Canadian premieres at Hot Docs

The 9th annual Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival has grown from seven to 10 days and expanded its program to 100 documentaries. Films will be screened at Toronto’s Bloor, Royal and Uptown Theatres April 26 to May 5.

The Canadian Spectrum will showcase 30 Canuck films, opening with McLuhan’s Wake. The following 10 films make their world or Canadian premieres at the fest.

A Child’s Century of War

Director: Shelley Saywell

Producers: Saywell, Deborah Parks, Toronto

Presents the horrific reality of war as seen through the eyes and voices of children from Chechnya, the West Bank and Sierra Leone.

Corporate Lockdown

Director/producer: Sarah Zammit, Toronto

This hard-hitting look at privatized detention centres juxtaposes ex-offenders and public corrections officers with corporate moguls and cost efficiency.

Life’s a Twitch

Director: Cindy Bisaillon

Producer: Tina Hahn, Toronto

A portrait of Duncan McKinlay, a charming, enigmatic Ph.D candidate living with Tourette syndrome.

Promised Land

Director/producer: Marcos Arriaga, Toronto

Using family photos, Super 8 film and archival footage, the director creates an evocative remembrance of his family and childhood in Peru in a time when military dictatorships swept across Latin America, prompting many, himself included, to leave their homes.

The Spirit Wrestlers

Director/producer: Jim Hamm, Vancouver

Explores the complex history of the Doukobors, whose Christian philosophy of ‘toil and peaceful life’ saw them flee from Russian persecution only to find similar treatment when they arrived in Canada in 1899.

Tina in Mexico

Director: Brenda Longfellow

Producers: David McIntosh, Longfellow, Toronto

Award-wining director Longfellow paints a sensual portrait of Italian-born photographer and revolutionary Tina Modotti set amidst the backdrop of Mexico’s landscapes and political conflict.

The Tree that Remembers

Director: Masoud Raouf

Producers: Sally Bochner, Ravida Din, Montreal

RAOUF, an ex-political prisoner, investigates how the religious fundamentalism of Ayatollah Khomeni’s regime has left its mark in the memories of Iranians who fled the country.

Tyler’s Barrel

Director: Matt Gallagher

Producer: Barbara Barde, Toronto

Alternatively harsh and humorous, this film tells the story of Tyler Canning, a small-town Ontario boy who decides going over Niagara Falls in a barrel would be a good way to escape boredom.

Walk Naked Singing

Director: Geoff Bowie

Producers: Petra Valier, Bowie, Toronto

Bowie documents a season in the life of two outlaw Ontario marijuana farmers, condemning the current persecution of the drug.

The Wonderful World of Wau Wau

Director/producer: Noelle Elia, Toronto

Elia introduces Tanya and Adrienne, a sex-positive duo whose elated attitudes are reflected in their performance art as well as their pink sedan.