibility to viewers, but no less true to the people who believe them. Still, don’t assume that this is a farce, because Dower knows there’s more at stake here, even if it’s hidden behind a wink and a grin. The film is asking questions about ideals that everyone takes for granted.

“It’s about belief, about memory, the stories we tell ourselves,” admits the director. “We all do it. Why are these people any different? I’d so love if one of them was the accurate story behind D.B. Cooper.”
It’s all still a mystery though – and that’s what makes it a story worth Dower telling. Even today, discussing money that washed ashore, mentioned briefly in the movie but not fully unpacked, reveals another mystery. “The fact that the money washed ashore, that element gives it another gear because the FBI showed the money couldn’t have been there that long. They did tests on the elastic bands, and there’s no way it could be there in that status. The money had only been there a year, not nine. Where did that money come from?”

“It’s almost as bonkers as him jumping out of the plane.”

Maybe that will be Dower’s next investigation, presenting the stories as he finds them. But like a good story, the audience is left to fill in the blanks and consider their own interpretations, based on their own beliefs, their own memories, and what they tell themselves.

The Mystery of D.B. Cooper premieres on November 26 on HBO.

Filed Under: HotDocs, Interviews

Love and Stuff: Motherhood and Mortality

June 1, 2020 by Julie Levac Leave a Comment

Directed by Judith Helfand, Love and Stuff is chock-full of substance, and despite the numerous topics that it covers, everything is perfectly intertwined. Love and Stuff comes down to one word – motherhood. Complex and emotional, Helfand’s film looks at what it means to have a mother, become a mother, and have those realities stripped of you against your will.

We begin our journey with Judith as she navigates turning her mother’s apartment into a hospice as she comes to the end of her battle with cancer. It was a shocking reality to witness the preparation for death. We learn some of her mother’s wishes, and listen in as Judith tearfully asks her mother how she is supposed to live without her.  

After her passing, Judith is forced to go through her mother’s belongings, including generations of mementos. Understandably, Judith struggles with letting go. It’s almost as if letting go of her belongings solidified the truth that her mother was gone. (I can appreciate not wanting to lose all of the things that were important to, not just her mother, but to generations of family members.) But, for Judith, it was simply too much ‘stuff’ for her New York apartment to house. How do you choose what to keep of her memory?  

A curve ball in this piece is the impact that the pharmaceutical industry can have on an individual (and even entire families) for years down the line. It’s terrifying to think of how a medication meant for good can completely alter the trajectory of someone’s life. We witness how Judith’s health was seriously affected by a medication that her mother took before she was born. It was heartbreaking to look back on old footage of Judith going through a significant medical procedure that would change her life forever. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it was, not only for Judith, but also for her mother to see her own daughter live through that tragedy. Perhaps the bright side was that it seemed to bring them closer together.

I can’t help but continue to soak in the idea of legacy and the impact that we have on our children. Love and Stuff is a sobering narrative on the importance of keeping our health in order to be around longer for our children. Though the film is also a call to live in the moment. Recalling the past, having memories, and learning from the past are all important but if we spend too long reliving the past, it can be detrimental to our future. 

Throughout Love and Stuff, I consistently thought what an incredible narrator Judith Helfand turns out to be. Because this is her personal story, the entire piece is from her voice. I was also impressed with the cinematography, including the shots that paused on certain collections of belongings or different corners of the apartments. I couldn’t help but feel like I was sitting on the couch next to Judith listening to her discuss her experiences.

I felt personally impacted by Love and Stuff. With tears, I battled with the reality of mortality, grief, and legacy right along with Judith. So many of the battles reflected in this piece are incredibly difficult to comprehend. As Judith concludes, “Transitions and goodbyes are notoriously difficult for everybody. I guess it’s a good thing we get so much practice.”

Despite the emotional nature of the film, I felt a glimmer of hope for Judith and her newfound family. Though difficult, we witness Judith coming to terms with her new normal as she slowly learns to live without her Mother.

Love & Stuff premiered at the Hot Docs Film Festival online this weekend.

