Interview: Heather Haynes, Hot Docs Associate Programmer

Photo by Rannie Turingan

As an Associate Programmer at Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival, Heather Haynes lends her curatorial skills to North America’s largest documentary events. The fest screens more than 170 films from around the world, many of them world and North American premieres and the 2010 iteration broke all previous attendance records with 136,000 tickets sold to the 10 day event. In the midst of this flurry of activity (and an on-coming, freakish early Spring hailstorm) Haynes sat down with us for a quick chat about the inner workings of this powerhouse event.

In addition to being an Associate Programmer at Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival, Heather Haynes is also the producer of three award winning documentaries: Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary, Super Amigos, and City Idol.

ED: Can you tell me a bit about your process here at the festival?

HH: We start looking at films probably in mid-December and we screen anywhere from like 250 to 300 films each. So we have, I think we have like seven on the international programming side and then there's three on the Canadian side so it usually takes us about three months to go through all the films. And we give all the films "three looks" so we know them well and there's a lot of respect for the filmmakers and the whole process.

ED: Wow, can you explain "the three look process"?

HH: The three look process is we bring in, we see the film, and if we feel that it's just not ready to be screened yet and maybe needs some more work we let it go. But that's for very, very few films that that happens. And then for the other ones, if we're not sure maybe it wasn't for us but we feel like there's something in the film and someone else wants to take a look at it we'll give it to another programmer. And then there are some that we just say "Wow, this is the film" and so we push them forward to the international programmers. 

ED: Are those all submissions or do you do any recruiting?

HH: I don't do any recruiting, Sean Farnel does most of that. He travels to festivals around the world and he'll invite films. But a lot of the films do come from submissions. We have a lot of young filmmakers that do come here which is great. And also, in the programming we want to have a unique line up so we really pull from the submissions.

ED: Which films really dazzled you instantly?

HH: One of the films that I found, two of them actually. Daddy's Girls which is a feature by Lily Sheffy and she follows her father from Israel to Germany as she's discovering that he has multiple families going on simultaneously and not all the families are aware that this is happening. And that screened with a short by Amy Grapell who is a Texas filmmaker and that film is called Quadrangle and it's wonderful, I love it. She lived in a polyamorous situation and both her family and the other family lived together in the same house. I love that.

ED: So those are the two that came in together and you were like "these are so meant for each other"?

HH: Yea, well they came in separately but they were paired together and they're... they are perfect.

ED: How do programmers deal with disagreements about how people feel about particular films?

HH: I think occasionally there are disagreements but if you can really fight for the film and make your case it gets in, people will support your decision. And programmers are also different in their taste and that reflects our audience. So it's good that you have a kind of diversity across the board in likes and dislikes. And I think the audience is responsive to that.

ED: It seems so harmonious.

HH: It is pretty harmonious! I have to say, I mean at least at the level that I'm programming on, the associate programmer level it's pretty harmonious. So yea. And there's something for everyone and I think that that makes a good line up in programming.

ED: And can you speak about what your life is like during the actual festival?

HH: It's crazy. I wake up in the morning and I'll watch the films maybe a second time, do research on the directors, get their bio together, get all my questions ready and then kind of run around. This year has been a little more intense than previous years, the head programmer Shannon Abel had a baby, so she's not here so everyone is picking up additional films. And so we're doing four to five screenings a day. So we kind of run around the city and then we host all the filmmakers. And I know that when I was a filmmaker and I came here I found that this festival was very good for taking care of the filmmakers, introducing them to other filmmakers, and kind of networking them and making them feel really welcome and cared for. So you know, now I'm on the other side in programming and I get to do that and I love it, and it's great. So it's kind of like a start at 7am and end at 2am and it goes on for ten days.

ED: And you all look like fashion models running around!

HH: Oh god, that's hilarious.

ED: You had a very elaborate hair do yesterday I noticed I was just like "I'm so tired and I know I'm keeping about half the hours that they are."

HH: Well you know what, at this program this is the only time I really dress up. Because the rest of the time I'm just like running around in my jeans and boots and half the time I'm installing at the gallery and I have grubby t-shirts on like my rain boots, so it's nice. You get to kind of dress up and feel a little fancy.

ED: What goes into the hosting of the filmmakers, what do you guys kind of plan out in advance or what does that entail during the festival?

HH: Well we take people out to dinner, and it's really important to us at the festival that we link the filmmakers together. That's kind of our role, and also hook them up with different sales agents or distributors and people that they want to meet because coming to a festival, especially as a first time filmmaker, it can be pretty daunting and if the festival doesn't really make a great effort to create these social spaces for the filmmakers it can be really lonely, and kind of scary. How do you sell a film if you've never made a film or...

ED: ..Or English isn't your first language.

HH: Or English is not your first language! And you know as you know we have a lot of filmmakers that are coming from other countries. It's really the dinners, and the drinks, and the parties that are being held throughout the festival are really important for that.

ED: What is your life like through the rest of the year?

HH: The rest of the year I run an art gallery called Toronto Free Gallery. It's a non profit space that supports work that deals with social justice, cultural issues, issues of sustainability both in urban and rural settings. And I also publish an art magazine called Fuse that covers art, culture, and politics. My whole life is like art and politics.

ED: And you're an American, right?

HH: Yes.

ED: How is it like moving to another country for an incredible set of jobs that you're doing?

HH: Yea, I'm really happy. I feel like Toronto has been a good city for me. But I initially came, I initially moved to Amsterdam and was there for three and a half years doing Masters studies, and I moved to Toronto after that and I've been here for about eight years. So it's been a long time since I've lived in the US, like thirteen-fourteen years so I do feel kind of, a little bit of a disconnect. I go back and definitely I miss it. I miss Texas where I grew up and California where I lived for a really long time but I think Canada is my home. I'm very happy here.

ED: Can I ask you a very random Toronto based question?  I've noticed a very amped up hostility towards people using cell phones during screenings. Has that been a major problem in the past?

HH: It has been a problem at this festival for some reason. There has been an increase in texting in the theater...

ED: During films?

HH: During films, and I guess people don't realize that when they turn their cell phone on it's like this giant beacon of light. 

ED: Oh my god.

HH: Yea.

ED: Well, the very stern warning at the beginning of the film scared the living daylights out of me, I check three times. Alright well I won't keep you anymore, I'm sure you have 500 things to go run around and take care of. Thank you so much for sitting with us Heather.

HH: Thank you!

Comments

[NC]

Wow nice picture!! the black jacket really match up with your chinese dress..Hmm she looks cute!

[James McNally]

Nicely done, Erin. I've been involved a bit in this process but never had any responsibilities during the festival itself, so it's interesting to see all the things that need to be taken care of.

Hope you enjoyed yourself in Toronto and that you'll come back soon!

[Erin D.]

It's the only time I felt a Canadian being stern with me, and that includes the fit I threw at the airport when my flight was canceled.

[Mad Hatter]

Great interview Erin, very cool to hear how the whole process goes down...especially the sort of "jury process" where films that might not speak to one particular viewer are given over to someone else.

Oh, and the cell phone thing is happening all over Toronto...it's at its worst during TIFF.