- Distribute your promotional material well before the release date. Recently for Toronto Hot Docs I received films days before its showing. I had a waiting list of numerous films ahead the late arrivers. Help your reviewer plan.
- Include a trailer/teaser.
- Include stills of the film.
- Include a synopsis of the film.
- Indicate when the review can be posted and whether it should be a short or full review.
- Incentivize the reviewer by stating review will be posted on social media giving the reviewer a chance to expand the audience.
- Explain how and when the film will be released.
- Describe if actors and directors can be interviewed.
- Invite reviewers to any after parties.
- Do not forget the reviewer and keep apprising of upcoming films.
RKS Film: “Relative”: The Iceberg of Sexual Abuse
The American documentary “Relative” in the 2022 Toronto Hot Docs Festival deals with multi generational sexual abuse in an Italian-American family. Home videos and film portray seemingly happy families but beneath the floating iceberg the pervasiveness of sexual abuse lurks ready to inflict psychological damage.
Tracy Arcabasso Smith takes us along a shocking voyage of sexual abuse, not only her own but that of four generations of her family circle. Just about all family members are victims. The older generations simply prefer to not talk about it sweeping it under the carpet and “moving on”. That is what they say but are they emotionally devastated by it? They prefer not to let on.
In previous generations there was a realization sharing details of sexual abuse in the family might split it apart so given that and the reluctance of children to disclose sexual abuse as they felt it was their fault the anger of the iceberg below the surface was ignored. However as the voice of a “relative” at the beginning of the documentary says we are only as sick as our secrets and the more secrets we have the sicker we are. Even Arcabasso Smith 35 years later refuses to disclose the family member(s) that abused her. However she is at least working to deal with it through seeing a therapist and by making the documentary. Having personally dealt with a toxic working environment I found help in dealing with it by writing a “fictional book” about it. Creativity as a healing process.
It is probably best to stop here and let you hear what her family thinks and says about sexual abuse. It is understandable their reluctance but how healthy is it? It is somewhat disappointing that Arcabasso Smith doesn’t whistle blow about her abusers but that is a choice we must accept. At least she acknowledges her confusion and hurt and is not willing to simply suck it up. Her courage in making this film may perhaps make those suffering from “relative sexual abuse” understand the patterns of familial sexual abuse and better know how to deal with it.
“Relative” can be seen in theatre at Hot Docs on May 8 and as of May 2 it can be screened virtually for 5 days after that but geoblocked to Canada.
Tracy Arcabasso Smith is the director.
RKS Film Rating 92/100.
P.S. I noticed in these home movies many men were violent towards women although it was supposedly in jest.
“Travels to a Different Time” : 9July1975: On the Way to Norway: Deliver Me from Temptation: Bug Buffet
Up early with a goal of making it into Norway. Horrible Finnish hitchhiking. My Aussie friend gave up and headed to the bus station. Bought breakfast of a litre of milk, bread and ham. Unfortunately I broke my record for waiting with one of just over 5 hours. There was traffic but full of people and luggage. Probably heading south on vacation. To amuse myself I swore at all the people who didn’t give me a lift. It was getting desperate as I was attacked by swarms of mosquitoes and biting flies. I had to keep walking to avoid being a stationary buffet for the little buggers. I was up to ten bites. They can’t kill you but can drive you to insanity. Finally a lift from a Norwegian who said he would return me to his hometown. He stopped for his lunch break in some small town and I bought a litre of milk and some cookies. Incredibly beautiful scenery which is more enjoyable when you aren’t outside being a bug buffet. It was so cold that some of the leaves were turning gold. He had to stop before the Norwegian border to fix his gas line. We were waved through the Norwegian border checkpoint. Lakes. rivers and beautiful fjords just like in the books. He let me off at his hometown and I met a Norwegian girl who was hitchhiking. Norwegian girls are the best! Friendly intelligent and very good looking. We got a lift in a lorry for 130 kms. It was raining when he let us off at 1 a.m. and I was so tired I could have dropped. Initially she was wanting to continue but for her safety I asked her to reconsider. Looks like she is stranded in the campground with nowhere to go so I offered her a place in my tent. Being exhausted we dropped off to sleep. I realized I didn’t even know her name. Strange very few girls travelling in Sweden, Finland and Norway. Why is that?
RKS Film: “Corrupto” (Corrupted)
“Corrupto” is a short Chilean documentary showing at Toronto Hot Docs 2022.