Filed Under: Featured, Film, HotDocs, Reviews Tagged With: documentary, HotDocs, Judith Helfand, Love and Stuff, Motherhood

Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl – Fearless Authenticity

May 23, 2020 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

While the title may suggest otherwise, never underestimate the girl.

At 18, Kate Nash burst onto the alt-pop music scene from relative obscurity. Quickly earning a platinum album and dominating the music charts, Nash became the voice of a generation. However, years later, after a traumatic encounter with her manager, Nash finds herself struggling to make ends meet. Taking odd jobs and selling off her clothes, Nash is forced to re-examine who she is and what it means to make her music in an ever-changing music landscape.

Directed by Amy Goldstein (East of A), Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl is an intriguing behind-the scenes look at the struggles of life in the music industry, especially for young women. Walking with her along her transition to America, the film portrays Nash as a humble yet courageous artist who remains passionate about her music and style. Through her use of live performance footage and onscreen lyrics, Goldstein manages to keep Nash’s music front and centre throughout her journey. In doing so, she effectively and consistently builds direct connections between the heart of her songs and Nash’s life situation at the time. For Nash, her music is her voice and Goldstein recognizes the power within that.

In fact, the power of voice—or, more accurately, what happens when people try to take that away—remains a key theme throughout Underestimate the Girl. Whereas Nash’s career may have shot to stardom early on, things take a turn for the worse after she is taken advantage of by her manager. By shattering her trust, the damage done by her manager crushes her emotionally and financially. Struggling to pay her bills, Nash wrestles with options ranging from writing pop music that doesn’t suit her brand to selling sci-fi merchandise on a YouTube shopping channel. However, with each venture, Nash appears increasingly saddened, not only because of her financial situation but because each venture seems to steal another piece of her soul. (This frustration becomes particularly apparent during the scenes where she attempts to work on a new ‘pop’ sound as she is repeatedly forced to hold her voice back in an effort to create something that will ‘sell’.) 

However, despite her circumstances, Nash remains determined to speak her voice as an artist. Although she is told that her music doesn’t fit neatly into the music scene, Nash courageously fights for opportunities to express herself in her own way. Inherent to her creativity is a fearless authenticity that enlivens her soul. Because she understands who she has been created to be, Nash recognizes that her value as an artist lies in her ability to speak in her own voice. In other words, her individuality is tied to her energy and effectiveness as an artist. 

In this way, Underestimate becomes an encouraging picture about the life-giving power of a commitment to honouring who we are. By following Nash as her subject, Goldstein strikes gold by bringing us a rock star that we can relate to. While her story of superstardom may differ from our own, her humility and genuineness on camera makes us believe that she is also one of us. Her pluck and tenacity serves as a reminder to all of the value of knowing who you are and ferociously fighting to be heard.

While Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl may be an inside look at the reality of trying to make it in the music business, its true value is deeper than that. Fun but fearless, Nash’s honesty and humility are what truly sets the film apart as she continues to prove her value to others by simply being herself.

Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl hits ALAMO ON DEMAND on Friday, May 22nd, 2020

Filed Under: Film, HotDocs, Reviews Tagged With: alternative music, Amy Goldstein, GLOW, Kate Nash, Netflix, rock, Underestimate the Girl

The Painter and the Thief: Painting a New Picture

May 22, 2020 by Jason Thai Leave a Comment

A still from The Painter and the Thief by Benjamin Ree, an official selection of the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Barbora Kysilkova. All photos are copyrighted and may be used by press only for the purpose of news or editorial coverage of Sundance Institute programs. Photos must be accompanied by a credit to the photographer and/or ‘Courtesy of Sundance Institute.’ Unauthorized use, alteration, reproduction or sale of logos and/or photos is strictly prohibited.

