RKS 2024 Film: “Tish”: Memories of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero”

Watching the documentary “Tish” about British photographer Tish Murtha the lyrics of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero” are most appropriate. “A working-class hero is something to be.”  Although the late Tish Murtha now has a permanent exhibition of her photos at the Tate Museum in London she never reached the status of a working classContinue reading “RKS 2024 Film: “Tish”: Memories of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero””

RKS 2024 Film: Hot Docs 2024: “A Photographic Memory”

Should I simply refer to the American documentary “A Photographic Memory” as rich, eerie, extensive, thorough, melancholic, uplifting and intriguing? Or might I say it is going to be remembered as one of the best Hot Docs 2024 documentaries? Considering the enormous sums I am paid to review films, the mind-boggling swag bags that flowContinue reading “RKS 2024 Film: Hot Docs 2024: “A Photographic Memory””

RKS 2024 Film: “Carol Doda: Topless at the Condor”: Artistic Exploration Sputters to Nostalgia Act

Carol Doda (1937-2015) has been recognized as the first “legal” topless dancer in the United States. Using archival footage including press interviews we trace the history of Carol Doda and perhaps of more interest the evolution of American attitudes towards sexuality and the feminist movement. The film also delves into (although not expressly) the AmericanContinue reading “RKS 2024 Film: “Carol Doda: Topless at the Condor”: Artistic Exploration Sputters to Nostalgia Act”

RKS 2024 Film: “To Kill a Tiger”: Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film

In a small Indian village Kiran, a 13-year-old, is savagely beaten and raped by three young men and then threatened with death if she tells anyone about the rape. Kiran tells her father Ranjit of the gang rape and he notifies the police. The lads are arrested and jailed. Given the prevalence of rape inContinue reading “RKS 2024 Film: “To Kill a Tiger”: Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film”

RKS 2024 Film: “Unshook”: Part of the Telus Celebration of Black History Month

Telus Originals honours Black History Month in Canada with the launch of Documentary Features “Union Street”, “Handle with Care” and two shorts “Unshook” and “Out There”. “Unshook” is a short film documentary in which 19-year-old Afro-Cuban Canadian René Osmani Diakité copes with the recent death of his African born physician father and his grandfather dyingContinue reading “RKS 2024 Film: “Unshook”: Part of the Telus Celebration of Black History Month”

“It is Not Over Yet”: Making the best of an unpleasant situation; Toronto Hot Docs

Of course, if you live in North America and the United Kingdom you simply can’t ignore how COVID-19 ripped through “long term care” or “nursing homes” drop-off depots for the immobile and those suffering from some form of dementia. Is this our fate and it could well be since Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the thirdContinue reading ““It is Not Over Yet”: Making the best of an unpleasant situation; Toronto Hot Docs”