A young woman undergoes multiple electro convulsive therapy in August 2018 and the doctor proclaims the treatment was successful. It is quite apparent that is not the case as the woman suffers from loneliness, alienation, memory loss, panic attacks, confusion, incomplete memories and a struggle to connect with her surroundings. This is where the camera work and sound brilliantly conveys to the viewer what words can’t express completely. There is static, images of a brain undergoing ECT and faces scratched out by markers so they are unrecognizable. There is even a clip albeit blurry of a demonstration against ECT where a speaker talks of ECT as electrocution.
The woman says it is her mission to reconnect with her deceased mother but how likely can that be if she can’t reconnect with herself?
It shows in theatre with “Desert Space” on 7May and can be streamed (geoblocked to Canada) on May 3 for 5 days.
Director Juan Cifuentes Mera.
RKS Film Rating 86/100.
Photo Fantasy Films
RKS Film: “The Killing of a Journalist”: A Filthy Stinking and Deadly Web of Slovakian Corruption (Toronto Hot Docs 2022)
“The Killing of a Journalist” is a documentary chronicling the 2018 murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancé Martina Kašnírová in Slovakia. Kuciak was in the midst of preparing an investigative report on corruption in Slovakia focusing on VAT and tax fraud centering on Slovakian Mafiaosa Marían Kocner a.k.a. “prominent businessman”. Kocner was knee deep in corruption but miraculously was never convicted nor charged with any offences. Not so much of a miracle of God but of blackmail and bribery.
The crime scene was a bloody mess and the head of police stated Slovakia was not a Mafia state despite a pack of reporters thinking otherwise. Slovakians, infuriated with the murders and rife corruption, exploded into the streets protesting and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Robert Fico who fought back claiming the demonstrators were trying to destabilize the state. It so happened Fico had somewhat embarrassed himself by hiring Alena Zsuzsová, a topless model with connections to the Italian Mafia as his aide. 11 days after the murders the President of Slovakia expressed his dismay with the evils gnawing away at the state and publicly distanced himself from Prime Minister Fico. The Minister of the Interior resigned followed by Fico but the head of the police says he would not resign and “would fight to the end”. The end came 55 days later when he resigned.
A massive investigation by the police reviewing CCTV camera footage and thousands of text messages uncovers the murderers one of whom spills his guts naming accomplices and brokers of the murder fingering Zsuzsová as the person ordering the hit as directed by Kocner. Text messages between Kocner and Zsuzsová appear to substantiate that. An anonymous deep throat gives access to police investigation results to a team of investigative journalists who uncover how pervasive and deep the corruption was. The Slovakian police leadership was the main arm of the Mafia and politicians, judges and prosecutors were in Kocner’s hands as they were put in “compromising situations” by Zsuzsová. And there is taped conversation between Kuciak and Kocner where Kocner stated he would pay “special attention” to Kuciak and his family.
The end result is that Kocner and Zsuzsová were found not guilty of the murders however a higher court has overturned that verdict and ordered a retrial which started in February 2022. Kocner did receive a 19-year sentence for financial fraud and Zsuzsová 21 years for arranging the assassination of a Slovak mayor.
The killings of journalists like Kuciak are nothing new as we have seen in Russia, El Salvador and Turkey just to name a few guilty countries. This documentary is a well documented example of how corruption if unchecked can become particularly violent when the judiciary and police are in the pockets of the criminals where can there be no justice unless the population can mobilize and topple the pyramid of corruption.
The director of the documentary is Matt Sarnecki who treats us to an example of how corruption made Slovakia a failed state. It is where the unbelievable becomes reality.
“The Killing of a Journalist” is in theatre on 5May and is streaming at Hot Docs at Home starting May 2 for 5 days but is geoblocked to Canada.
RKS Film Rating 92/100.
RKS Film: “Sexual Healing”: A Tale of Courage and Curiosity
Evelien is a 53-year-old Dutch woman confined to a wheelchair due to spastic scoliosis. She was born premature and the hospital authorities advised her parents not to name her as she would not live long. It became a theme for her life that she shouldn’t exist. She retreated to a state of unhappiness which was so prevalent it actually offered her comfort to retreat to that world.
Act 53 she realizes that she has never had sex and being told by someone that you are not whole and a person until you have sex she presses ahead with her plan. She contacts DUZ a sex agency that specializes in a clientele of disabled people. They are extremely professional and empathetic at DUZ starting with an intake interview where possible matches for Evelien are discussed. She then choses Thomas a 67-year-old man who is full of charm with an uncanny ability to set Evelien’s mind at rest. The client has complete power to sop at any time if they are uncomfortable. Evelien also consults with clients of Thomas. She is ready to go! She discovers her sexuality and asks what am I to do with it!
