There's Something in the Water tackles environmental racism through the lens of Ellen Page and Ian Daniel. The film shows us 3 examples from Nova Scotia, Page's home province. They travel to Shelburne, Boat Harbour, and Fort Ellis. We get to see the impact of the damage caused by a dump, paper mill waste, and a gas company potentially releasing salt into fresh water. The title comes from the study by Dr. Ingrid Waldron. Page and Daniel are wise to let the people tell their stories and show the impact of the environmental racism. The only critique is that the film is a bit short and could have used a concluding perspective or an additional story.
Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind takes us through the long history of the music of Gordon Lightfoot. This film takes us into the Toronto folk scene of the mid-1960s. Lightfoot develops a friendship with Joni Mitchell and even stays at her Detroit apartment. The film shows the impact of artists covering such classics as Early Morning Rain and Song for a Winter's Night.
The film doesn't forget about The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald but smartly makes the audience wait toward the end. A must for huge Lightfoot fans and a nice primer if you only know the major hits.
Push follows UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Leilani Farha as she travels the world focused on housing as a right, especially in large cities. The documentary also focuses on how some elements of the finance world are making the housing crisis even more horrible in the name of greed. The film tries for a happy ending but shows that your local problem is a global issue.
Willie tells the little-known story of Willie O'Ree, the first black player in the NHL. The film focuses primarily on getting O'Ree into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018. We learn about O'Ree's childhood in Fredericton and how he worked his way through the minor league ranks before playing for Boston on January 18, 1958. The story of an eye injury that affected his career comes way late in the documentary. The richness of black NHL players is briefly spotlighted in the film as the focus is more on O'Ree.
One Day In The Life Of Noah Piogattuk tells the story about a "negotiation" where the Canadian government wants a community to move from its land to a settlement in 1961. The film is a dramatisation of the real story of the conversation. Expect to be more informed than entertained.
Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger profiles Jordan River Anderson from the Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba. Anderson is born in a hospital in Winnipeg because of complications with the pregnancy. Anderson spends his brief life in the hospital because the provincial and federal governments battle over which entity is responsible for the medical costs after the hospital stay. Jordan's Principle was created to deal with such issues. Like a lot of concerns with indigenous people, the solution doesn't always match the problem. Alanis Obomsawin is back with her 53rd film. You might recall that Obomsawin filmed at Norway House for her 2017 documentary Our People Will Be Healed.
nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up explores the story of the death of Colten Boushie, who was fatally shot by a farmer in 2016. Tasha Hubbard goes into the incompetence of the RCMP investigation, the lack of indigenous people on the jury, and the shocking not guilty verdict against the farmer. You don't have to know much about Boushie's story to know about the different standards of justice for the indigenous people. The fact that the family was treated as criminals in the initial investigation screams injustice. Hubbard uses animation to tell parts of the story not easily told. The family struggles to tell Colton's story is a learning tool as they go on TV and eventually meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The film won the Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award at Hot Docs 2019.
2019 Windsor International Film Festival preview
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Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love delves into the inspiration of Marianne Ihlen and her impact on Leonard Cohen on songs such as So Long, Marianne, Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye, and Bird on the Wire. The documentary feels more about the Greek island of Hydra than actual people. A perfect film to watch if you have a snow day or a cold spell. Her influence on music is noteworthy but we don't learn much about her as a person.
I'm Going to Break Your Heart takes us into the creative process with a few arguments of Raine Maida and Chantal Kreviazuk, a husband and wife music team (aka Moon vs. Sun). The film is highly self-indulgent, especially if you aren't familiar with the artists. This felt like watching Let It Be if you didn't know The Beatles. I recommended this film to a friend in the film festival because he is interested in relationship dynamics. The documentary has them in Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the French islands off the Newfoundland coast. Unfortunately for the audience, they are there in winter so the beauty is sharply limited. The duo performs 3 songs at the end of the film.
Pipe Dreams could have been about the amazing, complex instrument that is the pipe organ. Unfortunately, the film follows competitors in a pipe organ competition in Montréal. None of the featured competitors were Canadian in this Canadian film. You do get to hear some cool pipe organ music though you could buy a couple CDs and have a better audio experience.
Follow Me is a film that the creators think is a documentary about weight loss. I chose to think of it as performance art where the host thinks the subject is weight loss when the film is really about switching out addictions from food to something else. Otherwise, the film comes across as an infomercial for changing your life. The cinematography is beautiful and captures the beauty of Toronto.
photo credit: There's Something in the Water film
video credit: YouTube/TIFF Trailers
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