RKS Film: “Strictly for the Birds”: Finally, a Geezer Trans Film!

In the LGBTQ genre it is the lithe young’uns that rule the roost. This becomes a bit tiring. “Strictly for the Birds” breaks out of the youth stereotype and has 68-year-old Kate Birdsall recount her coming out as a trans and then later undergoing a gender change surgery to transform from Dan Birdsall into Kate Birdsall. The film is based on Kate Birdsall’s memoir “In Between: Strictly for the Birds”.

Dan Birdsall had a fascination with dressing as a woman from childhood which intensified as he divorced his wife in 1983 and gave up custody of their child Casey to his wife. Perhaps unrealistically there is nothing in the film about the hostility Dan may have faced coming out as a trans and then having surgery to become a Kate. It seems focused on the support Dan received.

Kate Birdsall (playing herself) relocated to a white bread senior’s community where they sing in a choir and attend church services. She meets Andrea Drury (playing herself) a twice divorced woman who falls for Kate knowing she was once he. Does that make Andrea a lesbian? Enough perhaps of all these categorizations as the relationship is based on two persons loving each other as persons. As Kate muses at the outset that we are told we are either man or woman but there are others who are outside that box but so many spend their life in a box. This is the most significant statement made in the film and worth remembering.

Kate and Andrea play themselves and at times their acting is hesitant and wooden but seconds later it is not acting on the screen but heartfelt emotion and that saves the film. Dynamo Zoe Taylor playing herself adds some comic relief in a delightful fashion.

Perhaps it is time for a cheesy Trans movie as this may signify just how far the genre has progressed. The soundtrack by Wonderly adds to the cheese.  

It is never too late to truly embrace who you are and thanks to “Strictly for the Birds” for reminding us of that.

Directed by Jon Garcia.

The film is now on digital platforms now including iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play and Vudu.

You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49XpoVq7Y3Y

RKS Film Rating 73/100.

“Travels to a Different Time” : 13July1975: Trondheim, Norway: The Zambian Squabbles with the Aussie Girls: Peeing in a Luxury Hotel

Woken up by the Aussie girls and I ate a breakfast of bread and honey. I packed up my tent and we drove into Trondheim. The Aussie birds wanted to go to a music museum but not the Zambian and I who stayed in the van while the girls trundled off to the museum. The Zambian and I headed into town to buy a small Norwegian flag he could patch his jeans with. I don’t like Trondheim as it is a tourist trap with souvenir shops., We headed back to our site and had a beer in a tavern for the outrageous price of $1.20. We had another beer in the van and listened to music but with beer what comes in must come out so we crossed the road to a luxury hotel walking in like we owned the joint and found the WC. The girls returned chattering about how wonderful the museum was. They had their lunch and we headed out through Trondheim. It was belting rain as we left Trondheim. The Zambian and the Aussie girls began squabbling about where to park the van. The Zambian is increasingly annoyed with them as all they do is write letters all night and want to go to Post Restante to pick up their mail. They share expenses but what is the connection of the Zambian and the Aussie girls? There was lull in the rain so I rushed out and set up my tent. Damn it the water began leaking in.

RKS Film: The Documentary Film Reviewer and the Psychiatrist

Yes Mr. Stephen you have told me a jarring story of watching too many documentaries with a less than uplifting and joyous content.

You have mentioned a recurring theme in documentaries that have been causing you emotional difficulties.

You have mentioned countless documentaries dealing with.

  • Victims of war
  • Genocide
  • Climate change
  • Pedophilia
  • Drug abuse
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Rogue mining
  • Illegal poaching of endangered species
  • Political violence
  • Overflowing pools of pig waste
  • Homelessness
  • The destructive force of global tourism
  • The threat of genetic engineering
  • Corruption
  • Human rights abuses
  • The threats of artificial intelligence

You have indicated several factors that concern me and your Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) indicates borderline depression. Additionally your flashbacks to horrific scenes in these documentaries constantly plays out in your head and this may be Post Documentary Stress Disorder (PDSD).