In the new documentary, The Painter and the Thief, director Benjamin Lee introduces the world Barbora Kysilkova, a Czech painter who is devasated when two of her masterpieces are stolen from the Galleri Nobel, an art exhibit in Norway. Eventually, she is able to contact one of the thieves responsible in Karl-Bertil Nordland, a man with a criminal record and a troubled past. Barbora takes an interest in Karl’s personal situation and “uniqueness”, which leads to an unlikely relationship forming between victim and the criminal who stole her paintings. As the two become closer, Karl ultimately becomes her muse as well as an intimate friend.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic between Barbora and Karl, an incredibly unlikely duo that somehow became friends and even benefitted from knowing each other. Given his past, one may stereotype Karl as a dangerous criminal seems as though he will take advantage of Barbora’s kindness at the first opportunity to do so. (Incidentally, Barbora prepares herself mentally for this ‘inevitability’ and even prepares to take advantage of the situation first, by using him as an opportunity for inspiration in future paintings.) However, the film takes a wildly different (and heart-warming) turn. After getting to know Karl for who he is underneath his tattoos, Barbora realizes that he is just a repentant man who is doing his very best to survive. 

As their relationship grows, Barbora becomes increasingly sympathetic, even understanding why he stole the paintings in the first place. To her, Karl is just like most people in that he wants to be ‘seen’, valued and understood by others, and his way of doing so is to steal her art. As someone who has had a difficult career as an artist trying to make it, Barbora relates with her art career, Barbora is able to relate to Karl’s experience and she sets aside any prejudices and anger that she initially had in order to befriend him. Through her support and his own determination, Barbora is able to help Karl overcome his drug and alcohol addictions and turn his life around. 

In fact, their relationship inspires her to portray her friend through her art, expressing his childhood joy, vulnerability and beauty as a person as well. Despite the circumstances surrounding their relationship, Karl has become the masterpiece in Barbora’s life. An incredible example of this comes in a poignant scene in hospital after Karl is in a serious car accident. Noticing the scars on his hands, Barbora decides to paint them. To her, the scars become symbolic of the same ones that Christ had on his hands when crucified on the cross. By drawing parallel between Karl’s journey and Christ’s, Barbora showcases her friend as one who is trying to reach out to be understood but failing yet condemned by the prejudices of society.

Overall, I feel that The Painter and the Thief is a great documentary that tells a very human story of an unlikely duo and their relationship. Powerful and challenging, the film shows the redemptive power of grace in relationship and how that can truly change a life.

The Painter and the Thief is available on VOD on Friday, May 22, 2020 and will stream at HotDocs Toronto’s online festival beginning May 28th.

Filed Under: Featured, Film, HotDocs, Reviews, VOD Tagged With: Barbora Kysilkova, Benjamin Lee, HotDocs, HotDocs20, Karl-Bertil Nordland, The Painter and the Thief

Islam and the Future of Tolerance

December 16, 2018 by Julie Levac Leave a Comment

Image result for islam and the future of tolerance the movie

An atheist and a former Islamist extremist walk in to a bar…

Joking aside.

Image result for sam harris

Sam Harris is a known atheist and the author of The End of Faith, among many others. The End of Faith was Sam’s immediate reaction to the events of 9/11, and includes numerous references to Islam. To roughly quote Sam, he believes that the conventional dogmatism and divisiveness of religion is more tragic than the view of most of the average atheists, who think its a combination of fraud and delusion and it doesn’t need to be paid attention to.

Image result for maajid nawaz

Maajid Nawaz is a former Islamist extremist turned liberal activist and author. Maajid was raised in England and was recruited into one of the first groups to popularize the idea that Muslims needed to form a global caliphate.

When these two extremely well-spoken and educated men, who have exceptionally different pasts and views on religion, sit down to a conversation, what would one expect? Quite a heated debate, to say the least. But what comes from it is an extremely important lesson on a group of individuals that are deeply discriminated against based on one small sect of their religion.

Some of the questions that are debated include if, textually, Islam is a religion of peace. Are Muslims violent people or do these violent actions stem from a particular interpretation of scripture in the Quran?

The film makes an interesting point that agreeing to disagree on such important and catastrophic issues isn’t just a cop-out, but it’s actually incredible dangerous. The topics of human freedom and life and death are not something we can agree to disagree on.

