A couple weeks ago, I went to see several documentaries over this year’s 10-day Hot Docs festival. I picked out 10 documentaries to see and here’s my list below and what I thought of them. You can read about the first five documentaries I saw in part 2 here.
- Backstage Action
Backstage Action looked at the extras working on film sets. It was interesting to hear the ads for the types and looks of extras needed to films. The director was in attendance and was available during the Q&A period at the end. She explained that the extras would typically be on their phones while they were waiting for their scenes to be filmed. So some of the conversations between the extras that were captured was real conversations but ones that the director had to ask questions so that the extras would talk to each other. This documentary was paired with 2 short documentaries, Uncaged: A Stand-In Story and The Day Don Died. Both of these shorts were also really good and entertaining. - Havana, from on High
This was a somewhat interesting documentary about housing in Havana and the use of rooftop spaces by local Cubans in Havana. Although it was beautifully filmed, it was a bit slow going. I was expecting something different from this documentary. - I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth Vs. Michelle Carter
This was a two-part documentary that explores Michelle Carter’s trial She was charged with manslaughter for sending texts that urged her boyfriend, Conrad Roy, to commit suicide. Interviews with family members and friends are interwoven with the teenage couple’s messages as well as the public’s reaction to a case complicated by mental illness and technology. This was an interesting documentary and typical of the better documentaries I’ve seen that follow trials. - Killing Patient Zero
I really liked this documentary and was fascinated by the subject. It looked at AIDS/HIV epidemic during the 1980s and a flight attendant, Gaetan Dugas who was thought to be a key player in the epidemic in North America. Dugas was demonized for his promiscuity and wrongfully identified as patient zero. It was a different look at the epidemic and not something I knew really knew had taken place. - Leftover Women
This documentary was definitely one of the highlights. It was fascinating to look at a culture and how they define single women of a certain age as being too old to be married. The documentary followed three women in their late 20s to mid-30s and the pressures they face in getting married. In their culture, if a woman is still unmarried by 27, they are labelled as leftover but they still continue to deal with the pressure of finding a husband and starting a family. I found this very insightful to watch.