Based on our conversations and your BDI you are on the verge of a major depressive disorder called Documentariaphobia. It is a newly discovered psychiatric disease and dealt with in our DSM Manual. The good thing is that it is rarely suicidal. I recommend that you:

  • Stop watching documentaries
  • Take a two-week vacation
  • Increase your Vitamin C intake to 5,000 mgs a day
  • Take a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course (MBSR)
  • Accept the pain that documentary film makers have caused you and exercise self compassion
  • Join a self-help group for documentary film makers with your disorder. There is only one such group in North America at the Will Smith Centre for Non-Violence for The Film Industry in Carmel California.

I will see you in two weeks and we can discuss what choices you have made. I will write a prescription of a steady dose of Harlequin romance films and hours you must watch Fox News for comic relief. No documentaries for two weeks. You and I will work to stem the tsunami of negativity. Perhaps through therapy we can reach a conclusion that this glumness is educative and not destructive.

“Travels to a Different Time” : 12July1975: Hitting the Red Cross Slot Machines in Norway

Up at 06:30 dismantling my tent in a cloud of mosquitos and flies that are all over the place in your eyes, mouth, ears and hair. Worse than being attacked by a lion. After a two hour wait a 30 km ride from a guy in an Opel. He stopped for a coffee and I played a slot machine owned by the Red Cross. I broke even, rolled a cig and back on the road. But the driver forgot his lighter so we headed back to pick it up. He let me off in a small town where I bought some breakfast. I hit the road with a cloud of insects following me. After being feasted on by bugs a lift in a Ford van with 3 Aussie birds and a guy from Zambia. At 4 we stopped at a lake where I had a wash in very cold water. We had lunch on the grass of bread, honey and beer.  30 kms from Trondheim we found a place to camp in the woods. I set up my tent near the van. We had a delicious supper and after that we sat in the van listening to music. It was good to speak English again! Off to bed at 22:00.

RKS Film: “Xenia” Some Eight Years Later

“Xenia” is a 2014 Greek/Belgian/French production. In Greek Xenia means hospitality towards guests and foreigners and is derived from Xenos meaning foreigner. Given that the main characters in the film Ody (Nikos Gelia) and Dany (Kostas Nikouli) are half Greek and Albanian and that Dany is gay in the Greece of 2014 there is not much Greek hospitality shown to them. In fact there are scenes of immigrants in Athens being taunted and beaten by the far right epitomized by the rise of the xenophobic New Dawn Party. Those were rough economic times for Greece under the thumbs of German and French creditors.

Dany joins Ody in Athens with news that their mother has died in Crete. They decide to find their father in Thessaloniki. He had abandoned them when Dany was two. Dany is turning 16 and Ody 18. Dany dresses urban confused gay, sucks lollipops and has a pet rabbit Dido. He acts cool urban gay but he is but a child lost in a fantasy world. Ody is on the verge of deportation to Albania. Ody and Dany believe that their long-lost father can be a key to obtaining Greek citizenship and that they can have a share of his rumoured wealth.

Off they go on an epic journey from Athens to Thessaloniki and despite a quasi “Dog Day Afternoon”  hostage taking incident the viewer is left hanging if indeed they found their father.

But what they find is each other a la “Odd Couple”. Ody also auditions for the “Greek Star” talent show reflecting the Americanization of Greece.

A journey of the immatures. The stuffed animal rabbit scenes only highlight the immaturity of Dany which is regulated by a slightly more mature Ody. This is an overly long film which veers toward losing the viewer with a long scene in the woods and in an abandoned hotel “Xenia” but it snaps back into place when the bothers reach Thessaloniki. I know very well the location where the Greek Star auditions were filmed in Thessaloniki.

Winner of 6 Hellenic Film Academy Awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor.

Directed by Panos Koutras.

Streaming May 6-15 as part of Greek Films on Demand from Hellenic Film Society USA. For more information www.helenicfilmsusa.org

You can watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yPiz6rJICk

RKS Film Rating 84/100.