A fair portion of this documentary is dedicated to Maajid’s background story including what brought him to join a Islamist extremist group. As a boy, Maajid was physically attack for his colour. During his teen years he was exposed to racism running rampant around the world. At 16, he was recruited into a group of Islamists, Hizb ut-Tahrir. It is absolutely fascinating to hear Maajid discuss his time in Hizb ut-Tahrir.

One of the most interesting portions of this documentary, and the part that I think everyone needs to hear, is the difference between conservative Muslims, Islamists and Jihadists. Every Islamist is a Muslim but not ever Muslim is an Islamist. In fact, the majority are not. Similar to other religions, not all of the people that follow a certain religion are radical. Maajid makes a comparison with the “Bible Belt” in America. Not all Christians are fanatical (like the KKK for example), just as not all Muslims are fanatical like Islamists and Jihadists are.

During the film there are clips interspersed between the conversation of someone walking a tightrope. I thought this was a spot-on metaphor for the way people can feel and act when discussing religion. It’s become so passe, and perhaps even formidable. When if fact, if we were to treat the discussion of religion like a lesson as opposed to being resistant to it, we might find we understand people a lot more. As it says in this documentary, this conversation is not about proving you’re right. It says that conversation is the key! Without the conversation, we become more and more entrenched in our views.

Islam-Profile-Sam.jpg

Islam-Profile-Maajid.jpg

Interestingly, during the first half of the film, Sam is being interviewed in a bright white room, wearing light colored clothing. Maajid, on the other hand, is placed in a dark dungeon-like space. As we progress, they are interviewed in front of the same background. And at the very end, during the credits, we see them finally face to face, sitting at a table having conversation. I don’t know how much intention went into this, but it really speaks to the vast differences between these two men and perhaps the initial stereotypes one may have. It was refreshing to see the progression. The swallowing of pride, so to speak, when these men could finally understand and respect each other.

Filed Under: Film, HotDocs Tagged With: documentary, Islam, Maajid Mawaz, Muslim, religion, Sam Harris

David Peck: Bronwen Hughes (THE JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION)

May 17, 2017 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Bronwen Hughes and Face2Face host David Peck talk about her new film The Journey is The Destination, Dan Eldon, the “global tribe”, living a life of “crowded hours”, and having no sense of the other.

IMDB

More about Dan Eldon here.

More about Creative Visions here.

Synopsis

The Journey is the Destination is based on the remarkable true story of the life of Dan Eldon, a photographer, artist, and adventurer.  By the age of 22, he had travelled to more than 40 countries, created fine art journals, worked with refugees, been hired as the youngest photojournalist at Reuters, fallen in love  — and accumulated more life experience than most in a lifetime.

Inspiring and irreverent, the film tell the story of a young man coming of age to realize his purpose, and his belief that we can all create positive change.

This film is 23 years in the making and we could not be more proud to have Kathy’s original dream become a reality.  This would not be possible without the phenomenal group of producers, the incredible director Bronwen Hughes, the cast, crew and everyone who has been part of this journey.  The journey continues…

Biography

Bronwen Hughes is a New York and Hollywood-based feature film director of Canadian and British origin.

She is currently at work on the feature film The Journey is the Destination, based on the life of artist and photographer, Dan Eldon. This epic adventure tells the story of Dan who spent his life traveling and photographing in 42 countries, inspiring young people to follow him. Like Dan, Hughes started photographing and traveling the globe from a very young age.

Hughes’ feature Stander is based on the true story of a notorious and brilliant bank robber in 1970’s Johannesburg. This charismatic criminal became a popular hero, often robbing 4 or 5 banks in a single day. Ultimately, he was apprehended and revealed to be the captain of the South African Police. Stander stars Thomas Jane (The Punisher, Boogie Nights) and Dexter Fletcher (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels). The shoot took place in Johannesburg and the Townships of Soweto and Tembisa, where Hughes directed thousands of extras in a re-creation of the riots of the apartheid struggle.

