El Canto del Colibrí empowers its subjects, both the fathers and their children, with a simple, conventional approach to documentary filmmaking. Nevertheless, it magnifies voices often not heard in the LGBTIQA+ community.
Something Better to Come
Hanna Polak’s Something Better to Come is an incredibly powerful documentary about a small community living in the Svalka, Europe’s largest landfill.
600 Miles
A powerful debut feature from director Gabriel Ripstein, 600 MILES aptly avoids stereotypes and gimmicks of other south-of-the-border thrillers.
The Theory of Everything
Fears of taking the Oscar-bait with The Theory of Everything need not be fuelled: director James Marsh has handed down a skilful, visually stunning biopic of Dr Stephen Hawking.
Our Man in Tehran
Drew Taylor and Larry Weinstein’s Our Man in Tehran serves up a distinctly Canadian-flavoured ‘response to Argo’. Rather than providing a comprehensive exploration of both Western and Iranian perspectives, what it does best is illuminate the extraordinary contributions of Canadian officials to the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.
1987
Ricardo Trogi’s Québécois offering from Possible Worlds Film Festival 2014 has little more substance than a personal anecdote of its director-writer, failing to achieve authenticity or tension.
Spooks and Spirits
Ágúst Guðmundsson’s Icelandic comedy is an enjoyable enough watch, but never delves deep. Hints of emotional insight within the narrative remain unresolved yet some great comedic performances and absurd situations manage to carry the film forward.
Stop the Pounding Heart
Roberto Minervini’s hybrid documentary forces us to engage with the frame in lingering moments on-screen. The result is not only an intimate portrayal of one young girl’s life, but also an understanding of the greater context of rural Texas itself.
Demonstration
The combination of street protest footage from thirty-three different filmmakers set to the backdrop of opera Don Quixote poses a difficulty in providing a meaningful cinematic experience, but documentary Demonstration manages to stay as engaging for the senses as it is thought-provoking.
Jimi: All Is by My Side
Oscar-winning writer/director John Ridley’s abstract depiction of renowned musician Jimi Hendrix is hit-and-miss in its reveal of the rocker and his world through an unusual take on the biopic genre.