PRESS RELEASE

HOT DOCS WRAPS 2022 FESTIVAL 

ETERNAL SPRING TAKING BOTH ROGERS AUDIENCE AWARD AND HOT DOCS AUDIENCE AWARD; TOP THREE CANADIAN FEATURES SHARE $50K PRIZE 

Toronto, May 9, 2022— Hot Docs 2022 wrapped last night, bringing 225 films from 63 countries to audiences in Toronto cinemas and across Canada online. The 11-day hybrid festival featured 318 live screenings on nine screens at four venues across the city with 223 live filmmaker Q&As, and five special extended discussions with filmmakers and special guests as part of the Big Ideas Series, presented by Scotia Wealth Management. Further building on national audiences cultivated by the past two online editions, all official selections also streamed nationwide during the 2022 Festival with additional content, including recorded filmmaker Q&As, a panel discussion presented with UNHCR, and two special Curious Minds sessions, which paired films with panel discussions featuring subject experts.  

“The past 11 days have been an exhilarating and deeply rewarding experience after a three-year pause to our in-person Festival,” shared Chris McDonald, President of Hot Docs. “We are proud of the multitude of rich, important, and timely stories that were shared at Hot Docs 2022, proving that documentary cinema matters more than ever. We are thankful to our volunteers, filmmakers, industry stakeholders and partners who helped make this year such a success, and we look forward to celebrating 30 years of Hot Docs at next year’s Festival.” 

The Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary, which recognizes the top Canadian feature as determined by audience poll and awards cash prizes totaling $50,000 to the top three Canadian features in that poll, was announced last night at a special free encore screening at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. Eternal Spring (D: Jason Loftus | P: Jason Loftus, Masha Loftus, Yvan Pinard, Kevin Koo | Canada), in which exiled Chinese illustrator Daxiong recreates the daring hack of Chinese state television by activists, placed first and received the top prize of $25,000 CDN. Okay! (The ASD Band Film) (D: Mark Bone | P: Gregory Rosati, Amalie Bruun | Canada), a backstage look at a band of four talented autistic musicians as they prepare for their first live show, placed second and received a $15,000 CDN prize. Unloved: Huronia’s Forgotten Children (D: Barri Cohen | P: Craig Baines | Canada), a searing account of abuse inside Ontario’s oldest government-run home for disabled children, placed third and was awarded $10,000 CDN.  

Hot Docs Audience Awards are determined by votes submitted by Festival audiences after in-person screenings and via the Hot Docs at Home streaming platform. At the close of the Festival, it was determined that Eternal Spring also placed first in the overall audience poll and won the Hot Docs Audience Award in addition to the Rogers Audience Award.  

The top mid-length film in the audience poll, winning the Audience Award for Mid-Length Documentary, was Sexual Healing (D: Elsbeth Fraanje | P: Willem Baptist, Nienke Korthof | Netherlands), in which a middle-aged disabled woman explores what intimacy means to her. The top short film, winning the Audience Award for Short Documentary, was Dad Can Dance (D: Jamie Ross | P: Jamie Ross | Canada), the self-affirming story of a son who discovers his father’s long-buried secret passion for ballet.  

The 20 documentaries in the audience poll are: 

1.      Eternal Spring (D: Jason Loftus | P: Jason Loftus, Masha Loftus, Yvan Pinard, Kevin Koo | Canada)

2.      Okay! (The ASD Band Film) (D: Mark Bone | P: Gregory Rosati, Amalie Bruun | Canada)

3.      Unloved: Huronia’s Forgotten Children (D: Barri Cohen | P: Craig Baines | Canada)

4.      Beautiful Scars (D: Shane Belcourt | P: Corey Russell | Canada)

5.      The Smell of Money (D: Shawn Bannon | P: Shawn Bannon, Jamie Berger | USA)

6.      Navalny (D: Daniel Roher | P: Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Shane Boris | USA)

7.      Handle with Care: The Legend of the Notic Streetball Crew (D: Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux, Kirk Thomas | P: Ryan Sidhoo | Canada)

8.      Hunting in Packs (D: Chloe Sosa-Sims | P: Hannah Donegan, Ann Shin | Canada)

9.      The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks (D: Reg Harkema | P: Nick McKinney, Kim Creelman | Canada, USA)