Her previous feature, Forces of Nature, starring Sandra Bullock and Ben Affleck, was made for Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks. It is a stylish and unique romantic comedy about two strangers thrown together on a wild ride battling the elements, both trying to make it to Savannah on a deadline. Noted for its special effects sequences of slow-motion hail storms and surreal hurricanes, Forces of Nature was the Number One film in the weeks of its National and International releases.

Hughes came to the attention of Spielberg who asked her to direct Forces of Nature after seeing her first feature film, Harriet the Spy, starring Rosie O’Donnell. Made for Paramount Pictures, Harriet was released to critical and box office success, and won international prizes.

She currently has several films in development: Romeo Spy, the true story of John Symonds, one-time London policemen who became an international seducer-of-women for the KGB in the 1970’s; Firecracker Boys for Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way, a truth-stranger-than-fiction story of Alaskan Eskimos exposing the nuclear conspiracy of the Atomic Energy Commission; The Dictator’s Lover, the true story of three generations of female spies; and Tropicana, a large-scale musical based on the legendary Havana nightclub.

Her production experience has taken her all over the world, from Iceland and Norway, to East and Southern Africa, to Central American Mayan ruins, and the remote peaks of the Andes. Her award-winning documentary for The Discovery Channel, Cinenova’s Machu Picchu: The Search for Lost Worlds was filmed in the jungles of inland Peru.

For television, Hughes’ prestigious pilots White Collar and Fairly Legal, both for USA Networks and Fox TV Studios, are now hit series for the network.

Hughes completed an action-packed episode of Breaking Bad, which has received Emmy’s for AMC, and several episodes of the HBO series Hung, starring Thomas Jane, who also starred in her feature film, Stander.

 

You can download David Peck on iTunes or stream his interview here:

Bronwen Hughes – Episode 292

 

Filed Under: Film, HotDocs, Interviews Tagged With: Bronwen Hughes, David Peck, David Peck Live, The Journey is the Destination

David Peck: Vaishali Sinha (ASK THE SEXPERT)

May 13, 2017 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Vaishali Sinha and Face2Face host David Peck talk about her new film Ask The Sexpert, cultural context, “women as allies”, a Doctor as a 90-year-old pioneer and the latent effects of colonialism.

IMDB

Synopsis

ASK THE SEXPERT is a feature length documentary about a highly popular 93-year-old sex advice columnist for a daily newspaper in Mumbai. Despite sex being a taboo topic in that country, the column’s brand of non-moralistic advice and humor has emboldened many to write in with their questions, the vast majority of whom seek basic information.

The columnist gains popularity even while a ban on comprehensive sex education in schools is adopted by approximately one third of India’s states.

Biography

Vaishali Sinha Co-Directed/Produced the feature documentary MADE IN INDIA about the personal stories behind the phenomenon of outsourcing surrogate mothers to India. The film premiered at Hot Docs Film Festival and aired on PBS in 2012.

The film received several Jury awards at festivals and is currently a case study at Harvard Business School for their class on ethics. ASK THE SEXPERT is Vaishali’s second feature length documentary; a presentation by her company Coast to Coast Films.

Vaishali has also produced numerous shorts. She has received support for her films from ITVS, the MacArthur Foundation, Tribeca Film Institute, Catapult Fund, Firelight Media, Playboy Foundation, Chicken & Egg Pictures, The Fledgling Fund, Center for Asian American Media, Mozilla, Ford Foundation, Nextpix and more.

Vaishali also freelances at Videoline Productions founded by Peabody award-winning filmmaker Richard Wormser (Rise and Fall of Jim Crow). Vaishali speaks regularly at events and has acted as jury member at film festivals. In the past she has worked with women’s right group Point of View, in Mumbai. She is originally from Mumbai, and now resides in Brooklyn, NY with her husband Fred Lassen, a Music Director and their two-year-old son Luca.

