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Featured Films

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about his Father

Featured/World Showcase

click to rate 0.0 | 1

On November 5, 2001, Dr. Andrew Bagby was murdered in a parking lot in Pennsylvania. The prime suspect was his ex-girlfriend, Dr. Shirley Turner, who promptly left town and resettled in her hometown of St. John's. Brought up for extradition, Shirley announced that she was pregnant with Andrew's child. Determined to win custody of their grandchild and to see Shirley face murder charges, Andrew's parents David and Kathleen Bagby transplanted themselves to Newfoundland. The ensuing court case is infuriating. The relationship that the Bagbys are forced to forge with Shirley is uncannily similar to the dysfunctional bond she had with their deceased son, and you fear that history will repeat itself. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne's loving tribute to a friend, son and father is an emotional roller-coaster. Part memorial, part scathing indictment of a malfunctioning judicial system, Dear Zachary is a love letter out of senseless tragedy. -Angie Driscoll

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The English Surgeon

Featured/International Spectrum

click to rate 4.2 | 11

When British brain surgeon Henry Marsh first visited the KGB Hospital in Kiev in the early 1990s, he was appalled by the conditions. Patients were dying from simple tumours left untreated. Since then, Marsh has been on a mission to create a viable brain surgery clinic, salvaging discarded equipment from British hospitals, second-hand drills from flea markets and any other tools that may be fashioned to do the job. Geoffrey Smith's exceptional documentary follows the maverick neurosurgeon on his latest trip to the Ukraine, as he once again encounters patients for whom he is their last chance. Marian is among them. Stricken by an enormous, life-threatening brain tumour, we follow Marian through his harrowing brain surgery. As Marsh tackles increasingly risky cases, he is haunted by the memory of a young Ukrainian girl whose operation went fatally wrong. Tense, heartbreaking and at times humorous, this is an extraordinary documentary. Musical score composed and performed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. -Sarah Whitehouse

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show details Audience Buzz

The audience buzz provides you with details on the films people are looking forward to and talking about. For more buzz, click here.

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entries read all from the blog

A Few of My Faves and A Hot Docs Talk - Bring it on Hot Docs!

I know there's a lot of great stuff to choose from, but I would be remiss if I didn't draw your attention to some of my faves:

THE MOTHER - cinematic, artful, emotionally engaging, a really incredible piece - co-director Antoine Cattin's production company is called KINICO, named after the organisation created by Russian director Dziga Vertov in the 1920's (keep an eye out for my interview with Antoine in the Hot Docs Daily).

VIRTUAL JFK - not only is the concept of virtual history interesting, but also see this for the riveting footage of JFK masterfully commanding the media at press conferences. Research for the film came out of the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University (the same group who researched THE FOG OF WAR). A book co-authored by David Welch from the University of Toronto will also be released.

I am moderating a Hot Docs Talk on Sunday, April 20, 1:00 PM, at Innis Town Hall called "The Long Haul" about docs that follow a story or character over a long period of time. SONG SUNG BLUE director Greg Kohs filmed Thunder and Lightening (the doc's subjects) for 9 years. What made him stick with it? Where did he think the story was going to go? I'll ask him.

More of my festival highlights to come...

See you at the festival!
Shannon Abel
Senior International Programmer

Posted: Apr. 09, 2008 at 5:59PM by Hot Docs Festival

10 SLEEPS 'TIL HOT DOCS

But who needs sleep!

I'm enjoying watching the "buzz" page, and its no surprise that films with provocative titles and/or pictures are garnering alot of interest.

But if you knew what I knew, you'd also take a chance on some titles that are lingering lower on the list, buzz wise.

Here's a few suggestions for today:

WAITING FOR HOCKNEY - from the obsessive artistic pursuit genre, unbelievable story and character.
DEAR ZACHARY - this will be one of the most talked about films at Fest.
CITIZEN HAVEL - a remarkable portrait of an amazing radical leader turned politician.
CLUB NATIVE - one of my fave Canadian docs this year.
FOOTBALL UNDERCOVER - winner of an award at the Berlin Film Festival.

Happy Hot Doccing,
Sean.

Posted: Apr. 07, 2008 at 6:57PM by Hot Docs Festival

Hello Hot Doccers

First, my fellow programmers and I hope you are finding enough intriguing titles to tempt you to see plenty at the Festival.

We're proud of the diversity of subject matter and film styles in this year's programme, though we know that makes your screening choices a little overwhelming.

As Director of Programming I'm always reluctant to pick favourites, but having just perused the "buzz" section I see a few films here not getting the attention they deserve....so I'm going to start making daily recommendations to draw your attention to those "hidden gems" which make the Fest experience so rewarding.

Today's pick is SONG SUNG BLUE, which won the Documentary Prize at the Slamdance Film Festival earlier this year. This is one of those films that's a truly surprising experience, both dramatic and emotionally engaging in ways I wasn't expecting. The filmmaker, Greg Kohs, spent 7 years making the film, and its a truly sweeping story.

Check it out, and stay tuned for more picks from myself and fellow programmers.

Happy Festival,
Sean Farnel

Posted: Mar. 31, 2008 at 11:32AM by Hot Docs Festival

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