Hot Docs 2008

Hot Docs is pleased to host the theatrical premiere of the finalists in the third annual International Documentary Challenge, a timed filmmaking competition where teams from around the world had five days to make a documentary film.

Finalists:

“All The Eights, 88”
Team: Sholi
City/Country: Sydney, Australia
Genre: Biography/Character Study
88 year old Betty Van Acker, champion bingo player, shares her secrets to finding luck in life.

“Ars Magna”
Team Juicebox
City/Country: Seattle, WA, USA
Genre: Biography/Character Study
Cory Calhoun, creator of the famous Hamlet anagram, is an average guy with an obsession for finding meaning in jumbled phrases.

“The Art of Balance”
Team: Surge Media
City/Country: New York, NY, USA
Genre: Sports
In a society where singular dedication to a career seems like the only way, Gary Synder struggles to balance two lives and thrive as both an art dealer and an Aikido instructor.

“Beholder”
Team: Boss and Coder 34
City/Country: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Genre: First Person
An autobiographical film about a photographer's evolving perspective of New York City.

“Bend & Bow”
Team: Profluence Productions
City/Country: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Genre: Experimental
Natalia Paruz reveals the moment that changed her life and how she became known as the "Saw Lady" to millions of New York subway riders.

“Click Whoosh”
Team: Reel Grrrls
City/Country: Seattle, WA, USA
Genre: Historical
An homage to a familiar fixture of popular culture that now teeters on obsolescence.

“Ghost Bike”
Team: Go!
City/Country: Toronto, ON, Canada
Genre: Art
This documentary explores the grassroots "ghost bike" movement - why are these mysterious white bikes being placed in cities all over the world?

“I=me2”
Team: Year of the Rooster
City/Country: Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
Genre: Experimental
The parallels and divergences of twins Chris and Kevin--twice the documentary in the same low running time.

“La Peche Blanche" (Ice Fishing)
Team: Rotating Planet
City/Country: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genre: Sports
As the ice fishing season comes to a close, families and friends drive to their huts on the frozen lake to get away from the city, breathe fresh air, drink a few beers and fish one last time before the surface of the lake melts away.

“Jetty”
Team: Fly On The Wall
City/Country: Portland, OR, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political
A "Mom and Pop" fishery on the Oregon Coast is threatened by an ecologically unsustainable crabbing policy.

“Meet The Freegans”
Team: Shields Films
City/Country: Portland, OR, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political
Steve is an educated man. A school teacher. A home owner. He also enjoys eating food from dumpsters.

“Pennywise: The Changing Face of Change”
Team: Lucky Shot
City/Country: Silver Spring, MD, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political
Reflections on the cultural value and economic insignificance of the American one-cent coin.

“Red Light Blues”
Team: Abrahami-Netz Productions
City/Country: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Genre: Social Issue/Political
Could this be the Swan Song of the world’s oldest profession?

“Stick and Pound”
Team: It Donned On Me
City/Country: Foster City, CA, USA
Genre: Art
A documentary that explores the rhythmic language of the Gullah people.