Hot Docs 2008

Vanessa Beecroft, contemporary art world star, is as passionate about her life as she is about her art. Her New York dealer Jeffrey Deitch aptly notes that, with Vanessa, there is no boundary between life and art. Filmmaker Pietra Brettkelly follows Beecroft during a 16-month journey to the Sudan. Beecroft has been drawn to Africa as inspiration for her art. But now her bond to Africa has deepened through her burning desire to adopt two orphaned babies. In a provocative and highly controversial photograph, we see Beecroft nurse the black babies on her exposed white bosoms, composing a provocative tableau that references both religious iconography and colonialism. As the complexities of the international adoption become apparent, the process creates ethical and emotional waves that travel from Sudan to New York. Brettkelly's engaging film confronts the complex and not easily answerable question: is there a suitable reaction to African suffering? -Sarah Whitehouse Co-presented with CONTACT Toronto Photography Festival

On his 18th birthday, Ryan Knighton was told he would slowly go blind. Now, 15 years later, as he loses his last sliver of sight, he wants to travel to an ancient church in Germany to hear the note change in the 639-year-long organ performance of the John Cage composition "As Slow as Possible." He compares the note to the North Star, "something to navigate by" as he prepares to be a non-sighted person. Director Scott Smith accompanies him on his journey as he, like Cage, embraces chance encounters: he meets a man in a bear suit who has seen miracles in India, young tourists who think he's a rock star. When he gets lost on the way to the church, a young boy miraculously appears to guide him the final steps. As we hear the note change, we realize that the journey and the film are not so much about loss as about the inevitability of transformation. -Lynne Fernie

For 15 years, Pastor Carroll Pickett believes he is doing God's work as the death-house chaplain at an infamous Texas state penitentiary. But extraordinary circumstances and a complete stranger cause him to question his beliefs and the U.S. justice system. After each of the 95 executions he presides over, Pickett records an audiotape account of his final day spent with the inmate. One tape changes everything. Carlos De Luna is convicted of a savage murder, but Pickett instinctively knows he is ministering to an innocent man. Joined by Chicago Tribune crime reporters, Pickett revisits De Luna's case and his ensuing crisis of faith. Part investigation, part confessional, award-winning filmmakers Peter Gilbert and Steve James present a thoroughly engaging, deeply personal look at the death penalty and the lives of all those it condemns. -Myrocia Watamaniuk

A traumatized former soldier attempts to reintegrate into normal Croatian society by going through the motions: sharing meals with his family, toiling in his workshop, a visit to the cabin, an outing with friends. But despite his best efforts, he remains haunted by the war. Bad Blue Boys is a faceless confession of pain and a testament to the profound and lasting effects of war. -Angie Driscoll

"The real magic lies not only in the fact that we were acknowledged, but that really, none of us were ever supposed to get there," says filmmaker Aaron Rose. Beautiful Losers celebrates the independent do-it-yourself spirit that unified a like-minded group of American artists who emerged from the underground youth subcultures of skateboarding, graffiti, punk rock and hip-hop in the early 1990s. It tells the story of how a group of graffiti artists, with little or no formal training and almost no connection to the inner workings of the art world, ended up having an huge impact on the worlds of art, fashion, music, film and pop culture. These artists and the subcultures from which they sprang have become not only popular, but have sparked the most influential cultural movement of our generation. Through a series of informal vignettes featuring 10 artists, Beautiful Losers explores the creative impetus behind this growing movement. Rose and Joshua Leonard's captivating film offers an intimate glimpse into a fascinating and significant time in the history of art making. -Sarah Whitehouse Co-presented with the Toronto Free Gallery.

Director Yishai Orian is one of the millions of proud Beetlemanics sprinkled throughout the world. Despite the vehicle's rough and noisy ride, underpowered motor and dubious distinction as Hitler's "car for the masses," the Volkswagen Beetle became the most produced car of a single design in history (Hitler himself is said to have sketched the prototype for what would become the Beetle). Sadly, Orian's beloved 40-year-old car is on its last legs and his beloved and very pregnant wife wants it scrapped. We join the filmmaker on his extremely funny and touching road trip as he introduces us to the people who owned, loved and even gave birth in his cherished car. As fatherhood looms, Orian is reluctant to let go of the past, and he debates his options to repair or sell the car. The Beetle was selected as the opening night film at this year's prestigious DocAviv Festival. -Chris McDonald

Ella was 18 months old when she first mentioned she wanted to be a filmmaker. Now on the eve of her fourth birthday, filmmaker father Jay Rosenblatt endeavours to pass his knowledge of shot composition, storytelling and camera operation onto his daughter. Beginning Filmmaking records preschooler Ella's frustrating and amazing initiation into the art of filmmaking, along with the highs and lows of teacher/pupil and father/daughter dynamics. -Angie Driscoll

In this beautifully crafted homage to film projectionists, four colourful characters from drive-ins and movie palaces across the U.S. share a passionate love of celluloid and their desire to preserve both the traditions of cinema and the sensuality of film in the face of the digital revolution. -Lynne Fernie

Belarus is Europe's last dictatorship, a society of total political control, mass poverty and nuclear pollution. Human-rights activists are regularly persecuted and mercilessly punished by an intolerant government. Fear keeps opposition in check and its citizens uniformly and appropriately patriotic. Belarusian Waltz is the story of Alexander Pushkin, a performance artist who uses his "patriotic" art to protest against his country's dictatorship. He is one of the very few undeterred by threats of political reprisals. Despite the risks of imprisonment and torture, Pushkin delights in being visibly subversive, sarcastic and controversial. Despite grave consequences he organizes public stunts that mock President Alexander Lukashenko. Director Andrzej Fidyk, one of Poland's most esteemed and accomplished filmmakers, has created a thoroughly engaging, humorous and provocative portrait of an artist and his country. -Sarah Whitehouse