day one.

Mmmm....there it is. The line ups, the commotion, the amusing dilemma faced by those who were looking to get in the rush line up for the Rush movie. And Kevin Clark, hot on the mayoral trail, pulling live pigeons out of bag in front a baffled group of bright eyed documentarianists waiting for the box office to open. Hot Docs has begun.

First up was Babies, a cute little flick about...babies. I learned that babies in Namibia are adorable and that babies in Mongolia are hilarious and like to play with baby goats.

From goat babies to goat ears, next up was Rush. This was the rowdiest crowd I've ever been a part of at a documentary screening. There was yelling and cheering and several standing ovations. And then the movie started. It didn't help matters that Geddy and Alex were there in the flesh. (I wonder what would happen if Hot Docs hardcores crashed the next Rush concert. We'll show them how to sit in your seat and behave!) During the introduction someone remarked that a good music doc is one that makes you go home and listen to the band right away. Well I'm listening to Lady Gaga as I type this. Kidding. I'm listening to YYZ.

Things I remembered to bring with me today: my fancy pants festival pass and my tuned-up bike (gears like butta - thanks Duke's) Things I forgot: My light up pen and my dinner. Much appreciation to the lady with the purple scarf for holding my place in line while I looked for a Tim Hortons that still had bagels at night. I've got 10 more days to get into the swing of things.

Some more things I learned today:
Hot Docs is actually 11 days long, not 10. See brand new tag line above.
The Honourable Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture, is the funniest man in provincial politics.
The Elgin/Winter Gardens Theatre is the world's last remaing double decker theatre.

One last tidbit: As I rode home, one of those "need $$$ for weed" types yelled at me "man, I wish I was your bike!" And to clarify, "You know what you do to a bike, right?"

schedule - revised.

I have been up since 5 am. It's Thursday morning, the first day of the rest of my life, for the next ten days. I can't eat, can't sleep, too excited! Tonight should be easy, with only two movies, both at the same venue. Let the documentarianism begin!

Thursday, April 29

6:30 - Babies

9:30 - RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage

Friday, April 30^th  

6:30 - And Everything is Going Fine

9:ish - either Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go or Disco and the Atomic War

Saturday, May 1^st

11:30 - either Czech Dream or Shinjuku Boys

2:15 - Anne Perry - Interiors

4:15 - The Invention of Dr. Nakamats

6:15 - Bhutto

9:00 - Disorder

12:00  - 1991 The Year Punk Broke

Sunday, May 2^nd

noon - I Bought a Rainforest or

1:00 - A Film Unfinished or 1:45 - The World According To Ion B. 

3:00/ 4:00 - something

6:45 - Soundtracker

9:ish - Daddy's Girls or Ito - A Diary Of An Urban Priest

Monday, May 3^rd

7:00 - National Parks Project: Gros Morne

11:45 - The Parking Lot Movie

Tuesday, May the 4^th be with you 

6:30 - Feathered Cocaine

9:00 - David Wants To Fly

Wednesday, May the 5^th

9:45 - Blank City

11:59 - Sex Magic, Manifesting Maya

Thursday, May the 6^th

6:30 - Casino Jack And The United States Of Money

9:30 - Teenage Paparazzo

11:30 - We Don't Care About Music Anyway

Friday, May 7^th

7:ish - Views On Vermeer - 12 Short Stories

9:15 - Shadow Play: The Making of Anton Corbjin

11:59 - Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt And The Magnetic Fields 

Saturday, May 8^th

11:30 - Horses 

1:30 - Dish: Women, Waitressing And The Art Of Service 

4:45 - Neighbors

7:30 - Family Affair

10:00 - Thieves By Law

11:45 - I'm Dangerous With Love

Sunday, May 9^th

11:30 - American Radical

1:45 - Thunder Soul

3:45 - Life With Murder

7:00 - The House Of Suh

last movie: festival fave

sneaky preview.

Hot Docs asked me if I wanted to receive screeners of the movies before the festival. I knew they would balk if I requested 168 DVDs, so I've been working my way through some of the ones that have been putting da kinks in my schedule. 

I slept my way  through most of The Mirror. Please don't infer too much from that. It was late and the lights were off and my couch is very cozy. Heidi stayed up and she liked it. She had this to say: "Annie, wake up." 

Space Tourists wasn't really about space tourists. It was, but it was also about 4 or 5 other things, and some of the stories got lost in orbit. A treat were photographs of Kazakhstan by Magnum photographer Jonas Bendiiksen, who is something to look at on his own. 

The Story of Furious Pete did not do anything to assuage my suspicion that competitive eaters can never be charismatic people. There is some truly grotesque stuff in this movie, including but not limited to slow-mo, close-up shots of liquified hamburgers pouring out of a fat man's mouth. Prediction: someone's going to walk out of this one. 