10.   Batata (D: Noura Kevorkian | P: Paul Scherzer, Noura Kevorkian | Canada, Lebanon, Qatar)

11.   Returning Home (D: Sean Stiller | P: Andrew Lovesey, Gilles Gagnier | Canada)

12.   The Quiet Epidemic (D: Lindsay Keys, Winslow Crane-Murdoch | P: Daria Lombroso, Lindsay Keys, Chris Hegedus | USA)

13.   Category: Woman (D: Phyllis Ellis | P: Phyllis Ellis, Howard Fraiberg | Canada)

14.   In the Eye of the Storm: The Political Odyssey of Yanis Varoufakis (D: Raoul Martinez | P: Sol Tryon, Amir Amirani | UK)

15.   How Saba Kept Singing (D: Sara Taksler | P: Sara Taksler | USA)

16.   The Unsolved Murder of Beverly Lynn Smith (D: Nathalie Bibeau | P: Tara Jan | Canada | 2022)

17.   Dad Can Dance (D: Jamie Ross | P: Jamie Ross | Canada)

18.   Who We Will Have Been (D: Erec Brehmer, Angelina Zeidler | P: Erec Brehmer | Germany)

19.   Alis (D: Nicolas van Hemelryck, Clare Weiskopf | P: Alexandra Galvis, Radu Stancu, Nicolas van Hemelryck, Clare Weiskopf | Colombia, Romania, Chile)

20.   Relative (D: Tracey Arcabasso Smith | P: Tracey Arcabasso Smith, Laura Poitras, Jenya James Hamidi | USA)

Hot Docs’ wildly popular Docs For School program also ran during the Festival, offering teachers across Canada free access to 13 films, including five official selections from this year’s Festival, and accompanying teaching resource linked to curriculum. Hot Docs also presented a hybrid edition of its annual market and conference, welcoming 1,941 delegates from 74 countries. The Hot Docs Industry LIVE program featured three days of knowledge sessions and networking events and online offerings included Hot Docs Forum, Hot Docs Dealmaker and Distribution Rendezvous, along with additional industry content. 

RKS Film: “Tigre Gente”: Nancy Regan Had it Right: EarthX Film Festival

The EarthX Film Festival runs in Dallas Texas May 12-15 with some films being virtually available. The documentary “Tigre Gent” explores the illegal jaguar trade in Bolivia occurring in Madidi National Park and the finger is pointed directly to the Chinese traditional medicine market. What did former First Lady Nancy Regan say about drug consumption, “Just Say No!”. A simplistic and ignorant statement in many respects but true in other respects. Time has come for the Chinese consumer to say no.

In illegal logging in the Palawan Rainforest in the Philippines as in Bolivia the pattern is the same for illegal logging as it is for the trade in jaguar teeth in Bolivia. At the bottom there are the poor felling trees and hunting jaguars with middlemen and a “big boss” selling illegal products to buyers. In this case if there was no demand in China the diminishing jaguar population would be protected. The answer is not the vilification of the Chinese with anti-Chinese demonstrations but through education.

The PRC has passed legislation prohibiting the trade in endangered animal products but as long as there is a junkie for these animal products the trade will survive. In China’s case it is traditional medicine that fuels the demand and it has been passed down generation after generation that is understandable but we are at a point in time where Chinese consumers must surely recognize their consumption of endangered animal products is morally and legally wrong. The time has run out for excuses based on cultural “norms”.

Park rangers in Madidi National Park in Bolivia  do their best to clamp down on the killing of jaguars by arresting hunters and middlemen and help bust a ring in Sana Cruz headed by a Chinese couple. 185 jaguar teeth are seized the product of killing 53 jaguars. The Chinese woman is sentenced to three years in prison while her husband flees to China. The middle levels are arrested too but the ultimate consumer escapes! Bolivians go on anti-Chinese demonstrations.

An exciting but terribly sad documentary. The only ray of hope is an investigative reporter speaking to primary school students in Hong Kong gasping when hearing the reporter as a child ate shark fin soup.

Director Elizabeth Unger. For information on live and virtual screenings https://earthxfilmfestival.org/title-item/tigre-gente/

RKS Film Rating 92/100.

RKS Wine: Colossal Reserva from Lisboa: Gigantically Delicious?

Is the Colossal Reserva from Portugal’s Lisboa appellation gigantically delicious or disastrous? As there is Alicante Bouschet in the blend that’s almost always a good sign!

