Ecuadorian Ana Cristina Benitez has crafted a creative if not poetic and hypnotic documentary about her battle with breast cancer. A late diagnosis of stage three breast cancer sets in motion an exhausting and debilitating round of chemotherapy and radiotherapy followed by a mastectomy. We are a fly on the wall spectators watching her receiveContinue reading “Toronto 2025 Hot Docs: “MAMA”: An Artistic and Creative Approach Chronicling the Nastiness of a Breast Cancer Experience”
Tag Archives: Robert K. Stephen
Toronto 2025 Hot Docs: “The Track”: The Impossible Possibility
Sarajevo, the Bosnian-Herzegovina host city of the 1984 Winter Olympics, was under attack during the 1992-95 war. Street fighting, shelling and snipers made the city a dangerous place. While “peace” was attained Catholic, Bosnian and Serbian killings continue at a far lesser scale and the haunting memories of the war left no true peace. TheContinue reading “Toronto 2025 Hot Docs: “The Track”: The Impossible Possibility”
RKS 2025 Wine: Portuguese Wine at a Give Away Price: Guarda Rios
There aren’t many notable wines at $11.95 CDN these days in Canada although in Portugal at Pingo Doce or Jumbo hypermarchés there are many at that price. We try a Portuguese red Guarda Rios from the Alentejano region that is slowly crowding off Douro wines from the shelves in Ontario, based on price to valueContinue reading “RKS 2025 Wine: Portuguese Wine at a Give Away Price: Guarda Rios”
Toronto 2025 Hot Docs: “Walls – Akinni Inuk”
Having watched documentaries “Twice Colonized” (2023) and “Angry Inuk” (2016) I was expecting the Greenlandic Danish documentary “Walls – Akinni Inuk” to be infused with anger about the mistreatment of Greenlandic Inuk within the Greenlandic prison system. I saw no anger but frustration with the judicial system incarcerating Ruth in Greenlandic custodial detention for 12Continue reading “Toronto 2025 Hot Docs: “Walls – Akinni Inuk””
RKS 2025 Film: “Treadmill”: The Never-Ending Run of Aggression and Repression
Fiftyish Dimitra lives in Athens with widowed mother Rea. Dimitra has ordered a treadmill which Rea disproves of. It can’t fit in the flat unless several objects are moved so it rests out on the balcony for the time being. We often hear families are dysfunctional but do we know what that term means? ItsContinue reading “RKS 2025 Film: “Treadmill”: The Never-Ending Run of Aggression and Repression”
RKS 2025 Film: “Párvulos: Children of the Apocalypse”
Watching the Mexican horror film “Párvulos: Children of the Apocalypse” be prepared for a film like you’ve never seen before. Chalked full of suspense, horror, comedy with The Book of Revelations and the seven trumpets thrown in made more compelling by superb black and white cinematography, costuming and an adaptive soundtrack. Salvador (Farid Correa), 17,Continue reading “RKS 2025 Film: “Párvulos: Children of the Apocalypse””
Operation 51st State: Elimination of Canadian Universal Healthcare
The Senior Working Group (SWG) reviewed the basics of Canadian universal healthcare that through the test of time has crumbled giving birth to a partial but more efficient private model. The Canadian medical system besieged by a massive poorly planned influx of immigrants to Canada, governmental cuts to funding and staffing and poor management failsContinue reading “Operation 51st State: Elimination of Canadian Universal Healthcare”
RKS 2025 CANADIAN Documentary: “Butterfly: Into the Maze of Human Trafficking”
“Butterfly: Into the Maze of Human Trafficking” is the third Viveka Melki documentary exploring sex trafficking and in this documentary the focus is on Western Canada exploring the experiences of Mallory (photo above) trafficked at 19, Raine trafficked at 12 and Charlie trafficked at 8. Their stories are profoundly disturbing including the trauma suffered duringContinue reading “RKS 2025 CANADIAN Documentary: “Butterfly: Into the Maze of Human Trafficking””
RKS 2025 CANADIAN Wine: What’s My Reflection on Looking Glass?
What is my reflection on Niagara’s Rosewood’s 2021 Looking Glass? A blend of 68% Cabernet Franc, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. The wines rested in neutral French oak for 15 months prior to bottling. Aroma: Black cherry, raspberry, red currant and milk chocolate. Palate: Strict, stern and dry. Moderate tannins. Razor thin fruit.Continue reading “RKS 2025 CANADIAN Wine: What’s My Reflection on Looking Glass?”
Toronto 2025 Hot Docs: “Night Watches Us”: No Police Brutality Here in Canada Eh?
There has been a long history of police brutality towards blacks in the United States. Perhaps a “modern” starting point for many might be the severe beating Rodney King suffered at the hands of the LAPD in 1991 and of course the notorious police murder of George Floyd in 2020 an incendiary device for BlackContinue reading “Toronto 2025 Hot Docs: “Night Watches Us”: No Police Brutality Here in Canada Eh?”
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