The Hottest of Hot Docs meme

I've been tagged by Pamela Cohn to participate in Danielle DiGiacomo's post-Hot Docs meme. I reckon Pam and I are now even for getting us kicked out of a party that had a strict media blackout.

1. The film that pulled at my heart strings the most: This is a tough call, but part of the Alanis Obomsawin (interviewed by Pamela here) retrospective has haunted me since seeing it my first day at the festival. Incident at Restigouche covers a conflict that occurred in the 1980s between Quebec provincial government and the native population over fishing rights that turned violent. In a scene where Obomsawin (years after the fact) interviews the state official who ordered massive arrests of fishermen becomes so overwhelmed by his cavalier attitude towards the fate of her people she breaks the appropriate "interview tone" and angrily confronts him. It's a shocking scene that completely changes the tone of the film and for ethical reasons, should probably not be duplicated in a lot of work. But for Incident, the standoff ties together the themes of lack of government accountability and cultural understanding in a brilliant, searing way.

2. Strangest cinematic experience: Listening to an audience member complain bitterly about the use of still images in John Lehmann's Man Behind the Log then watching as the entire auditorium turned on him, booing and reassuring Lehmann. Also, every single moment of Cooking History. Peter Kerekes's documentary about the history of war in the 20th century through the stories of people who prepared soldiers' food is surreal, intelligent, thrilling and maddening.

3. Best party: British Drinks at Supermarket, definitely. It was the day the Hot Docs population seemed to increase 10-fold, going from a sleepy little festival to a frenzy of pitches, parties, meetings and schmoozing. Everyone was jet-lagged, exhausted and/or recently robbed but ready to have a good time and so excited to be there. Great job, Charlie!

4. Overall high point: At the risk of getting a little cornball, it was the totally renewed sense of excitement that I left with. I know our business is in enormous transition, but when I see how much creativity and drive there is in the documentary world I can't help but be excited for what comes next.

5. Favorite pitch: Sandra Whipham (producer) informally gave me her pitch for her two documentaries that are in post-production. One about the history of the Khmer Rouge with an on-camera interview with one of the top general's in Pol Pot's army; the other about a homeless family living in Las Vegas whose downward spiral mirrors the larger financial crisis in the States. Both films hold great promise, with films like Afghan Star, Burma VJ and No End in Sight Whipham has demonstrated a great knack for matching talent and story.

TAG: Agnes Varnum, Neil Sieling, AJ Schnack, Charlie Phillips, Alissa Creamer.

Comments

[Erin Donovan]

I haven't seen it yet but I reviewed the director's previous film a while back:

http://guru.greencine.com/archives/2007/12/in_between_days.html

[Cathy]

Yay Erin! I love that you found your documentary family.

P.S. Have you seen TREELESS MOUNTAIN? I am curious...