More HotDocs Highlights

We are only a week away from the 2012 film festival.  Things are starting to shape up for me and I am expecting to see at least ten films at this year’s festival (which is an improvement from the single film I saw last year).

I plan to have my final screening schedule finalized on the weekend, but I thought that I will highlight some more of the films that have caught my eye at this year’s festival.

Beauty is Embarrassing (Neil Berkeley, USA) – This film only caught my eye in the last few days, but it has now become one of my top picks for the festival.  The documentary is about Wayne White, who was one one of the creators of Pee Wees Playhouse.  I definitely hope to add this one to my schedule.

Her Master’s Voice (Nina Conti, UK) – What sold me about this film is that it is a documentary about ventriloquism, which is a subject I very much enjoy.  The film is directed by (and about) ventriloquist Nina Conti, who seeks to honour the memory of her recently departed mentor.

The Queen of Versailles (Lauren Greenfield, USA/Netherlands/UK/Denmark) – A hit at Sundance, this documentary focuses on the former beauty-queen wife of timeshare king David Siegel.  The film definitely looks to be all about living a life of excess and this excess is affected by tough economic times.

Beware of Mr Baker (Jay Bulger, USA) – This film is about Ginger Baker, who was the drummer for Cream and Blind Faith.  Looks like this might be an interesting music documentary, especially since Baker is described as the “inventor of rock n roll drumming.”

My Name is Faith (Tiffany Sudela-Junker, Jason Banker, Jorge Torres-Torres, USA) – Faith is a 12 year old girl, who suffers from what’s called “Attachment Disorder” and has to cope with the challenge of trusting her new adoptive parents.  Looks to be an interesting doc.

The Job (Didier Cros, France) – The film follows ten French job seekers and they all pursue a mystery job position.  The film’s description definitely sounds like the premise for a reality show like The Apprentice.  As such, it will probably be an interesting film to see.

Those films, along with some of the films I mentioned last time, make up the films currently in my Hot Docs shortlist.  Some other films I  have been considering, but might not end up seeing, include The Kid and the Clown, Big Easy Express, Laura, The Mechanical Bride, China Heavyweight, Legend of a Warrior, Jeff, Meet the Fokkens, The Frog Princes, and Gambler.


See you at Hot Docs!