On the nose black cherry, pomegranate and ripe raspberry. The tannins are moderate but generous to support up to three years of cellaring. Black cherry, cola with some raspberry tart. The finish is moderate. There is some nervous energy in this wine and it is almost high strung. You can certainly sip it but best with food. Try with Spanish Style Garlic Shrimp with Tomato Toasts (From Wall Street Journal).

Not a colossal wine but not to far off that mark. Another winner from Portugal.

(Colossal Reserva 2018, Vinho Regional Lisboa, Casa Santo Lima-Companhia das Vinhas, Portugal, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 548867, $16.95, 750 mL, 14%, RKS Wine Rating 92/100).

Roger Voss of Wine Enthusiast gives this a 91.

HOT DOCS AWARDS $65,000 CDN IN CASH AND PRIZES  

TO CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKERS 

Toronto, May 7, 2022— Hot Docs announced this morning the winning documentaries in this year’s official competition and the recipients of additional awards honouring Canadian filmmakers. The awards were revealed at the Hot Docs 2022 Awards Presentation at TIFF Bell Lightbox, hosted by arts journalist and co-founder of Media Girlfriends Garvia Bailey. Thirteen awards in total were given out, including nine awards for Festival films in competition – of which seven were won by female filmmakers –and $65,000 CDN in cash and prizes were awarded. Playing on screens across Toronto and streaming online across Canada, the 2022 Hot Docs Festival will close on Sunday, May 8. The Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian documentary will be announced on the last day of the Festival at a special encore screening at 7:00 pm at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. The top three Canadian features in the audience poll will share in a $50,000 cash prize, courtesy of Rogers Group of Funds. The overall Audience Award winner will be announced after the Festival. 

The Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award was presented to Geographies of Solitude (D: Jacquelyn Mills | P: Rosalie Chicoine Perreault, Jacquelyn Mills | Canada), in which self-taught naturalist and environmentalist Zoe Lucas shares her incredible life’s work. Sponsored by DOC and Telefilm Canada, the award includes a $10,000 cash prize. Jury statement: “For its deft ability to reveal the complex intersections between the natural world and humanity’s excesses on a singular isolated island through strongly crafted and arresting visual and aural storytelling, the Canadian Features Jury presents the Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award to Geographies of Solitude.”     

The Best International Feature Documentary Award was given to Blue Island (D: Chan Tze Woon | P: Peter Yam | Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan), a hybrid film that takes stock of Hong Kong and the region in the aftermath of pro-documentary protests and the subsequent crackdown. The award includes a $10,000 cash prize. Jury statement: “For its evocative use of re-enactments interwoven with traditional documentary forms to create a rich, socially-grounded cinematic tapestry, the jury is honoured to present the Best International Feature Documentary Award to Blue Island, directed by Chan Tze Woon.” 

Hot Docs is an Academy Award qualifying festival for feature documentaries and, as the winner of the Best International Feature Documentary Award, Blue Island will qualify for consideration in the Best Documentary Feature category of the annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided they comply with Academy rules.       

The DGC Special Jury Prize – Canadian Feature Documentary was presented to Rojek(D: Zaynê Akyol | P: Zaynê Akyol, Sylvain Corbeil, Audrey-Ann Dupuis-Pierre | Canada), a journey into Syrian detention centres that captures revealing conversations with key members of the Islamic State. Sponsored by the Directors Guild of Canada and DGC Ontario, the award includes a $5,000 cash prize. Jury statement: “For its sensitive curiosity about its subjects’ lived experiences and internal lives, self-reflexive interrogation of the documentary filmmaking process, and unique contextualization of the fragile state of peace, the Canadian Features Jury presents the DGC Special Jury Prize for Canadian Feature Documentary to Rojek.” 

In the DGC Special Jury Prize – Canadian Feature Documentary category, the jury also acknowledged Batata (D: Noura Kevorkian | P: Paul Scherzer, Noura Kevorkian | Canada, Lebanon, Qatar) with an honourable mention. 

The Special Jury Prize – International Feature Documentary was given to The Wind Blows the Border (D: Laura Faerman, Marina Weis | P: Rodrigo Díaz Díaz, Luís Ludmer | Brazil), a film charting an Indigenous woman’s dangerous fight to keep her community’s ancestral land safe from the expansion of agribusiness in her native Brazil.  Sponsored by A&E, the award includes a $5,000 cash prize. Jury statement: “The jury was very taken with this film and the ways–both subtle and bold–that it documents an unfolding natural crisis rooted in human social conflict. The jury awards The Wind Blows the Border the Special Jury Prize for International Feature Documentary.” 

