the hottest docs from around the globe

THE HOTTEST DOCS
FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
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Ingrid Bergman:
In Her Own Words
Gun Runners
A Ballerina’s Tale
SALUTATION
Just when you think there are no new stories to be told,
documentary filmmakers are here to show us otherwise! The
range of stories and the variety of techniques used to tell them
continue to reinvigorate the documentary form, as filmmakers
explore new methods of combining creativity and reality to
illuminate and reveal the world in deeper, richer ways.
Hot Docs has been celebrating documentary filmmaking for
23 years. From a small industry-led showcase to now North
America’s largest documentary festival, we’ve always been
driven by the belief that documentary film has the remarkable
power to transform perspectives. Bringing audiences together
with filmmakers and their incredible stories is at the core of what
we do in Toronto, across Canada and now, in partnership with
Palace Cinemas, Australia.
Brett Hendrie
Executive Director
2
We’re thrilled to be able to share these films with you. We truly
are in a new golden age of documentary and we invite you to
join us on the adventure- you’ll meet people, see places and bear
witness to stories you never knew existed, from perspectives that
invite new ways of understanding. The journey promises to be
inspiring.
Brett Hendrie
Executive Director
Shane Smith
Programming Director
Shane Smith
Programming Director
3
ABOUT HOT DOCS CANADA
Hot Docs (www.hotdocs.ca), North America’s largest
documentary festival, conference and market, takes
place each spring in Toronto, Canada, presenting more
than 230 films to audiences numbering over 200,000.
Hot Docs also mounts a full roster of conference sessions and
market events and services, including the renowned Hot Docs
Forum, Hot Docs Deal Maker and The Doc Shop, for the more
than 2000 attending industry delegates.
T-Rex
4
Year round, Hot Docs, in partnership with Blue Ice Group,
programs and operates the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, one of
the world’s first and only documentary focussed cinemas. With
screening series and initiatives such as Doc Soup, the Bell Media
Hot Docs Showcase and Bell Media Best of Hot Docs Weekend,
Hot Docs and its partners bring documentaries to screens
across Canada, including in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton
and Calgary.
Online, the Hot Docs Collection is featured on iTunes in Canada,
Australia and the USA, as well as numerous VOD platforms
across Canada and the US.
Each year, Docs For Schools, Hot Docs’ wildly popular education
program, offers more than 90,000 students from over 300 Ontario
schools the experience of outstanding documentaries during the
Festival and throughout the school year for free. Teachers are
provided with educational resource packages tailored to each
film and related to curriculum, and are invited to participate in
an annual conference that offers professional development in the
use of documentaries as teaching tools.
living and working on that continent; and the CrossCurrents
Doc Fund supports emerging international filmmakers from
underrepresented communities with funding for both short to
mid-length and feature-length theatrical documentary projects,
in partnership with the R&M Lang Foundation and the Panicaro
Foundation. Hot Docs also supports the professional development
of emerging filmmakers through such programs as documentary
Channel Doc Accelerator and Corus Diverse Voices.
Production funds administered by Hot Docs have provided
$3.8 million to Canadian and international documentary projects.
The Corus-Hot Docs Documentary Funds provide development
and completion support to Canadian documentary filmmakers;
Hot Docs-Blue Ice Group Documentary Fund provides production
and professional development support to African filmmakers
5
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S WELCOME
The first time I went to Hot Docs in Toronto I was bowled
over, not just by the programming on offer but by the
deep appreciation of documentary as an art form. Sitting
in the Bloor Theatre, in the midst of Toronto’s bustling student
quarter, in a space dedicated to screening documentaries all year
round, I knew I had arrived at the gates of documentary heaven.
“Outstanding and Outspoken” is the logline used by Hot Docs to
describe their event: it’s a reflection of their deep commitment to
doco culture through extensive touring and education programs
and market activities for the industry.
Richard Moore
Artistic Director
6
It seemed to me that Australia could do with a taste of Hot Docs
and this program is my selection of 24 of the “hottest docs” from
around the globe (15 different countries). It includes two world
premieres of new Australian productions; Charlie Hill Smith’s
Motorkite Dreaming and Helen Kapalos’s timely look at the issue
of medical marijuana, A Life of its Own. Apart from these two,
90 percent of this program will have screened at Toronto’s Hot Docs
2016 program, or have played there in the last 12 months.
My deep thanks go to Chris McDonald, Brett Hendrie and
Shane Smith from Hot Docs for their commitment to the idea of
bringing Hot Docs down under, and of course, to the “Godfather”
of Australian film festivals, Antonio Zeccola, to Benjamin Zeccola
and Elysia Zeccola Hill, who heads up Palace’s wonderful festival
team. Welcome to Hot Docs at Palace Cinemas.
Best
Richard Moore
Artistic Director
Orion:
The Man Who Would Be King
7
OPENING
NIGHT
MELBOURNE
& CANBERRA
8
MR GAGA
TITLE
LINE 1
TITLE LINE 2
Director:
Tomer Heymann – Festival Guest
Producer:
Heymann Haim Gouri, Jacques Ehrlich,
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1975-1977
115
minutes
2015 | 100 minutes | Israel Sweden Netherlands Germany
Hebrew English (Subtitles)
Also plays in Sydney Film Festival – 12 and 13 June
OPENING NIGHT SCREENINGS
Opening nights feature live entertainment,
drinks, canapés and short speeches.