You can download David Peck on iTunes or stream the podcast here:

Vaishali Sinha – Episode 291

Filed Under: Film, HotDocs, Interviews Tagged With: Ask the Sexpert, David Peck, David Peck Live, Vaishali Sinha

David Peck: Egil Larsen (69 MINUTES OF 86 DAYS)

May 12, 2017 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Egil Larsen and Face2Face host David Peck talk about his new film 69 Minutes of 86 Days, The Refugee crisis, making sense of time, polarization of real issues, childlike wonder and why he still has hope.

Hot Docs Review – calls it “Essential viewing.”

Find out more about the film here.

Synopsis

Every day, about 90 Syrian refugees arrive in Canada.

40,081 have been welcomed since November 4, 2015. (Data as of January 29, 2017)

The war in Syria has now lasted six years.

According to UNICEF, one in three of today’s Syrian children have never experienced anything but war and flight. Every week hundreds of families flee. 69 Minutes of 86 Days is the part of the story that hasn’t been told. Follow three-year-old Lean’s journey from an unfamiliar port in Greece on the edge of a beach, through passport controls, congested trains, tents, and a large field, to the quiet streets of Uppsala, Sweden.

At an unspecified port, we are lead into a crowd of people through a trail of discarded lifejackets. Part of a new wave of documentaries that depict the various elements of the Syrian crisis, 69 Minutes of 86 Days takes a poignantly humanistic approach. In its quiet beauty, it unravels the physical and emotional challenges that refugee families face every day: millions of people on the run, thousands who have lost their lives and a patchwork of political power games. With this serving as the entry point to the story, the camera moves onward. Walking along a Greek highway, a little girl stands out from the crowd. Three-year-old Lean is brimming with curiosity and childlike energy. Her playful nature engages us, in stark contrast to the intimidating backdrop of Europe. Without any background information on the child and her family, one can only guess where they’ve travelled from; we naturally assume they have crossed the ocean and already seen many things. While Lean may not fully understand what she’s experiencing, her strength and optimism shine through, giving hope to those who need it the most.

Filmed from one metre above the ground, the camera captures the story from the viewpoint of the child. We are with her and her little “Frozen” backpack amongst the legs and bags belonging to the adults around her. We realize that she understands the seriousness of the journey and is on her way to a new future, but through the journey she holds onto her childlike ability to normalize her days. She sings, plays, shares a lollipop with her little sister, washes the face of her uncle and sleeps in the arms of her parents when she gets tired. The landscape changes continuously as national borders are crossed. Lean is on her way to her grandfather in Sweden and she dreams of learning to swim.

Biography

Egil Håskjold Larsen has worked as a cinematographer and director since finishing his studies in 2008. Studying fine art photography in Turkey, and finally documentary filmmaking in Norway. In 2016 he released his first documentary film Ad Astra. 69 Minutes of 86 Days is his first feature length documentary film

You can download David Peck on iTunes or stream it here:

Egil Larsen – Episode 290

Filed Under: Film, HotDocs, Interviews Tagged With: David Peck, David Peck Live, Egil Larsen, Syria, UNICEF

HotDocs ’17: Babe, I Hate To Go

May 4, 2017 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Produced by Sherien Barsoum and directed by Andrew Moir, Babe, I Hate To Go tells the story of Delroy Dunkley, a migrant worker who has spent half his life working in the Ontario tobacco belt to support his family in Jamaica.  Goodbyes have become ritual but Delroy harbours a secret—he has cancer.  Though his health declines, Delroy continue to work while shielding his family from the inevitable.  A story of acceptance and perseverance, Babe, I Hate to Go is an intimate, observational documentary about a man coming to terms with his mortality.

Delroy’s journey is not only a powerful reminder of the poverty we do not allow ourselves to see but also a testament to the courage of a man facing the potential end of his life.  We see Delroy struggle with the reality of cancer—“I don’t feel like I have it,” he denies—and witness his inner turmoil as he wrestles with whether or not to tell his family.

In many ways, however, the most striking aspect of Moir’s short doc is its inconclusive ending.  By leaving the story unresolved, Moir draws attention to the fact that life simply continues on.  There is no paid vacation coming for Delroy.  Rather, despite his medical issues, Delroy intends to continue toiling in the farm in order to support his family.  After 30 years, his life is work and work is his life.  He recognizes that he still needs to sacrifice in order to see his family survive.