The Earl A. Glick Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award is given to a Canadian filmmaker whose film in competition is their first or second feature-length film. The award, which includes a $3,000 cash prize courtesy of the Earl A. Glick Family, was presented to director Jacquelyn Mills for Geographies of Solitude (D: Jacquelyn Mills | P: Rosalie Chicoine Perreault, Jacquelyn Mills | Canada). Jury statement: “For her remarkable ability to capture a sense of place, textural approach to cinematography, and unique sound design, the Canadian Features Jury presents the Earl A. Glick Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award to Jacquelyn Mills for Geographies of Solitude.” 

The Emerging International Filmmaker Award is given to an international filmmaker whose film in competition is their first or second feature-length film. It was presented to director Bogna Kowalczycfor Boylesque (D: Bogna Kowalczyk | P: Tomasz Morawski, Katarzyna Kuczyńska, Vratislav Šlajer, Hanka Kastelicova | Poland, Czech Republic), the portrait of an openly gay 82-year-old Polish man living out loud in his palpably homophobic country. The award, supported by the Donner Canadian Foundation, includes a $3,000 cash prize. Jury statement: “The jury was struck by the balance between this filmmaker’s aptitude for the craft of filmmaking, and the interest and tenderness they have for their subject, both which came through in this film.” 

The award for Best Mid-Length Documentary was presented to Rewind & Play (D: Alain Gomis | P: Anouk Khélifa, Arnaud Dommerc | France, Germany), a revisiting of an agonizing 1969 interview of jazz visionary Thelonious Monk for French television that crackles with ferocity in the face of patronization. Sponsored by British Pathé, the award includes a $3,000 cash prize. Jury statement: “The jury was impressed by the innovative use of archival, the rigorous cutting, and the relentless quest for intimacy with a subject on the brink of alienation.” 

The Best International Short Documentary Award was presented to More Than I Remember (D: Amy Bench | P: Amy Bench, Carolyn Merriman | USA), a lushly animated documentary following the journey of 14-year-old Mugeni Ornella as she and her family are separated and displaced by civil strife in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The award includes a $3,000 cash prize. Jury statement: “The Best International Short Documentary Award goes to a film that uses the most vivid and unique animation to tell a story of resilience that is both personal, and increasingly universal. The jury was impressed with the beautiful balance of all the creative elements in this film and the way it takes the documentary form beyond the expected.” 

In the Best International Short Documentary Award category, the jury also acknowledged My Disability Roadmap (D: Dan Habib, Samuel Habib | P: Dan Habib | USA) with an honourable mention. 

The Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary was presented to Perfecting the Art of Longing(D: Kitra Cahana | P: Kat Baulu, Ariel Nasr | Canada), the portrait of a quadriplegic rabbi in a long-term-care facility cut off from his loved ones during the lockdown, filmed remotely by his daughter. The award includes a $3,000 cash prize courtesy of John and Betty Youson. Jury statement: “For the skillful crafting of a complex and robust film that celebrates the human spirit with lightness during a dark time, the jury awards the Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary Award to Perfecting the Art of Longing, directed by Kitra Cahana.” 

In the Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary category, the jury also acknowledged The Benevolents (D: Sarah Baril Gaudet | P: Sarah Baril Gaudet | Canada) with an honourable mention. 

Hot Docs is an Academy Award qualifying festival for short documentaries and, as winners of the Best International Short Documentary Award and the Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary Award respectively, More Than I Remember and Perfecting the Art of Longing will qualify for consideration in the Documentary Short Subject category of the annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided they comply with Academy rules.       

The Scotiabank Docs For Schools Student’s Choice Award went to Navalny (D: Daniel Roher | P: Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Shane Boris | USA), the riveting doc-thriller centred around Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The award is given to the Festival film in the Docs For Schools education program that receives the highest rating as determined by a student poll and comes with a $5,000 cash prize, courtesy of Scotiabank. 