MELBOURNE
14 June, Palace Cinema Como
6:45pm arrival for a 7:15pm screening
Mr Gaga & post-show entertainment
CANBERRA
15 June, Palace Electric Cinema
6:45pm arrival for a 7:15pm screening
Mr Gaga & post-show entertainment
9
LEAGUE OF EXOTIQUE DANCERS
Director:
Producer:
Rama Rau – Festival Guest
Ed Barreveld
This is a tribute to the golden heyday of the age of Burlesque,
seen through the eyes, legs and swivelling hips of some of the
sassiest, sauciest characters ever to grace its stages. It features
nine amazing Titans of Tease – aged between 65 and 86 – who trail
blazed and wowed audiences from the late 1950’s to burlesque’s
waning days in the late 1970’s. With a selection of acts guaranteed
to boggle the mind, rare archival footage, and a soundtrack from the
golden age of burlesque this is pure joy from start to finish.
But behind the entertainment factor, this is also a film about female
empowerment and about the sexism, racism and widespread stigma
faced by Burlesque striptease performers of the era. Filled with humour
and stories from the front line, this ultimate backstage tour of the golden
age of Burlesque is one night at the theatre you won’t want to miss.
2016 | 90 minutes | Canada | English
10
OPENING NIGHT SCREENINGS
Opening nights feature live entertainment,
drinks, canapés and short speeches.
SYDNEY
21 June, Palace Verona, Sydney
7:00pm pre-film function and entertainment
for an 8:00pm screening
League of Exotique Dancers
OPENING
NIGHT
SYDNEY
11
SPECIAL EVENTS
Meet Hot Docs
Palace Verona, Sydney
Wednesday 22 June, 6:00pm
This open session is an opportunity to meet with Shane Smith,
Director of Programming at Hot Docs . Shane will talk about the
Hot Docs approach to programming, about their satellite events,
the Hot Docs market and everything else you wanted to know
about North America largest documentary festival. If you’re in
the documentary business, if you have a production you want him
to see,then don’t miss this opportunity.
Richard Moore, Artistic Director of Hot Docs at Palace and Rama
Rau, director of the opening night film League of Exotique Dancers
will also be in attendance.
* To register your place at this event, email [email protected]
with your name and contact number.
12
League of ExotiQUE Dancers
EVENT SCREENINGs
Palace Electric Cinema, Canberra
Thursday 23 June, 8:00pm
The screening of League of Exotique Dancers will feature a drink on
arrival, an intro and Q and A with the film’s director and entertainment
by members of Canberra’s burlesque community.
Westgarth Cinema, Melbourne
Friday 24th June, 8:15pm
The screening of League of Exotique Dancers will feature a drink on
arrival, an intro and Q and A with the film’s director and entertainment
by various members of the Bottoms Up Burlesque school.
5.5pt Univers 57
Condensed for
three & four line
advice
WORLD
PREMIERE
SCREENING
14
WORLD PREMIERE
MOTORKITE DREAMING
Director:
Charlie Hill Smith
Producer:
John Cherry
Executive Producers:Marcus Gillezeau, Simon Nasht,
Ruth Cross
The ultimate Aussie adventure story. Take four amateur
adventurers and two microlights – otherwise known as
“motorbikes with wings” – and fly them 4,000 kms across
the largest island on earth.
This is the tale of Aidan and Daryl and their fiancées’ dream to
pull off a daring feat no-one has ever attempted. Flying from south
to north across 5 deserts, the intrepid couples have to navigate
tough flying conditions, crocodile-infested swamps, and their own
personalities.
Led by two Aboriginal guides, including rock and roll royalty,
Carroll Karpany, the flying circus heads deep into the spiritual
heartland of Australia. Soaring through twenty indigenous language
nations, the adventurers connect with a culture and history
thousands of years old.
As pure cinema, Motorkite Dreaming is the ultimate bird’s eye
view of the Australian landscape. Whether they are swooping low
over Lake Eyre, or across the Great Sandy Desert, the film offers a
perspective few can ever hope to see in their lifetime.
2016 | 90 minutes | Australia | English
15
ORION: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING
Director:
Producers:
Jeanie Finlay
Jeanie Finlay and Dewi Gregory
Orion is the tale of Jimmy Ellis – an unknown singer plucked
from obscurity, and thrust into the spotlight as part of a crazy
scheme to reincarnate the King, Elvis Presley.
With a fictional identity torn from the pages of a novel, the backing
of the legendary Sun Records and a voice that seemed to be Presley’s
twin, the scheme – concocted just after Presley’s death – exploded
into a cult success and the “Elvis is alive” myth was born.
Jimmy – as the masked and rhinestoned Orion – gained the success
he’d always craved, the women he always desired and the adoration
of screaming masses. But in the midst of a growing identity crisis,
the deception of living a lie for five years became too much and he
self-destructed, ripping off his mask - and tearing up his ticket to
fame. Orion revels in the manipulative schemes of the music industry,
the truth and lies at the heart of the story and the allure of fantasy.
2015 | 90 minutes | United Kingdom | English
16
A BALLERINA’S TALE
Director:
Producer:
Nelson George
Leslie Noville
Few dancers make it to the heights of classical ballet.
Of that number very few of them are black. This is the story of
Misty Copeland, who fought against all the odds to make it
to the very summit. As an African American, Misty struggled
against the predjudices of a cloistered dance world to pull herself
up the ladder of the American Ballet Theatre and become a
prima ballerina.
“... director Nelson George
paints a moving portrait of
Copeland that underscores
her triumphs over bodily
and historical limitations.”
