Ep.59: Hot Docs 30th Anniversary: Canada’s International Documentary Festival

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Hot Docs film festival spotlights over 200 documentaries across 72 countries whilst supporting and funding the work of Canadian and international filmmakers.

Founded by filmmakers and producers, Hot Docs has since expanded into the largest doc fest in North America, and the 10 day festival is a meeting place and industry hub which centers film from around the world for a global audience. In conversation with Hot Docs’ artistic director, Shane Smith, Chrystal learns more about the festival and its role in amplifying creativity and real life stories through film.

This World is Not My Own reimagines self-taught artist Nellie Mae Rowe's fantastical life.

Chewing-gum sculptures, a wealthy gallerist, a firebrand wrestler, a notorious murder case and the segregated south – it’s all part of Nellie Mae Rowe’s universe. Born on the 4th of July 1900, artist Nellie Mae Rowe’s life spanned the 20th century. Award-winning actor Uzo Aduba portrays Nellie Mae Rowe in this non-linear, highly experimental 3D motion capture animation. A portrait of the artist comes alive through vivid dreamscapes, interviews, and layered visual references. Nellie transformed her home into her “Playhouse,” an oasis filled with drawings, sculptures and dolls, and collected objects.

This World is Not My Own traces the lifespan of a phenomenal artist whilst exploring the personal and political events that shaped her work. In conversation with co-directors Petter Ringbom and Marquise Stillwell, and producer and co-writer Ruchi Mital, Chrystal finds out what led to such innovative playful filmmaking, and the creation of this tender, important and humorous ode to an artist.

The dramatic documentary, Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law? captures the political rise of Hong Kong activist and lawmaker Nathan Law to becoming most wanted by the age of 26. The power of protest, importance of youth culture and the fight for democracy are central points of the film, a fascinating behind the scenes look at Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution as it unfolds.

With unfiltered access to Nathan Law and fellow activists, the fast paced documentary is a call for freedom and a defiant perspective on resistance. Chrystal speaks with director Joe Piscatella about the secret methods of production, how he captured such a critical moment in history, and what Hong Kong’s fight for democracy can mean for the rest of the world.

Why do we create and listen to music? What power does rhythm, movement and sound hold over us? Echo of Everything explores the mysterious force of music through science, history and philosophy. It examines musical experiences around the world including Senegal, France, Canada and the US. The views of Spanish poet Federico García Lorca on the spirit called Duende, sets the foundation for the film. Duende is known as a transformative energy that enters musicians and audiences.

Director Cam Christiansen uncovers his own life changing relationship to music having gone through a period of existential crisis and loss. Cam speaks with Chrystal after the film’s world premiere about how he investigates music visually, and why rhythm and sound carry transformative and healing powers.

The Homes We Carry follows a family torn apart and a cross-generational search for home. It’s an intimate observation and articulation of the desire to belong through the emotional journey of Sarah, an Afro-German mother to a newborn, who dreams of being united with her family.

Separated between two continents, Africa and Europe, the film pieces together a portrait of a family displaced after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Parallel to Sarah’s story, the documentary explores an overlooked and fractured relationship between Mozambique and the former East Germany. In conversation with first-time director, Brenda Akele Jorde, they chat about cross-cultural relationships and the generational impact of displacement.

Cultural Shoutouts: Films

The Stroll: On the history of New York City’s Meatpacking District told from the perspective of those trans people and people of colour who walked “The Stroll” as sex workers.

Love to Love You, Donna Summer: An inside look at the life and story behind the iconic “Queen of the Disco”, Donna Summer
Rejeito: A community’s fight for justice in Brazil after the largest mining dam burst in the country's history.
After Work: A film that imagines a world in which we no longer had to work and questions what we would do.
Joan Baez I Am Noise : An intimate look into the brilliant and legendary folk artist Joan Baez, in her own words.
Tax Me If You Can: An educational and eye-opening look at the complex tax loopholes which the ultra-rich 1 percent and government high-flyers manage to get away with.
Front Page Image: Self-portrait by Nellie Mae Rowe