Award-winning Indian filmmaker Anand Patwardhan received the 2022 Outstanding Achievement Award. Patwardhan’s seminal work was featured in the Outstanding Achievement Retrospective Program at this year’s Festival. 

The Lindalee Tracey Award, which honours an emerging Canadian filmmaker with a passionate point of view, a strong sense of social justice and a sense of humour, was presented to Iranian Canadian filmmaker Avazeh Shahnavaz. Shahnavaz will receive a $5,000 cash prize courtesy of the Lindalee Tracey Fund, $5,000 in post-production services from SIM, and a hand-blown glass sculpture by Andrew Kuntz, specially commissioned to honour Lindalee.  

Toronto-based producer Mila Aung-Thwin, producer of Midwives and co-founder of Montreal-based production company EyeSteelFilm, received the Don Haig Award, announced at the beginning of the Festival. The award is given to an outstanding independent Canadian producer with a film in the Festival in recognition of their creative vision, entrepreneurship and track record for nurturing emerging talent and comes with a $5,000 cash prize, courtesy of the Don Haig Foundation.  

The 2022 awards for films in competition were determined by four juries.  

The Canadian Feature Documentary Jury:  

Abby Sun (Director of Artist Programs at IDA, graduate researcher at the MIT Open Documentary Lab, and editor of Immerse), Basil Tsiokos (senior programmer for the Sundance Film Festival), Yasmine Mathurin (award-winning writer, director, and podcast producer). 

The International Feature Documentary Jury: 

Chloé Trayner (Artistic Director of Ragtag Film Society), Alex Rivera (filmmaker), Diana Sanchez (film programmer). 

The Mid-Length Documentary Jury:  

Connor Jessup (actor and filmmaker), Shameela Seedat (filmmaker), Chase Joynt (director and writer). 

The Short Documentary Jury:  

Joanne LaFrenière (filmmaker and photographer), Ricardo Acosta (film editor and script consultant), Sarra El Abed (filmmaker). 

RKS Film: EarthX Film Festival Presents “Big vs. Small”: The Ultimate Surfing Film!

The EarthX Film Festival runs in Dallas Texas May 12-15 with some films being virtually available. The Finnish documentary “Big vs. Small” primarily focuses on Portuguese female surfer Joana Andrade and to a lesser degree Finnish free diving champion Johanna Norblad.

Andrade is the first Portuguese woman to surf on what some say are the biggest waves in the world at Nazaré Portugal. I have been to Nazaré some 15 years ago when tourism was starting to ramp up. It was a quaint fishing village.

Andrade faces monstrous waves that are dangerous and although there have been no deaths in Nazaré there have been many injuries. The surf photography captures the sheer power of these towering waves and some of Andrade’s runs are incredibly awesome and visually stunning.

Andrade was a natural athlete excelling in many sports but it was the forbidden fruit of surfing that aroused her passion. Forbidden as her mother wanted nothing to do with the dangerous sport. Despite Andrade’s proficiency in surfing her mother does not wish to know she is out on the waves.

Andrade is troubled by something and says that she lived in fear for many years about who she was. As the film progresses she reveals she was abused at 12 years of age and that it was the waves that helped her face the fear. Perhaps it is because as you ride these monsters you can only think of the ride and nothing else. The sea is her therapy. It goes beyond an obsession and one may surmise she takes a spiritual view of the sport and the water it is performed in.

You see the waves cresting and pounding down. If you are caught in the waves crashing down you can be pushed 15 metres below the service and panic can be a killer. As a trained lifeguard with the Royal Canadian Lifesaving Society I agree with the assessment of Norblad it is not so much as the water can drown you but the panic. Andrade goes to Finland for a brief training session with Norblad who teaches her to relax and be at peace with the water and trust yourself and manage panic even when you are swimming under ice in a frozen Finnish lake. Norblad admits some fear is essential to spur on top performance but too much can cause panic and death. An interesting bio of Andrade and Norblad but the star of the documentary are waves so wonderfully filmed by Tim Bonython.

For in theatre schedule see https:earthx.org/about/  

For a trailer see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u59-7ZisIqk and if you watch this and not be awed I’ll eat my shirt.

Some of the films may be able to be seen virtually.

Directed by Minna Dufton

RKS Film 87/100.