VILLAGE VOICE
This production documents Misty’s rise and the tough reality of
a ballerina’s life. Considered a prodigy at an early age, despite
not starting ballet until she was 13, Misty has now become a role
model and source of inspiration for thousands of young dancers
and has an active career, not only as dancer but as an author and
entertainer
2015 | 85 minutes | USA | English
17
JIM: THE JAMES FOLEY STORY
Director:
Brian Oakes
Producers:
Eva Lipman, George Kunhardt,
Teddy Kunhardt, Peter Kunhardt
On Thanksgiving Day 2012, American photojournalist James “Jim”
Foley was kidnapped in Syria, two years before the infamous video
of his public execution introduced much of the world to ISIS.
Jim: The James Foley Story, directed by close childhood friend
Brian Oakes, tells the story of Jim’s life through intimate interviews
with his family, friends and fellow journalists - while former hostages
reveal never-before-heard details of his captivity with a chilling
intimacy that reveals their courageous untold story of perseverance.
Made with unparalleled access (including footage Foley shot
himself), and using carefully rendered recreations, Oakes takes
viewers deep into the darkness and valor of Jim’s captivity. What
emerges is a powerful chronicle of bravery, compassion and pain at
the dawn of America’s war with ISIS.
2015 | 115 minutes | United States | English
18
T-REX
Director:
Drea Cooper, Zackary Canepari
Producers:
Drea Cooper, Zackary Canepari,
Bianca Darville, Sue Jaye Johnson
“If I wasn’t a boxer I’d have ten kids before I was twenty six” says
the heroine of this inspirational doco, Claressa ‘T – Rex’ Shields.
Born into the hard streets of Flint Michigan, Claressa literally fought
her way out of her surroundings to become the youngest member of
the US Olympic boxing team.
The film tracks her life story – including her tumultuous relationship
with coach Jason Crutchfield – who started training her when
she was a scrawny 11 year old kid hanging out at his gym, right
through her preparations for the 2012 Olympics and beyond. As
fierce as she is in the ring, as a young black girl in the spotlight with
an Olympic gold medal, she needs all her wits about her to become
an “acceptable role model” for sponsors and build a career that will
keep her family out of trouble.
2015 | 91 minutes | United States | English
19
GUN RUNNERS
Director:
Producers:
Anjali Nayar
Annette Clarke and Catherine Van Der Donckt
Kenyans are considered the cream of the crop of world-class
marathon runners, particularly those from Kenya’s Rift Valley
where most of this film is set. But some of Kenya’s top runners
aren’t running marathons, some are wanted criminals, running
for their lives.
For years, Julius Arile and Robert Matanda have been part
of roaming bands of warriors that terrorize the countryside,
stealing cattle, raiding and running from the police. But as part
of a government sponsored program they decide to trade in their
AK47s for sneakers — in the hopes of making it as professional
marathon runners.
20
Years of fleeing from the police have prepared them for running
marathon distances, but do they have what it takes to put their
violent pasts behind them, survive the tough training regimes and
build a new life? Filmed over 8 years and told entirely by its central
characters, Gun Runners is a parable of a nation’s attempt to
embrace both tradition and modernity.
2015 | 90 minutes | Canada | English
“... gives a face to the complexities and personal struggles in war and conflict, yet becomes an inspiring
story of self perseverance in attaining a greater sense of self.”
TORONTO FILM SCENE
21
THE LEGACY OF FRIDA KAHLO
Director:
Producers:
Tadasuke Kotani
Kazuo Osawa
This documentary film is about a rare cultural dialogue between the
living and the dead. The living, award winning photographer Miyako
Ishiuchi (who represented Japan at the Venice Biennale) is invited
by the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico to photograph the personal
belongings of Mexico’s most celebrated female artist, Frida Kahlo.
Acknowledged as a “surrealist” Kahlo’s reputation is notorious as
much as for her art – which continues to smash auction records – as
for her passionate lifestyle.
Locked away for 58 years hundreds of her personal belongings
are brought out of storage to be shown in public for the first time.
For Ishiuchi the objects are a puzzle and a key into the psyche
and personality of Frida and also a spark to explore the culture of
Oaxaca province which Frida lived and breathed.
In a country where death is celebrated with its own special day
Ishiuchi’s lens brings the spirit of Frida’s past into vivid reality.
22
2015 | 90 minutes | United Kingdom | English
CHAMELEON
Director:
Ryan Mullins
Producers:
Bob Moore
Dubbed the James Bond of investigative journalism the
crusading Ghanian reporter, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has a
reputation for “naming, shaming and then jailing”. He works in
disguise to infiltrate Africa’s criminal underworld and then publish
his stories in the New Crusading Guide Newspaper.
But Ghana’s most notorious journalist is more than just a reporter.
He’s a crime fighter who uses his journalistic skills to bust
corruption; specialising in stings and working closely with the police
to get criminal convinctions. This modern day folk hero keeps his
identity hidden from the public and reveals a side of Africa rarely
seen: tabloid journalism, high-tech surveillance and high-speed car
chases. The film follows Anas and his team the ‘Spice Girls’ – young
female reporters – to expose a number of new crimes. Is Anas a
journalist, or a vigilante? Just how far is he willing to go to uncover
the truth?
