Docs opening in Canada (March 17-23)

Spring is in the air! The Gardener opens in theatres this week and takes audiences on a refreshing stroll through the exquisite English-style gardens of Les Quatre-Vents where the late Frank Cabot created an immaculate ode to nature. This film by Sébastien Chabot strolls through the lush art of Les Quatre-Vents to let audiences admire the passion of one devoted horticulturist. Cabot’s meticulously crafted landscape invites an inspiring message about the relationship between humans and their natural surroundings. Read more about The Gardener in the POV interview with Sébastien Chabot!

Trailer The Gardener from Sébastien Chabot on Vimeo.

Vancouver’s Linda Ohama returns with her tenth film, A New Moon Over Tohoku. This documentary brings Ohama to Japan to examine the stories of survivors of the 2011 tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster. Filmed with virtually no budget and produced in meager circumstances in the aftermath of the earthquake, A New Moon Over Tohoku, offers an uncontrived portrait of the effort to repair the lives of so many people shaken by the event.Read more about A New Moon Over Tohoku in the POV interview!

A personal study fuels an engrossing mystery in the festival hit Karl Marx City. Directors Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker examine Epperlein’s family history in East Germany as they trace the footsteps of her late father, who committed suicide when rumors implied an association with the secret police. The quest turns the magnifying glass onto the countless lives invaded and overturned by the Stasi’s surveillance. “Epperlein’s personal examination lays bare the unsettling similarities between a documentarian’s camera and those of a bureaucratic state surveillance system,” wrote Jason Gorber while reviewing Karl Marx Cityat TIFF. “The needle-in-a-haystack motif is at play here, and when truths are uncovered they’re both cathartic and complex, revealing how even a small shift in temperament could easily have resulted in different findings.” Read the full review of Karl Marx City here.

Docs expanding or holding over this week include the sleeper hit Kedi, which opens in Ottawa at The ByTowne and in Calgary at the Globe Cinema, and continues in select theatres, while Shimon Dotan’s The Settlers returns to Toronto for a theatrical run at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema and Doc Soup Sunday serves up Old Blue Eyes in Frank Sinatra: Voice of America.

Opening this Week:

Antarctica: Ice and Sky
Dir. Luc Jacquet | France | 89 min.
-Vancouver, BC: Vancity Theatre – Fri, Mar. 17 – Thurs, Mar. 23

Frank Sinatra: Voice of America
Dir. Annette Baumeister | Germany | 90 min.
-Toronto, ON: Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema – Sun, Mar. 19
—>James Kaplan, the author of the definitive, two-volume biography, Frank: The Voice andSinatra: The Chairman will participate in a post-screening Skype Q&A.

The Gardener
Dir. Sébastien Chabot | Canada | 88 min.
-Montreal, QC: Cinema Beaubien – Fri, Mar. 17 – Thurs, Mar. 23
—>Sébastien Chabot will attend the Saturday 6:30 PM screening for a Q&A.
-Montreal, QC: Cinema du Parc – Fri, Mar. 17 – Thurs, Mar. 23
—>Sébastien Chabot will attend the Friday 6:50 PM screening for a Q&A.
-Quebec, QC: Cinema Cartier – Fri, Mar. 17 – Thurs, Mar. 23
-Trois-Rivières, QC: Cinema le Tapis Rouge – Fri, Mar. 17 – Thurs, Mar. 23

Karl Marx City
Dir. Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker | Germany | 89 min.
-Toronto, ON: Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema – Fri, Mar. 17 – Thurs, Mar. 23

Kedi
Dir. Ceyda Torun | Turkey/USA | 79 min.
-Cobourg, ON: Cobourg Loft – Fri, Mar. 17 – Sat, Mar. 18; Wed, Mar. 22 – Thurs, Mar. 23
-Ottawa, ON: ByTowne Cinema – Fri, Mar. 17 – Thurs, Mar. 23
-Calgary, AB: Globe Cinema – Fri, Mar. 17 – Thurs, Mar. 23
-Vancouver, BC: Vancity Theatre – Fri, Mar. 17 – Sun, Mar. 19; Wed, Mar. 22 – Thurs, Mar. 23
-Victoria, BC: The Vic – Fri, Mar. 17 – Thurs, Mar. 23

Looking for Infinity: El Camino
Dir. Aaron Leaman | United Kingdom | 60 min.
-Ottawa, ON: Mayfair Theatre – Fri, Mar. 17 – Sun, Mar. 19
—>Each screening will feature a Q&A with The Canadian Company of Pilgrims (CCoP) after the film.

A New Moon Over Tohoku
Dir. Linda Ohama | Canada/Japan | 98 min.
-Vancouver, BC: Vancity Theatre – Fri, Mar. 17 – Sun, Mar. 19; Thurs, Mar. 23
—>Linda Ohama will be present at opening weekend screenings.

The Peel Project
Dir. Anthony Wallace & Calder Cheverie | Canada | 65 min.
-Ottawa, ON: Mayfair Theatre – Sun, Mar. 19
—>a live music performance by an unplugged string quartet will begin at 6:30pm, followed by the film at 7pm.

Pet Fooled
Dir. Kohl Harrington | USA | 70 min.
-Victoria, BC: The Vic – Sun, Mar. 19
—> Filmmaker Q&A!

The River of My Dreams: A Portrait of Gordon Pinsent
Dir. Brigitte Berman | Canada | 104 min.
-Kitchener-Waterloo: Princess Cinema – Thurs, Mar. 23

The Settlers
Dir. Shimon Dotan | France/Israel/Canada/Germany | 107 min.
-Toronto, ON: Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema – Fri, Mar. 17 – Thurs, Mar. 23

Retro Screenings:

Central Park Five
Dir. Ken Burns, Sarah Burns | USA | 2012 | 119 min.
-Toronto, ON: Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema – Tues, Mar. 21
—>Award-winning Toronto Star national security reporter Michelle Shephard will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A moderated by film critic and author Geoff Pevere.

Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire
Dir. Tony Palmer | UK | 1972 | 104 min.
-Vancouver, BC: Vancity Theatre – Fri, Mar. 17 – Wed, Mar. 22

Stop Making Sense
Dir. Jonathan Demme | USA | 1984 | 88 min.
-Toronto, ON: Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema – Sat, Mar. 18

Via: POV Magazine