3 more days until we get to do this all together...

al fresco docs.

I think "al fresco" means outside. Maybe I'm wrong, it might have something to do with ice cream. Both are pretty good. Ice cream outside is the best.

Hots Docs has announced some out of doors, top of roof, beer swilling, popcorn choking screenings in Yorkville. You can read about it here. I'd really love to make it, but they all conflict with the beta edition of my screening schedule.

schedule - beta.

Oh, the satisfaction. Yesterday, I inhaled the aroma of the Program Guide (with the incredibly imaginative cover – thanks Hot Docs), and armed with 2 pens and a sharpie, I made myself a schedule.


A note on method: I made a list of all the movies I might like to see. This list was originally called Must See, but as the list swelled to over 40, I was forced to remove the word Must. I then examined each column of the schedule and sharpied any See movie that was not screening at the same time as any other movie form the See list. I then employed a light green pen to cross the movie off the aforementioned list. The next step involved an elaborate web of if/then statements with the aim to allow for the greatest me for the greatest number of movies. This is the result:

Thursday, April 29

6:30 - Babies

9:30 - RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage

Friday, April 30^th  

6:30 - And Everything is Going Fine

9:ish - either Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go or Disco and the Atomic War

Saturday, May 1^st

11:30 - either Czech Dream or Shinjuku Boys

2:15 - Anne Perry - Interiors

4:15 - The Invention of Dr. Nakamats

6:15 - Bhutto

9:00 - Disorder

12:00  - 1991 The Year Punk Broke

Sunday, May 2^nd

noon - I Bought a Rainforest (Might skip this one in order to make it to a 1:00 screening. See below.)

1:00 - A Film Unfinished or 1:45 - The World According To Ion B. 

3:00/ 4:00 - A rare gem of a column where none of the screenings were on the See list. Will deal with this time slot later.

6:45 - Soundtracker

9:ish - Daddy's Girls or Ito - A Diary Of An Urban Priest

Monday, May 3^rd

This day is causing me some serious issues.

either

7:00 - National Parks Project: Gros Morne

or

7:30 - The Mirror

and

9:15 - The Rainbow Warriors of Waiheke Island

then

11:45 - The Parking Lot Movie

Tuesday, May the 4^th be with you 

6:30 - Feathered Cocaine

9:00 - David Wants To Fly

[Not going to see this, but I see that the The People Vs. George Lucas is screening today - coincidence?!!!]

Wednesday, May the 5^th be with you

7:00 - Space Tourists (Either this or show up for my first day of night classes.)

9:45 - Blank City

11:59 - Sex Magic, Manifesting Maya

Thursday, May the 6^th

6:30 - Casino Jack And The United States Of Money

9:30 - Teenage Paparazzo

11:30 - We Don't Care About Music Anyway

Friday, May 7^th

7:ish - either Views On Vermeer - 12 Short Stories or A Different Path

9:15 - Shadow Play: The Making of Anton Corbjin

11:59 - Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt And The Magnetic Fields 

Saturday, May 8^th

11:30 - Horses (
This one wasn't even on the list but it's better that sitting through the Doc It Showcase. Sorry kids.)

1:30 - Dish: Women, Waitressing And The Art Of Service 

4:45 - Neighbors

7:30 - Family Affair

10:00 - Thieves By Law

11:45 - I'm Dangerous With Love

Sunday, May 9^th

11:30 - either Views On Vermeer or American Radical

1:30ish - either The Story Of Furious Pete or Thunder Soul

3:45 - Life With Murder

6:30/7:00 - either A Different Path or The House Of Suh

last movie: Hopefully there will be a Festival Fave screening of something that I had wanted to see from the beginning but couldn’t fit into my schedule. 

GMO that's 39 screenings.  I’ve outdone myself. 

here are some movies that i would like to see.

Here are 17 of the 34 movies which I circled in the screening schedule:

And Everything is Going Fine
Kings of Pastry
Neighbors
Space Tourists
Life With Murder
The Mirror
Feathered Cocaine
David Wants to Fly
Disorder
Into Eternity
The Inventions of Dr. Nakamats
Thieves By Law
I'm Dangerous With Love
Shadowplay
National Parks Project: Gros Morne
Hold Me, Tight Let Me Go
The Canal Street Madam

Here are some movies that I think my friends will like: Tankograd, for my friend Lou, who adores the modern dance scene in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Monica & David for my roommate who thinks that when people with Downs fall in love with each other it is a sign that world is rotating in perfect harmony. And Feathered Cocaine for my friend D who likes falcons and terrorists.

By the way. Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No is a short animated movie about an MLB pitcher who pitched a no hitter in the 70's while high on acid. Seriously. The movie is screening at Hot Docs, or right now.