2015 | 76 minutes | Canada | English
23
INGRID BERGMAN: IN HER OWN WORDS
Directors:
Producers:
Stig Bjorkman
Stina Gardell
This production, awarded a special mention at Cannes 2015, is an
intimate and revealing look at the life of Ingrid Bergman, an absolute
legend of the silver screen. Narrated by Alicia Vikander, a rising
star of this generation, the production is a feast for cinema lovers
–peppered with clips from Bergman films, private screen tests, footage
from Bergman’s own private movies (she carried her camera everywhere)
and a cast of thousands. Alfred Hitchcock, Sigourney Weaver,
Liv Ullman, Gregory Peck, Humphrey Bogart – to name a few!
Bergman’s children (Pia Lindström, Isabella and Ingrid Rossellini
and son Renato Rossellini) join in to give a unique perspective on
a woman who followed her intuitions and impulses, often to the
detriment of her nearests and dearests. Bold, beautiful and utterly
charming, Ingrid Bergman was a star whose brilliance could not be
dimmed by domestic concerns. A true celebration of a life fully lived.
2015 | 114 minutes | Sweidsh & Italian, English (Subtitles)
24
A SYRIAN LOVE STORY
Director:
Producers:
Sean McCallister
Elhum Shakerifar
The poignant story of a family torn apart by the Assad
dictatorship. Filming began in Syria in 2009, prior to the “Arab
Spring” – at a time, when Raghda was a political prisoner and
Amer cared for their young children alone.
This intimate portrait helps us understand why people are literally
dying for change in the Arab world. When Raghda is released from
prison, filmmaker Sean McAllister, known for his deep involvement
with his subjects, is arrested for filming and the political pressure
intensifies. The family flee to France where they are given political
asylum, to watch the revolution from afar, waiting for Assad to fall.
Raghda’s and Amer’s kids are no passive observers. At 4 and 14,
Bob and Kaka have already spent their whole lives watching their
parents go to prison for their political beliefs. Quiet, and mature,
Kaka tells us how prepared he is to follow his mother and father to
prison for the price of freedom.
2015 | 76 minutes | United Kingdom | English, Arabic, French (Subtitles)
This film will screen only in Sydney and Canberra
25
UKRAINIAN SHERIFFS
Director:
Producers:
Roman Bondarchuk
Dar’ya Avarchenko and Uldis Cekulis
Victor and Volodya are the two sheriffs of Stara Zburjivka, a
tiny Ukrainian village near Crimea. Sunglass wearing, toothpick
chewing Viktor is the brains and ex bouncer, Volodya, is the big
hearted heavy.
Driving in their yellow Lada flying its own little Ukrainian flag,
they travel from incident to incident – calming an angry neighbor,
investigating the discovery of a body, and attempting to re-integrate
Vova, the freeloader who eats other people’s dogs. But when Kiev’s
Maidan Revolution strikes, a new reality hits. A new politicized air
begins to blow, making new enemies of old townsfolk, and the sheriffs
find they must safeguard democracy itself. The Crimean invasion is
around the corner, and the Donetsk stand-off further still, allowing
this charmer to capture the comedy and humble beauty of a pivotal
moment in history.
2015 | 85 minutes | Ukraine Latvia Germany | Ukrainian (Subtitles)
26
“Taking viewers far beyond the tumult of Maidan Square in the capital Kiev, Ukrainian Sheriffs
provides a welcome and illuminating look at the specter of war — how it comes to color lives
apparently far from any frontlines.”
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
27
FASSBINDER
Director: Annekatrin Hendel
Producer: Maria Wischnewski for IT WORKS! Medien GmbH
Co-Producer: Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation
German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s reputation was
cemented by films like The Marriage of Maria Braun,
Effi Briest and the TV series Berlin Alexanderplatz. He had an
profound talent for stirring up controversy and engaging the soul
of post-war Germany with his daring treatment of themes such as
emancipation, sexuality and xenophobia.
Renowned and despised, he worked like a man obsessed on his
42 feature films, until his sudden death at the age of just 37.
His films care little for society’s taboos, and are full of his own
personal experiences of love, homosexuality and drug use. In this
biopic, candid interviews with his favorite actors and colleagues
sketch create a portrait of a multifaceted, determined genius. The
production includes scenes from his films, previously unpublished
autobiographical audio clips, drawings and animations. 28
2016 | 92 minutes | Germany | English, German
WORLD PREMIERE
A LIFE OF ITS OWN:
the truth about medical marijuana
Director and Producer: Helen Kapalos
A Life Of Its Own is based on Helen Kapalos’s personal quest
to discover some medical truths about the life giving and
enhancing properties of marijuana. Her journey began after
years as a senior reporter on a major commercial network and being
moved by one young man’s anguish at his shame of having to resort
to medical marijuana to treat his terminal illness. His story – detailed
here in full – attracted the attention of government and prompted
Australians to bravely speak out. The reaction was unprecedented.
This documentary takes the story further, contrasting Australia’s
medical cannabis black market with Israel where the largest human
trials of medicinal cannabis take place as a legal, federal program. It
probes the socio, political and legal consequences of the debate and
turns a scientific investigation into a compelling human narrative and
a clarion call for change.
2016 | 81 minutes | Australia | English
WORLD
PREMIERE
SCREENING 29
CHUCK NORRIS VERSUS COMMUNISM
Director:
Producers:
Ilinca Calugareanu
Mara Adina and Brett Ratner
In communist Romania, under the iron fist of the feared
Caucescus, life was a cultural desert.
All forms of communication were heavily censored, all images of
life outside the Iron Curtain cut off and TV reduced to a couple of
hours of propaganda bulletins. But there was one window into the
free world available to anyone who dared to look.
