The 25th edition of the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary festival has come and gone. The general theme this year seemed to women’s rights, with half the selection being directed by women and there even being a program dedicated to “Silence Breakers.” It seems that Hot Docs becomes bigger every year, which can be evidenced…
At the conclusion of the 25th edition of the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, it was reported that Michael Del Monte’s Transformer was the winner of both the Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary and the overall Hot Docs Audience Award. As winner of the former award, Michael Del Monte with a $50,000 cash prize courtesy of the…
The music and politics of international popstar M.I.A. are told in Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.. Matangi Arulpragasm, aka Maya to her friends and M.I.A. to most of the world, moved in 1985 with her family as refugees from war-torn Sri Lanka to the United Kingdom. Initially aspiring to be a documentary filmmaker, M.I.A. broke into the music industry in…
A slam poetry team prepares for nationals in Don’t Be Nice. Coached by Lauren Whitehead and Jon Sands, the Bowery Poetry Slam team of Ashley August, Timothy DuWhite, Joel Francois, Sean “Mega” DesVignes, Noel Quiñones prepare for the National Poetry Slam in Atlanta. Lauren encourages the team to come up with new poems for the competition that really digs deep into the…
The sociopolitical situation in Venezuela is shown from the point of view of five women in Women of the Venezuelan Chaos. Despite the top suppliers of oil, Venezuela has become a very insecure country, with shortages in food and medical supplies. The stories of five women from varying socioeconomic backgrounds are told to illustrate a country…
Twelve New York City police officers join a class action lawsuit against corruption in the NYPD in Crime + Punishment. Within the NYPD, a number of Black and Latino officers are encouraged by their superiors to perform illegal summons and arrest quotas, with those refusing to do so facing repercussions. A number of these officers,…
Brothers and sisters separated by the foster care system reunite at a special summer camp in Siblings. 11 year old Liberty and 18 year old Brandi are two young women separated from their natural, who get to reunite with them every year at a special summer camp for kids in the foster care system. It…
Social media celebrities are profiled in The American Meme. Since the rise of social media, there have been those who have the platform as the route cult celebrity. This include includes infamous socialite Paris Hilton, who has over 50,000,000 followers she dubs her “Little Hiltons.” Other social media celebrities include comedians Brittany Furlan and Josh “The Fat…
The people behind “save our show” campaigns are profiled in United We Fan. Over the years, fans of low-rated, but beloved television series have banded together to save the shows from cancellation. This includes Bjo and John Trimble, who are known as “The Couple that Saved Star Trek,” as well as Dorothy Swanson, who would go on…
The development of a video game is followed from start to finish in Playing Hard. Jason Vandenberghe has worked in the video game industry for two decades. In 2013, Vandenberghe goes to Ubisoft’s studio in Montreal to pitch his dream game, a medieval actioner eventually named For Honor. The studio begins development of the game with Vandenberghe as…