I found a key part of the film was the unconditional love and acceptance of Tori her dog and the horse she grooms. If only humans could be so accepting. I digress a bit here and say I had a friend at work who was diagnosed with ALS a fatal muscular disease. When that diagnosis was made public most people shied away from the man. Several of us made it a point of not fading away from him. I made myself a promise to go on a monthly lunch with him until even life in a wheelchair was impossible. At our first lunch I was really uncomfortable in interacting with a condemned man. But that unease faded rapidly. Were people equally abandoning Evelien?
A story of determination, courage, self doubts, nervous humour and the power of sexual healing. It seems Marvin Gaye’s song of that title finally makes sense.
Perhaps it is time for all of us not to take intimacy for granted.
The documentary is part of Hot Docs Documentary Festival 2022 and plays in theatre 5May and may be streamed as of May 2 for 5 days.
You can see the trailer here https://vimeo.com/693464778
Directed and written by Elsbeth Fraanje. In Dutch with English subtitles.
RKS Film Rating 91/100.
“Travels to a Different Time” 8July1975: Muonio, Finland: 100 Miles North of the Arctic Circle and Freezing Cold
Pelting rain last night but no leakage into my tent. It was raining when I woke up and it looked as if I’d be pinned down in my tent. A wonderful breakfast of tuna fish and rock-hard bread. Finally a bit of sun so I packed up and split. A 2 km walk to the main road with a milk break on the way. It was freezing cold. The fourth lift was with a guy my age and his sister. We stopped at his house and had some coffee. I mentioned I liked milk and he went down to the cold cellar and brought a can of milk fresh from the cow and it was delicious. We continued North to Kolari and I was left off there. It was so cold I wrapped myself in my Greek blanket. I ended up in Muonio which is 100 kms north of the Arctic Circle. $3.00 a night at the youth hostel. There were only two other people there an Aussie and a Swede. We went out to drink some beer. The conversation and the beer were excellent. We returned and continued chatting finishing my bottle of vodka I brought over from Poland.
Photo Tehri Touvinen
RKS Wine: An Odd Bird from Tuscany: Fattoria Le Pupille Poggio Argentato
I say this wine is a bit of a Tuscan odd bird with a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Petit Manseng, Traminer and Semillon. The Petit Manseng constitutes 25% of the blend and has been fermented in oak and the other grapes in stainless steel.
On the nose there is Orri tangerine, marzipan, ruby red grapefruit and pear galette. On the palate initial impressions are that it is a “soft wine” with a faint creaminess to it. Additional notes of musk melon, guava and Bosc pear. Somewhat bland. Grilled white fleshed ocean fish basted with oregano, lemon and olive oil with Swiss Chard as a side drizzled with the basting sauce would be a good match. Drink this year.
(Fattoria Le Pupille Poggio Argentato 2019, IGT Toscana, Poggio del Maiano, Grosetto, Italy, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 23040, 750 mL, 13.5%, RKS Wine Rating 88/100).
RKS Film: “Les bienveillants” (The Benevolents)
“Les bienveillants” is a thoughtful short documentary by Montreal’s Sarah Baril Gaudet. The viewer will have the opportunity to understand the volunteer recruitment process of Tele-Aide a Montreal call centre that specializes in listening to telephone calls from people in mental distress or simply listening to anyone that needs someone to talk to. Tel-Aide was founded in 1971 and since that time has listened to over two million calls.
Volunteers attend an initial screening interview which is followed by some training sessions with actual and simulated calls. What are the most important skills? Good listening skills and being non judgemental are key.
Want to be a fly on the wall at a call centre taking a range of calls from suicidals, callers dealing with drug addiction and loneliness. Perhaps their skills are all what we need in our everyday life.
You can see the trailer here for “Les bienveillants” https://www.sarahbgaudet.com/les-bienveillants
Showing at Toronto Hot Docs Festival 2022 as part of “The Canadian Spectrum Shorts: Stronger Together”. The shorts may be streamed but are geoblocked to Canada.
“Travels to a Different Time” : 7July1975: Pello, Finland: Good Riddance to the Annoying Germans: Finnish Motorcycle Mania
I woke up today and loved my hot shower. The Germans split without saying good-bye. A case of mutual annoyance? Good riddance. It was nice to have a 700 km ride though. But I was fed up with them. On the road on my own again. First some great Finnish milk. After 15 minutes trying to snag a lift it began to rain and just then a lift in a Ford Taurus for 70 kms heading North. Then a short lift with a Mercedes then three guys in a Volvo. All had poor complexions. We stopped at one of their friend’s place for coffee cake. Then a lift in a motorcycle. There are so many motorcycles in Finland. Three hours waiting for a lift which was with another bad complexioned Finn. He virtually begged me to stay so he dropped me off at the campground and said he would pick me up in an hour. We went to a disco and I stayed for a couple of hours and his cousin drive me back to the campground.
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