30
This is the tale of how thousands of Hollywood films were smuggled
into the country through a well-oiled operation that swelled until
it reached millions across Romania. The films were dubbed by one
courageous female translator whose distinct voice captivated the
whole nation and became a symbol of freedom.
The stories of action heroes like Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude
Van Damme captured every child’s imagination, but it was the
lavish settings and backdrops that mesmerised this unique audience.
For the first time people saw what had been denied to them:
supermarkets stacked full of food, the trappings of wealth, the latest
fashions, super cars, and most of all, freedom.
2015 | 80 minutes | United Kingdom Romania Germany | English
31
NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU
Directors:
Producers:
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
Brent Miller and Suzanne Hillinger
Arguably the most influential creator, writer, and producer in
the history of television, Norman Lear brought primetime into
step with the times. Using comedy and indelible characters, his
legendary 1970s shows such as All In the Family, Maude, Good
Times, and The Jeffersons, boldly cracked open dialogue and shifted
the national consciousness, injecting enlightened humanism into
sociopolitical debates on race, class, creed, and feminism.
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You is the definitive chronicle
of Mr. Lear’s life, work, and achievements, but it is so much more
than an arm’s-length, past-tense biopic; at 93, Mr. Lear is as vital
and engaged as he ever was.Top-notch cinéma vérité documentarians
Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp, 12th & Delaware,
DETROPIA) seize the opportunity to fashion a dynamic portrait
that matches the spirit of their subject.
2016 | 91 minutes | United States | English
32
GULISTAN, LAND OF ROSES
Director: Zaynê Akyol
Producers:Yanick Létourneau, Nathalie Cloutier,
Mehmet Aktas, Fanny Drew, Sarah Mannering
and Denis McCready
An intimate portrait of women in revolution … filmmaker
Zaynê Akyol’s poetic portrait is set in the rugged mountains and
deserts of Kurdistan where her lens takes us deep inside a brigade of
female Kurdish guerrillas fighting Islamic State. It’s a far cry from
current affairs media reporting filled with bombings and blood – it
is a quieter, more reflective insight into the reality of a world we
can scarcely imagine. As much as it is about warfare the film is a
powerful statement about gender. Fierce and proud, these women
instill fear in their enemy, not only for their bravery and skill, but
also because, for ISIS soldiers, dying at the hands of a woman
means they’ll never reach heaven. In turn, the women live in fear of
being taken as spoils of war, believing that “every woman left to the
mercy of man is condemned to slavery.”
2016 | 84 minutes | Canada | Turkish Kurmandji (Subtitles)
33
“It occurred to me that
cave divers and astronauts
are really the last true
explorers in the world today.
Going deep inside these
caves means having to rely
solely on their own skills, as
no GPS or other devices can
reach those depths.”
JUAN REINA
DIRECTOR
34
DIVING INTO THE UNKNOWN
Director:
Producer:
Juan Reina
Juho Harjula
When a group of five Finnish cave divers set off on a mission
to dive through a 5 kilometre long and 130 metre deep cave in
Pluaden, Norway their worst nightmares becomes real.
Half way through the dive things go horribly wrong – two of the
divers drown and three miraculously survived. The production uses
multiple cameras, both on the surface and under water, to take
viewers deep below the ice where the surviving divers try to retrieve
the bodies of their friends, after an official international operation
has been called off and the cave entrance sealed. The physical
burden is nothing compared the psychological one in this pulsing
insight into group psychology and male friendship. Conducted under
a veil of secrecy the operation to recover their friends is the ultimate
underwater thriller.
2016 | 85 minutes | Finland Norway
Finnish Swedish English Norwegian (Subtitles)
35
THE ROAD
Director:
Producer:
Zanbo Zhang
Richard Liang
The Road is a bird’s eye view into how business is conducted in
contemporary China and... a warning to all motorists.
The action centres around the construction of a major new highway
in Hunan Province. The project is being run by corrupt Party
members, bad employers and local gangsters. Homes belonging to
local people have been damaged by explosives, employees wanting
to get paid have to resort to all sorts of tactics to get their money.
Behind the scenes at the construction company, we eavesdrop on
plans to deal with dissent: “If people obstruct the construction
with no reason, we must strike back without mercy and arrest
them if needed.” Meanwhile, a building inspector discovers that the
construction of the highway is both unsound and completely illegal.
Everyone is at odds – it would seem that building a highway is a little
like fighting a war.
2015 | 95 minutes | China Denmark
This film will screen only in Melbourne and Canberra
36
WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS
Director and Producer: Beth Murphy
With unprecedented access, What Tomorrow Brings goes inside
the very first girls’ school in a small Afghan village. Never before
have fathers here allowed their daughters to be educated, and they
aren’t sure they even want to now. From the school’s beginnings
in 2009 to its first graduation in 2015, the film traces the
interconnected stories of students, teachers, village elders, parents,
and school founder Razia Jan.
In a nation where education for young women is difficult to
access and dropout numbers are high, Jan puts literacy at the
forefront, encouraging the girls in their pursuit of knowledge, and
independence. Her initiatives are progressive and not surprisingly
encounter resistance from the locals: the threats the girls face –
from forced marriage to Taliban attack – overhang the activities of
the girls like a gigantic thunderstorm.
2016 | 89 minutes | United States | English (Subtitles)
37
I AM THE BLUES
Director:
Producers:
Daniel Cross
Daniel Cross and Bob Moore
A musical journey down to the bayous of Mississippi: home of the
alligator, the crawfish and the real juke joints of blues guitars.
