These Docs are Hot

hotdocs_2006_003
Originally uploaded by blamb.

hotdocs_2006_001
Originally uploaded by blamb.

The Hot Docs festival in Toronto has grown at a fantastic pace since its inception in 1993 and now it's attracting increased international attention too, as it well should. The documentaries I have seen at the festival over the past several years still resonate with me today. The premises are varied, I have seen well-captured docs that portray everything from a ship stranded by the Canadian government on the shores of Vancouver in the 1910s becuase of rascist attitudes, to a daring filmmaker who smuggled the first ever video message of the Dalai Lama into Tibet since he left the country decades ago. Powerful stuff, uncovered for eager eyes. Pick up your guide or go online, Hot Docs is not to be missed. Runs April 28 - May 7th in downtown Toronto.