Sorry it took a while to get back… running around from film to film, writing blogs for the Doc Blog and trying to sleep have kept me away. It’s now day 8 and we have 2 more days left before TIFF is officially over. I have not done an official tally as to how many films I’ve seen thus far. However, I’m not totally sleep deprived, so I guess that’s a good sign. So to continue on my recap…

Day 4: I had the chance to go see The Real Shaolin; a look at the actual training that Shaolin Monk and Kung Fu fans alike have to undergo in order to master the practice. I think this is a good documentary for those people who are used to seeing the movie version of Shaolin Kung Fu. I have seen The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and the Five Venoms, which are classic. This documentary, though, really shows that it’s a complete lifestyle. Chinese and foreigners alike have to immerse themselves in the culture; they practice all day and live in very poor conditions. Not to mention the foreigners need to show their commitment by learning Chinese. I believe the first two screenings of the film sold out; a good sign. Hopefully, someone will pick it up for distribution. From this, I literally ran from the AMC theatres down Victoria St. to the Wintergarden theatre for the Q&A for Valentino: The Last Emperor. Thank goodness for volunteer entrances… it took me backstage and right in front of Valentino, the fashion icon himself along with his partner Giancarlo Giammetti and the director of the film, Matt Tyrnauer.

After a quick Q&A, I had to rush to the Isabel Bader Theatre for a Mavericks session – The People Speak. This was a discussion and preview about the documentary of the same name by Chris Moore. It is based on an anthology that Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove worked on and which has become a live performance by several well-know Hollywood artists. The panel that night included Howard Zinn, Anthony Arnove, Viggo Mortensen, Josh Brolin, Matt Damon, Chris Moore and Marisa Tomei. In the audience, I saw Danny Glover, Tim Robbins, Michael Ealy and others. It was a well attended event. The discussion included politics, issues of human rights and the inaccuracy many in the US believe to be part of their history. Zinn was impressive but so was Mortensen. If I was a fan of his before, hearing him speak and see how much of an activist he is, reminded me why I think he’s such a cool guy. It was a stimulating discussion and I hope TIFF shows the film next year, if possible. Another interesting day that ended very well.

Day 5: I had had a chance to screen Every Little Step before the festival and was able to cover the Q&A for this screening. It’s a documentary that shows us behind the scenes of the staging of a Broadway classic, A Chorus Line. We get to follow around some of the artists that audition for the various roles as well as come to hear some of the original cast talking with original creator Michael Bennett about what it’s like to be a dancer in Broadway. During the Q&A, people asked what it was like to film that many people considering there were several auditions, etc. As well, someone from the audience, who is a dancer, thanked the filmmakers James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo for bringing the story to life.

Later that day, I had a chance to cover the Q&A for Unwanted Witness. This documentary tells the story of Colombian war journalist, Hollman Morris (pictured here with wife, Patricia and I). I was able to see the last 20 minutes of the film; it clearly shows how much Morris is risking by trying to bring very controversial stories to the general public. His family life is seriously threatened but Morris is not ready to give up what he does just yet. He admitted during the Q&A that his life is hell; “my vida es un infierno.” I think that statement sums it all up nicely. Stories like his are not rare; I think we just don’t seem to see or hear about them enough.

Right after this Q&A, I walked over to see the documentary Upstream Battle. Director Ben Kempas tells the story of the battle over the use of the Klamath River between members of various Native American tribes and PacifiCorp, a multinational company that has control of four dams in the river. The dams cut off the path for Pacific Salmon to swim up river and spawn; resulting in a loss of fish in large numbers and a toxic environment. In attendance for the screening and Q&A, we had director Ben Kampas who was joined by Ron Reed and his brother Mike Polmateer, who are members of one of the tribes involved in the issue with PacifiCorp along with the film’s producer Joachim Schroeder. Reed and Polmateer were very grateful for having people come see the film especially because this is a huge issue for them. Once the Q&A session was over, they made a point of shaking hands with members of the audience and thanked them personally.

To end day 5, I made my way to cover the last documentary of the day, At the Edge of the World. This is another film that deals with an environmental issued; that of sea creatures at threat of extinction. Director Dan Stone follows the crew of one of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s expedition. He was joined for the Q&A by Sea Shepherd activist Paul Watson. They both discussed the importance of the work Sea Shepherd does as controversial as it may seem to some. Their goal is to stop the killing of whales, dolphins and other sea animals, even if it means using some aggressive tactics. Overall, the day was filled with documentaries that made people think…

Day 6: Had a nice morning off to catch up with the Doc Blog postings… Eventually, I made my way down to the Red Carpet at the Ryerson theatre to catch a glimpse of Paris Hilton herself. It was announced the day before that she would be attending the premiere of a documentary about what it’s like being her busy self. The film Paris, Not France by Adria Petty attempts to show Paris as a ‘real person.’ Petty tries to present her subject in a way that would make the audience sympathize with her… Her busy schedule, being hounded by the paparazzi, getting next to no sleep yet making making lots of money by selling herself; or her brand, I should say. Anyway, stylistically, I liked parts of the film. Petty used some nice techniques to like shooting over Paris’ shoulders, switches from colour to black and white; giving the film an interesting feel. The subject matter didn’t make me want to know more about Paris nor feel any less sorry for her. She says in the film, “it’s all a spectacle.” To a point, I do believe she knows she has to put an act to make the money but I still don’t feel she’s ‘relatable’ to the average person. Interestingly, I overheard people after the screening saying they thought she contradicted herself in the film many times. They also wondered why Paris did not stay for the Q&A and why they cancelled the other two public screenings of this film. The one last interesting comment they made was that this film would not get picked up for distribution and it was only shown to create more buzz for Paris…. Perhaps they have a point here.