Meet the last original devils, the living legends of blues – Jimmy
“Duck” Holmes, Bobby Rush, Barbara Lynn, Lazy Lester,
Little Freddie King – many of them in their eighties, still living
in the deep south and plucking with even more heart than when
they started . Down to the Mississippi crossroads and on a musical
travelogue from front porches to church halls, sharing stories and
sliding their strings to create one of the most authentic moving
tributes to a musical form that has immeasurably influenced music
and popular culture worldwide.
2016 | 106 minutes | Canada | English
38
RAVING IRAN
Director:
Producer:
Susanne Regina Meures
Christian Fre
Life as a raver in today’s Iran is no fun and for Anoosh and
Arash, at the centre of Tehran’s underground techno scene, its
now a matter of life or imprisonment.
In a country where what they do is a punishable political act their
lives are spent dodging the moral police, lying to officials and
peddling their recordings on the black market. After Anoosh is
arrested following a secret rave in the desert the duo realize how
dire their situation is.
Despairing about their future, they receive a phone call from the
biggest techno festival in the world, inviting them to Switzerland.
On the verge of achieving their DJ dreams, the young men must
decide if music, artistic expression and freedom are worth sacrificing
family, friends, culture and country. What price freedom?
2016 | 85 minutes | Switzerland | Farsi English German (Subtitles)
39
40
THE SEX TEMPLE
Director:
Producers:
Johan Palmgren
Lisa Wahlbom
An extravagant century-old theatre in Sweden faces financial
ruin until Robin, its gay owner, partners up with Christian,
who runs a straight swingers club. They conspire to create a
sexually inclusive Nordic Moulin Rouge where all are welcome.
But as soon as the partnership gets off the ground, the usual
objectors – moral outrage and sexual panic – show up in town.
A media scandal erupts, threats flood in and the dream of creating
a viable business around basement sex parties and queer burlesque
shows starts to seem far-fetched. A subtle and tragic tale of taboo
and homophobia, The Sex Temple asks whether sex and commerce
make for good bedfellows, and shines a fleshlight on straight and gay
sexual double standards.
2015 | 81 minutes | Sweden | Swedish (Subtitles)
41
FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
PALACE CINEMA COMO
TueSDAY 14 JunE
OPENING NIGHT
6:45 pmDrink on arrival for 7.15pm film Mr Gaga followed
by after party and post-show entertainment
Wednesday 15 June
6:00 pm What Tomorrow Brings
8:00 pm Ukrainian Sheriffs
Thursday 16 June
6:00 pm Chameleon
8:00 pm Jim: The James Foley Story
Friday 17 June
4:00 pm The Legacy of Frida Kahlo
6:00 pm Diving Into the Unknown
8:00 pm Motorkite Dreaming – World première
Saturday 18 June
12:00 pm Chuck Norris Versus Communism
2:00 pm Gun Runners
4:00 pm A Ballerina’s Tale
6:00 pm Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
8:15 pm A Life of its Own – World première
42
Wednesday 22 June
6:00 pm Motorkite Dreaming
8:00 pm Jim: The James Foley Story
Thursday 23 June
6:00 pm The Road
8:15 pm Diving Into the Unknown
Friday 24 June
4:00 pm T-Rex
6:00 pm Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
8:00 pm Mr Gaga
Saturday 25 June
12:00 pm A Ballerina’s Tale
2:00 pm Ukrainian Sheriffs
4:00 pm Chameleon
6:00 pm Chuck Norris Versus Communism
8:00 pm The Sex Temple
Sunday 26 June
12:00 pm Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
2:30 pm The Road
4:45 pm Raving Iran
6:45 pm I Am the Blues
Sunday 19 June
12:00 pm The Legacy of Frida Kahlo
2:00 pm Gulistan: Land of Roses
4:00 pm I Am the Blues
6:30 pm Orion: The Man Who Would Be King
Monday 27 June
6:00 pm Fassbinder
8:00 pm Gun Runners
Monday 20 June
6:00 pm The Legacy of Frida Kahlo
8:00 pm Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
Tuesday 28 June
6:00 pm Orion: The Man Who Would Be King
8:00 pm Gulistan, Land of Roses
Tuesday 21 June
6:00 pm T-Rex
8:00 pm Fassbinder
Wednesday 29 June
6:00 pm Raving Iran
8:00 pm League of Exotique Dancers
FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
PALACE WESTGARTH
Wednesday 15 June
6:00 pm The Legacy of Frida Kahlo
8:00 pm Orion: The Man Who Would Be King
Thursday 23 June
6:00 pm Fassbinder
8:15 pm Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
Thursday 16 June
6:00 pm Gulistan, Land of Roses
8:00 pm Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
Friday 24 June
4:00 pm The Sex Temple
6:00 pm Raving Iran
7.45 pm Drink on arrival and performance for
8:15pm film League of Exotique Dancers + Q&A
Friday 17 June
4:00 pm What Tomorrow Brings
6:00 pm I Am the Blues
8:15 pm the Road
Saturday 18 June
12:00 pm The Legacy of Frida Kahlo
2:00 pm Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
4:30 pm Fassbinder
6:30 pm Jim: The James Foley Story
9:00 pm The Sex Temple
Sunday 19 June
12:00 pm Chameleon
2:00 pm Chuck Norris Versus Communism
4:00 pm Motorkite Dreaming + Q&A
6:15 pm Diving Into the Unknown
