Docs opening in Canada this week

Let’s get ready to Rumble! Canada finds its 20 Feet from Stardom in this winner of both the Audience Award and the Audience Award for Canadian film at this year’s Hot Docs film festival. Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World assembles an admirable cast of talking heads including Buffy Sainte-Marie, Robbie Robertson, Stevie Salas, Steven Tyler and Martin Scorsese to pay tribute to the unheralded legacy of Indigenous musicians. Director Catherine Bainbridge and co-director Alfonso Maiorana’s inspired and excellently assembled rock doc delivers an inclusive slice of musical history straight from the heart. The chorus of voices in this film, which won a well-deserved special prize at Sundance for masterful storytelling, is a proud feat that takes ownership of Indigenous contributions to popular music and celebrates the Native voice. Read more about Rumble in the feature ‘Message in the Music’ and in thePOV review.

Another music doc, which, coincidentally, is covered in the same current POV featurealongside Rumble, is Tokyo Idols. This popular Sundance and Hot Docs offering is Japanese director Kyoke Miyake’s portrait of the young women behind the J-pop phenomenon. This eye-opening film, shot by Canadian DP Van Royko and produced by Bob Moore of EyeSteelFilm, gets at the heart of a cultural phenomenon driven by an obsession with young female sexuality and internet popularity. “It reminded me how confusing it was for me to grow up as a girl in Japan,” Miyake told POV. “I felt like every time I wasn’t acting ‘cute,’ people thought I was defiant. So when I saw the idol-girls phenomenon, it felt like it represented everything that made me feel uncomfortable about being a woman in Japan.” Read more about Tokyo Idols in ‘Message in the Music’

Opening this Week:

All the Rage
Dir. David Beilinson, Michael Galinsky, Suki Hawley
-Toronto, ON: Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema – Fri, July 28 – Thurs, Aug. 3

Bee Nation
Dir. Lana Šlezić | Canada | 78 min.
-Regina, SK: Regina Public Library – Thurs, Aug. 3

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary
Dir. John Scheinfeld | USA | 99 min.
-Kitchener-Waterloo, ON: Princess Cinemas – Wed, Aug. 2 – Thurs, Aug. 3

Dawson City: Frozen Time
Dir. Bill Morrison | USA | 120 min.
-Edmonton, ON: Metro Cinema – Fri, July 28 – Mon, July 31; Wed, Aug. 2 – Thurs, Aug. 3
-Kitchener-Waterloo, ON: Princess Cinemas – Thurs, Aug. 3
-Ottawa, ON: ByTowne Cinema – Fri, July 28 – Tues, Aug. 1

The Gardener
Dir. Sébastien Chabot | Canada | 88 min.
-Cobourg, ON: Cobourg Loft – Fri, July 28 – Thurs, Aug. 3
-Guelph, ON: Bookshelf Cinema – Mon, July 31 – Wed, Aug. 2

Kedi
Dir. Ceyda Torun | Turkey/USA | 79 min.
-Hamilton, ON: Art Gallery of Hamilton – Sat, July 29
-Montreal, QC: Cinema Beaubien – Fri, July 28 – Thurs, Aug. 3
—> en français!

Manifesto
Dir. Julian Rosefeldt | Australia/Germany | 95 min.
-Montreal, QC: Cinema du Parc – Fri, July 28 – Thurs, Aug. 3

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World Feature | Review
Dir. Catherine Bainbridge, Alfonso Maiorana | Canada/USA | 102 min.
-Toronto, ON: Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema – Fri, July 28 – Thurs, Aug. 3
—>Special guests attending for Q&A after select screenings

Tokyo Idols
Dir. Kyoko Miyake | Japan/Canada/UK | 90 min.
-Montreal, QC: Cinema du Parc – Fri, July 28 – Thurs, Aug. 3
-Quebec, QC: Cinema Le Clap – Fri, July 28 – Wed, Aug. 2

Retro Screenings:

Memorandum
Dir. Donald Brittain, John Spotton | Canada | 1965 | 58 min.
-Toronto, ON: TIFF Bell Lightbox – Sun, July 30

Noise
Dir. Olivier Assayas | France | 2006 | 115 min.
-Toronto, ON: TIFF Bell Lightbox – Sat, July 29

Patti Smith: Dream of Life
Dir. Steven Sebring | USA | 2008 | 109 min.
-Toronto, ON: Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema – Wed, Aug. 2

Via: POV Magazine