Anyway, I ended the day with a much more fun documentary, Sounds like Teen Spirit: A Popumentary by Jamie Jay Johnson. He brought us to the final of the Junior Eurovision competition; a televised show with millions of viewers across Europe. We got to know four contestants from countries like Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Georgia. They were all talented youngsters; some had a level of maturity that was fun and refreshing to see on-screen. In the end, none of these four won the competition but that’s ok; I think the audience was glad to just be able to follow them through their preparation up to the competition night. Johnson was very glad by the response at the end of the film; people were clapping to the tune of one of the songs. He told us that his mother had texted him to remind him to thank the audience for coming. Members of the audience told him it was a fun documentary and that they’d enjoyed all aspects of the story; not just the competition.

Day 7: This was probably my longest day thus far. I got down to the Scotiabank theatre with enough time to see Le Silence de Lorna by the Dardenne brothers. The film depicts the story of Lorna, an Albanian woman trying to make a new start in Belgium. In order to make a better life for herself, she gets involved with a gangster in an immigration scam. I’d rather not summarize the film much here except to say that it involves not just Lorna’s story of survival but there are several undertones that deal with morality and what lengths people will go to in order to have a better life and to make money. I like that it’s not a happy, absolute ending and that the Dardenne brothers leave us thinking and questioning what happened in the film… This film already has a distributor, so it should be coming out pretty soon.

Next, I sampled some dry British humour in Easy Virtue directed by Stephan Elliott (known for directing The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert). The film is based on a play by Noel Coward. The cast includes Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jessica Biel. I had a good time at this film. The dialogue is sharp and witty; the cast works well together. The set and costumes are also pretty neat. Elliott has done a really good job. Hopefully, this film will get distribution so you can enjoy it too.

From this lighter film, I went to a more serious documentary – Killing Kasztner by Gaylen Ross. This was a bit of a history lesson for me. I had heard about Dr. Kasztner but didn’t know his whole story. In this documentary, we come to know his story. Ross presents a portrait of man who was a hero at one point to the Jewish community for having saved over 1600 Hungarian Jews from the hands of the Gestapo. However, once in Israel, he became a traitor for having negotiations with the Nazis. Ross introduces us to Kasztner’s surviving family; his daughter and three granddaughters, all of whom were in attendance for the film. It was an emotional film to say the least; I heard people crying throughout. During the Q&A, a woman stood up and thanked the Kasztner family because she her mom had been one of the many saved by Dr. Kasztner back in 1944. I think the film will make a lot of people think and hopefully, it will create more curiosity about the life of a man that so many in his own community are not willing to accept as one who helped many during the Holocaust.

From a history lesson to an autobiography, I made my way to the Varsity to catch a screening of the Les Plages D’Agnès by Agnès Varda. Many know Varda for her films but I’m not sure everyone know much about her personality and personal life, in general. In this film, she presents herself from all angles; personally and artistically. Her love of beaches is a central theme throughout the film. What I found impressive is not just the fact that Varda is a talented artist and filmmaker but the fact that in her personal life, she values so much. Her love of her children, grandchildren and of her partner, who died of AIDS, Jacques Demy is felt throughout the film. I think she puts a lot of herself into her works and that is why they are so unique. I noticed that Atom Egoyan was in attendance for the film and came to say hello to Varda at the end of the Q&A. She was nice enough to ask the audience for feedback on the length and content of the film. She wanted to make sure it wasn’t too boring. I don’t think anyone in that room thought it was; even for someone like myself who knows very little about her life and work.

Well, I ended Day 7 with a really ‘crazy’ French film part of the Midnight Madness programme. Martyrs by Pascal Laugier was described best by programmer Colin Geddes as “a visceral and deeply disturbing exploration of what it is like to experience the furthest limits of human endurance.” I’d have to agree and add that this film is not for the faint of heart. Even if you’re a horror film fan, you may find parts of this film seriously disturbing. I was sandwiched between two guys during this film and they kept saying “oh my gosh” and covering their faces at times… Funnily enough, no one walked out from this film even at the harshest of scenes… I will not divulge the details because well, it already has a distributor and some of you will have a chance to see this film for yourselves. I admit it was a hard film to take at times and made me question its point on several occasions. In that respect, Laugier has done a good job… He created a film that can be scary and so messed up at times that you’re not sure what else can be done next. You’ll definitely be surprised…. And on that note, I end this post.