Monday 20 June
6:00 pm Gun Runners
8:00 pm Gulistan, Land of Roses
Saturday 25 June
12:00 pm Orion: The Man Who Would Be King
2:00 pm I Am the Blues
4:15 pm T-Rex
6:30 pm Diving Into The Unknown
8:30 pm League of Exotique Dancers + Q&A
Sunday 26 June
12:00 pm What Tomorrow Brings
2:00 pm A Ballerina’s Tale
4:00 pm Ukrainian Sheriffs
6:00 pm Jim: The James Foley Story
Monday 27 June
6:00 pm League of Exotique Dancers
8:00 pm Chuck Norris Versus Communism
Tuesday 21 June
6:00 pm A Life of its Own + Q&A
8:00 pm Ukrainian Sheriffs
Tuesday 28 June
6:00 pm Chameleon
8:00 pm Motorkite Dreaming
Wednesday 22 June
6:00 pm Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
8:30 pm Gun Runners
Wednesday 29 June
6:00 pm The Road
8:15 pm The Sex Temple
43
FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
PALACE VERONA
Tuesday 21 June
OPENING NIGHT
7.00 pm Pre-film function for 8pm film
League of Exotique Dancers
Wednesday 22 June
6:00 pm Meet Hot Docs
8:15 pm Diving into the unknown
Thursday 23 June
3:30 pm Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
6:00 pm I Am the Blues
8:15 pm Raving Iran
Friday 24 June
4:00 pm Gun Runners
6:00 pm Chuck Norris Versus Communism
8:00 pm The Sex Temple
Saturday 25 June
12:30 pm Chameleon
2:15 pm A Syrian Love Story
4:00 pm Orion: The Man Who Would Be King
6:00 pm A Life of its Own + Q&A
8:45 pm Jim: The James Foley Story
Sunday 26 June
12:00 pm Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
2:30 pm A Ballerina’s Tale
4:30 pm Ukrainian Sheriffs
6:30 pm Motorkite Dreaming + Q&A
44
Monday 27 June
3:45 pm Jim: The James Foley Story
6:15 pm Chameleon
8:00 pm Fassbinder
Tuesday 28 June
4:00 pm Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
6:00 pm What Tomorrow Brings
8:00 pm Orion: The Man Who Would Be King
Wednesday 29 June
4:00 pm A Ballerina’s Tale
6:00 pm Gulistan, Land Of Roses
8:00 pm Gun Runners
Thursday 30 June
4:00 pm Chuck Norris Versus Communism
6:00 pm The Legacy of Frida Kahlo
8:00 pm T-Rex
Friday 1 July
4:00 pm Motorkite Dreaming
6:15 pm A Syrian Love Story
8:00 pm League of Exotique Dancers
Saturday 2 July
12:00 pm Gulistan, Land Of Roses
2:00 pm The Legacy of Frida Kahlo
4:00 pm Raving Iran
6:00 pm Ukrainian Sheriffs
8:00 pm Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
Sunday 3 July
12:15 pm I Am the Blues
2:30 pm T-Rex
4:45 pm What Tomorrow Brings
7:00 pm Diving Into the Unknown
FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
PALACE ELECTRIC CINEMA
Wednesday 15 June
OPENING NIGHT
6:45 pmDrink on arrival for 7.15pm film Mr Gaga followed
by after party and post-show entertainment
Thursday 16 June
1:45 pm Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
4:00 pm Chuck Norris Versus Communism
6:00 pm Fassbinder
8:00 pm A Syrian Love Story
Friday 17 June
2:00 pm T-Rex
4:00 pm Ukrainian Sheriffs
6:00 pm Diving Into The Unknown
8:00 pm Orion: The Man Who Would Be King
Saturday 18 June
12:00 pm A Ballerina’s Tale
2:00 pm Chameleon
4:00 pm Raving Iran
6:00 pm Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
8:00 pm The Sex Temple
Sunday 19 June
12:00 pm Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
2:30 pm I Am The Blues
5:00 pm Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
7:00 pm Mr Gaga
Monday 20 June
4:00 pm Gun Runners
6:00 pm Gulistan, Land of Roses
8:00 pm The Legacy of Frida Kahlo
Tuesday 21 June
2:00 pm Orion: The Man Who Would Be King
4:00 pm What Tomorrow Brings
6:00 pm T-Rex
8:00 pm Ukrainian Sheriffs
Wednesday 22 June
2:15 pm Chameleon
4:00 pm A Ballerina’s Tale
6:00 pm A Life of its Own + Q&A
8:30 pm Chuck Norris Versus Communism
Thursday 23 June
4:00 pm The Road
6:00 pm Gulistan, Land of Roses
7.30 pm Drink on arrival and performance for
8:00pm film League of Exotique Dancers + Q&A
Friday 24 June
2:00 pm Fassbinder
4:00 pm Diving Into The Unknown
6:15 pm Motorkite Dreaming + Q&A
8:30 pm Gun Runners
Saturday 25 June
12:15 pm A Syrian Love Story
2:00 pm What Tomorrow Brings
4:00 pm The Sex Temple
6:00 pm Raving Iran
8:00 pm The Road
Sunday 26 June
12:00 pm The Legacy of Frida Kahlo
2:00 pm Raving Iran
4:00 pm League of Exotique Dancers
6:00 pm I Am The Blues
45
TICKETING INFORMATION
HOW TO PURCHASE TiCKEtS
CINEMA LOCATIONS
SYDNEY
CANBERRA
Palace Verona
17 Oxford Street,
Paddington
02 9360 6099
Palace Electric
NewActon Nishi
2 Phillip Law Street, Canberra
1300 620 809
Group bookings of 20 or more:
Group bookings of 20 or more:
Danielle Carey
02 9346 8798 or
[email protected]
Sam Duke
02 6222 4908 or
[email protected]
MELBOURNE
PALACE CINEMA COMO
Level 2, Como Centre
Cnr of Toorak Road &
Chapel Street,
South Yarra
Tram 8, stop 31
03 9827 7533
Group bookings of 20 or more:
PALACE WESTGARTH
89 High St,
Northcote
Tram route 86, stop 27
03 9482 2001
Emma Vail 03 9816 1777 or [email protected]
46
IN CINEMAS
At box offices 11.00am to 8.30pm daily until sold out. Cinemas can only sell
tickets for their respective venues. There are no booking fees for purchasing
tickets at cinema box offices however surcharges for credit cards apply.
