Buyers, sellers and other industry types on their favorite films from this year’s Hot Docs

‘I really like Manufacturing Dissent… It’s fascinating that they used the same rhetorical devices as their subject, Michael Moore. It isn’t a hatchet job. They raise reasonable questions about the ethics behind the decisions made by a filmmaker in creating a documentary.’
David Craig,
Business analyst at Telefilm Canada

‘Heddy Honigmann’s Forever is wonderful. It’s set in the Père-Lachaise cemetery and is really about the power of art. There’s a great scene with an Iranian taxi driver where you see his connection to his tradition that really stands out for me.’
Amit Breuer,
Producer, Amythos Production and DocAgora collective

‘Arthur’s Paradise surprised me. I’m not even sure if it’s a documentary. It’s about a pig farmer who loves opera. It takes you on a wild ride.’
Ed Barreveld,
President of Storyline Entertainment

‘I really like Billy the Kid. The filmmakers fell upon a great story and knew that they had a great character. They captured a wonderful event in a kid’s life.’
Charlotte Engel,
Commissioning editor at CHUM Television

‘War/Dance. It’s beautiful, emotionally devastating, but it’s filled with hope. It’s about three children in Uganda and the tragedies they’ve faced. And yet, they work together in a music school, go to a festival, and in the end, there’s hope. If it doesn’t win an Oscar, I don’t know what will.’
Peggy Fothergill,
Manager of the NFB Mediatheque in Toronto

‘Protagonist is one of the most innovative documentaries I’ve seen in years. It’s rooted in four powerful stories, based on in-depth interviews with men who have gone through transformative experiences in their lives. But overlaid throughout the film are wooden puppets, animation and a voice-over in ancient Greek. It’s a real surprise: a completely constructed film but one that is truly emotional.’
Gerry Flahive,
Producer at the NFB

‘My favorite? Hike Like Me? Bike Like Me? No, it’s Kike Like Me. It’s staggering in its depth, its width, its wit and its pain and tears. It runs the gamut of emotion from lust to greed, from jealousy to envy. Who is the filmmaker? You say it’s my nephew? I hadn’t noticed.’
John Kastner,
J.S. Kastner Productions