As a result, the term ‘injustice’ takes on multiple meanings in this film.  While we mourn at the poverty in which Delroy’s family lives back home, we are also moved by the very question of ‘why bad things happen to good people’.  Regardless of his circumstances, Delroy shows himself to be a man worthy of respect as he fights for his distant family.  (Incidentally, as a pastor, I may recognize the brokenness of our world, but even I struggle for answers in this area.)

In the end, Delroy’s journey offers mixed emotions, ranging from deep sadness to encouragement.  While brief, Babe, I Hate to Go has much to say about the struggles of the migrant worker and the realities of life, death and family.  It is a poignant piece that focuses on the challenges of poverty that are hidden in plain sight.

 

Babe, I Hate to Go is next screening with Motel at Innis Town Hall on Saturday, May 6th at 8:30pm.

Filed Under: Current Events, Film, Film Festivals, HotDocs Tagged With: Andrew Moir, Babe I Hate To Go, documentary, HotDocs, migrant worker, Ontario, Sherien Barsoum

HotDocs ’17: Becoming Bond

May 3, 2017 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” – Winston Churchill

Opening with the above Churchill quote the documentary Becoming Bond may be the strangest example of story-telling in recent memory.

Directed by Josh Greenbaum, Becoming Bond tells the story of one-and-done Bond actor George Lazenby—or rather, allows Lazenby to tell his own story. Combining both interview, archival footage and dramatic recreations of his life, the film recounts Lazenby’s life from a young Australian ‘larrikin’ until after his role as the famed British agent in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.  (Incidentally, the film even explains the surprising reason why Lazenby only took on the iconic role once.)  Sharing his relationships, sexual conquests and, of course, his experience as Bond, the film is both character piece and classic comedy at the same time.

In his interview segments, one can see why Lazenby—now seventy-six years old—was offered the Bond role in the first place.  While he comes from modest roots (he was actually a used car salesman prior to this acting debut), Lazenby still has incredible charm, confidence and a playful sense of braggadocio.  In many ways, he is the underdog that you cannot help but cheer on.  (No spoilers but his account of how he actually locks down the James Bond role is so bizarre that you simply won’t believe it.)

And, herein lies the irony of Becoming Bond.

While Lazenby seems earnest in his desire to share openly all aspects of his life, the film constantly seems to wink at the audience in the most playful of ways.  Through its use of studio sets in the historic re-enactments, the imagery takes on an ‘old Hollywood’ look (incidentally, not unlike the Bond films themselves).  By casting recognizable actors (Dana Carvey, Jane Seymour, Jeff Garlin, and more) in key roles, Greenbaum also manages to take the audience out of the documented moment, giving it the feel of a television sit-com or Monty Python sketch. Through the use of all of these stylistic devices, the film spins its narrative in such a way as to be both convincing and unbelievable.

While not necessarily it’s goal (or is it?), Becoming Bond actually raises some interesting questions about the nature of truth in this regard.  Is an event true because it’s how we remember it?  (After all, when asked how much of his story is true, Lazenby seamlessly answers “How could I remember it if it isn’t true?”)  Is it objective? Becoming Bond seems to land somewhere in between, where truth is a living construct, constantly moving in the ebb and flow of memory. In the end, Lazenby’s tale is one you absolutely want to believe—but does that mean it’s actually true?  After all, as Lazenby believes, “You can defy what people expect of you and write your own story.”

This is a story that is so intriguing, you’ll have to see it to believe it.

Trust me.

Becoming Bond is playing at May 3, 8:30 pm, TIFF 1; May 4, 3:45 pm,Isabel Bader; May 5, 7 pm, TIFF 1

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, HotDocs Tagged With: Becoming Bond, Dana Carvey, George Lazenby, hulu, James Bond, Jane Seymour, Jeff Garlin, Josh Greenbaum, lies, Monty Python, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, sex, truth

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