ONLINE
Via http://www.hotdocsoz.com/
All major credit cards accepted (ex. Amex & Diners). Booking Fees Apply.
BY PHONE
Telephone bookings by credit card only (ex Amex & Diners), which will
be debited at the time of booking and must be produced when collecting
tickets. Patrons are encouraged to collect tickets 30 minutes prior to
the session to avoid queues. Credit card transactions by phone will incur
booking fees. When calling during busy periods, there may be a delay in
answering the phone. Please try again later, or visit the website.
TICKET PRICES
MEL
SYD
CAN
TICKET PRICES
MEL
SYD
CAN
GROUPS
(20 people or more)
$14.00
per ticket
$14.00
per ticket
$14.00
per ticket
SCHOOL GROUPS (20 students or more
(One teacher admitted free for every 20 students)
$10.50
per ticket
$10.50
per ticket
$10.50
per ticket
GROUP BOOKINGS
GENERAL ADMISSION
Palace Movie Club Members
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
Adult
$19.50
$19.50
$19.50
Concession*
$17.00
$17.00
$17.00
OPENING NIGHT (inc. film drinks, canapÉs & entertainment)
*
Palace Movie Club Members
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
General Admission
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
SPECIAL EVENT – LEAGUE OF EXOTIC DANCERS (Melb & Canberra only)
See page 10 for details
Palace Movie Club Members
$22.00
–
$22.00
General Admission
$27.00
–
$27.00
Palace Movie Club
$70.00
$70.00
$70.00
General Admission
$80.00
$80.00
$80.00
Palace Movie Club
$130.00
$130.00
$130.00
General Admission
$150.00
$150.00
$150.00
Palace Movie Club
$240.00
$240.00
$240.00
General Admission
$280.00
$280.00
$280.00
MULTI-FILM PURCHASE
5 FILM PASS**
10 FILM PASS**
20 FILM PASS**
E
ligible Concessions: Full time Students (photo ID required), Senior Citizens, Health Care Card
Holders, Pensioners. Proof of concession must be presented at the cinema box office and/or upon
entry to the auditorium.
**Multi-film passes are for separate sessions for one person only and can be purchased and redeemed at
any Palace Cinema in VIC, NSW & ACT at the Box Office. Not available for online or phone bookings.
Lost or stolen passes will not be refunded or replaced.
GENERAL FESTIVAL CONDITIONS
All festival films are restricted to persons 18 years of age and over, unless specified (see classification
recommendations). This relates not necessarily to the content of the films, but to the legal requirements of
holding the festival as set by the Classification Board.
Box office hours vary between venues. Please check the venue ticketing page for box office hours. Cinema
box offices can only sell tickets for their respective venues.
Please ask at the venue for accepted credit cards and credit card surcharges.
Festival tickets, once acquired, are non-refundable and nonexchangeable. Lost or stolen tickets will not be
replaced or refunded.
Patrons are encouraged to collect booked tickets 30 minutes prior to the session to avoid queues. Palace
Cinema passes and other complimentary passes, cinema promotions and free ticket offers are not valid for
festival screenings.
Dates, times and programs are correct at the time of publication, but may need to be altered due to unforeseen
circumstances. We reluctantly reserve the right to withdraw, change and replace programs without notice.
Seating is reserved at Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth & Palace Electric. Seating is unreserved at
Palace Verona. For censorship information, please see film pages.
All ticket prices are GST inclusive.
47
FESTIVAL SPONSORS
48
CREDITS
Richard Moore
Artistic Director and Programmer
Simon Sherry
Program Design and Layout
Palace Cinemas
Antonio and Karen Zeccola
Benjamin Zeccola Palace Cinemas CEO
Stephanie Zeccola National Marketing Manager
Antony Zeccola
National Development Executive
National Programming Manager
Kim Petalas
Sarah Lewis
Marketing and Programming Executive
Palace Festivals
Elysia Zeccola Hill National Festivals Director
National Festivals Manager
Genevieve Kelly
National Festivals Coordinator
Paulette Arvizu
Gina Rubiano
NSW Festivals, Events and Marketing Coordinator
Alice McShane
Festivals Assistant
Publicity
Luiza Canetti Grinstein
Nicolas Cheetham
and Emma Snowden from Nixco
Palace Art Department
Graphic Designer
Ed Swindells
Cal Skuthorpe
Assistant Graphic Designer
Make the most of your night after
the Film Festival with all night
public transport on weekends.
# H O T D O C S O Z
W W W . H O T D O C S O Z . C O M