Toronto Film Festival 2007 Real to Reel Documentary Line-Up
by Andre Soares
Global issues and character studies dominate the Real to Reel documentary sidebar of the 32nd Toronto Film Festival. And so do movie stars, among them Woody Allen, Joan Allen, Donald Sutherland, Liev Schreiber, Don Cheadle, Michael Douglas, and Liam Neeson.
Global issues can be found in:
Ted Braun’s Darfur Now (right) features six individuals (including a UCLA student whose grandmother was killed in a Nazi concentration camp, Academy Award-nominated actor Don Cheadle, and a refugee camp leader) who have been trying to generate awareness about the genocide in western Sudan — one more of those "never again" real-life stories that keep on happening over and over again without the vast majority of the human population giving a hoot about the systematic slaughter of other human beings.
Jean-Pierre Lledo’s Algerie, histories à ne pas dire (Algeria, Stories Not to Be Told) follows four Algerians who look back on Algeria’s bloody war of independence from France.
Sabiha Sumar and Sachithanandam Sathananthan’s Dinner with the President: A Nation’s Journey shows Pakistan’s president Pervez Musharraf discussing his "democratic" vision for the country he rules (or pretends to rule, considering the murderous chaos all around him) since the 1999 military coup.
Parvez Sharma’s A Jihad for Love is described as "the first feature-length documentary to investigate the complex global intersections of Islam and homosexuality."
In Nina Davenport’s Operation Filmmaker, Liev Schreiber invites a young Iraqi film student — whose Baghdad film school was blown to pieces — to work as an intern on the production of Everything Is Illuminated.
Siatta Scott Johnson and Daniel Junge’s Iron Ladies of Liberia is about the first elected female head of state in Africa, Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
Among the character studies are:
Former talk-show host Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro’s Body of War shows how 25-year-old war veteran Tomas Young (right) — paralyzed from the chest down after less than one week in Iraq — transformed himself into an anti-war activist.
Neil Ortenberg and Daniel O’Connor’s Obscene, the story of American publisher Barney Rosset, who fought court battles to release immoral, perverted, anti-family, anti-flag, anti-god classics such as Tropic of Cancer and Naked Lunch.
Peter Askin’s Trumbo offers a portrait of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo told through spoken-word performances, and with appearances by Sutherland, Douglas, Neeson, and Joan Allen. (Trumbo’s 1971 Johnny Got His Gun — about a paralyzed World War I U.S. soldier — is one of the forgotten classics of the 1970s; one that is, both sadly and stupidly, ever so relevant.)
Kevin Macdonald, whose The Last King of Scotland was quite in evidence last year, directed My Enemy’s Enemy, about the post-war activities of ex-Gestapo commander Klaus Barbie, the "Butcher of Lyon."
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts, directed by Academy Award nominee Scott Hicks, takes a look at composer Philip Glass.
Also of interest: Werner Herzog’s Encounters at the End of the World, which depicts the director’s trip to Antarctica, and Arthur Dong’s Hollywood Chinese — from Dr. Fu Manchu, Charlie Chan, and Anna May Wong to Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain.
The Toronto festival runs between Sept. 6-15. Ticket passes and packages now on sale. For more information, go to tiff07.ca or call 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM.
TORONTO 2007 - DOCUMENTARY LINE-UP
Synopses from the Toronto Film Festival website
ALGERIE, HISTOIRES A NE PAS DIRE Jean-Pierre Lledo, Algeria
Four Algerians of Muslim origin revisit the last years of their country’s War of Independence, searching for truth about their own lives while recalling memories of troubled relationships with their Jewish and Christian neighbors.
BODY OF WAR Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, USA
Wounded after serving in Iraq for less than a week, 25-year-old Tomas Young - now paralyzed from the chest down - transforms his personal suffering into political activism, evolving as a powerful voice against the ongoing war. Featuring new music by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.
DARFUR NOW Ted Braun, USA
A call to action to help stop the genocide in Darfur, the struggles and achievements of six very different individuals - including actor Don Cheadle - bring to light the situation in Darfur and illustrate the need to get involved.
THE DICTATOR HUNTER Klaartje Quirijns, The Netherlands/USA
Revisiting the horrific torture, imprisonment and murder carried out in the 1980s under the regime of former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré, THE DICTATOR HUNTER follows Human Rights Watch activist Reed Brody in his quest to bring Habré to justice.
DINNER WITH THE PRESIDENT: A NATION’S JOURNEY Sabiha Sumar and Sachithanandam Sathananthan, Pakistan
In October 1999, Pervez Musharraf assumed power in Pakistan through a bloodless military coup. Hearing his vision for Pakistan over dinner, filmmakers Sumar and Sathananthan ponder the irony of a President in army fatigues delivering democracy to the masses. A part of Why Democracy?.
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD Werner Herzog, USA
In his first documentary since GRIZZLY MAN, Herzog, accompanied only by his cameraman, travels to Antarctica, gaining unrestricted access to the raw beauty and humanity of the ultimate Down Under.
GLASS: A PORTRAIT OF PHILIP IN TWELVE PARTS Scott Hicks, Australia
Filmmaker Scott Hicks (SHINE) documents an eventful year in the career and personal life of distinguished composer Philip Glass as he interacts with a number of friends and collaborators, including Chuck Close, Ravi Shankar and Woody Allen.
HOLLYWOOD CHINESE Arthur Dong, USA
Punctuated with clips from over 100 movies, HOLLYWOOD CHINESE offers a captivating revelation on the Chinese in American feature films, from the very first Chinese-American film produced in 1916 to Ang Lee’s triumphant BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.
IRON LADIES OF LIBERIA Siatta Scott Johnson and Daniel Junge, USA
As the first freely elected female head of state in Africa, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf appointed other extraordinary women to leadership positions in all areas of government. IRON LADIES OF LIBERIA asks the question, ‘can Liberia’s first female president bring sustainable democracy and peace to such a devastated country’? A part of Why Democracy?.
A JIHAD FOR LOVE Parvez Sharma, USA/UK/France/Germany/Australia
The first feature-length documentary to investigate the complex global intersections of Islam and homosexuality, Sharma’s feature directorial debut brings to light the hidden lives of gay and lesbian Muslims with empowering stories from twelve countries.
MAN OF CINEMA: PIERRE RISSIENT Todd McCarthy, USA
Variety critic Todd McCarthy explores the legacy of Pierre Rissient, a key behind-the-scenes figure in Cannes for more than 40 years.
MY ENEMY’S ENEMY Kevin Macdonald, France/UK
From the director of THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND comes a documentary about the post-war activities of one-time Gestapo commander Klaus Barbie, infamously known as the "Butcher of Lyon."
MY KID COULD PAINT THAT Amir Bar-Lev, USA
Chronicling the rise to fame of Marla Olmstead - a four-year-old painter whose work has taken in over $300,000 - filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev examines society’s obsession with child prodigies while exploring the complex on-going debate over what constitutes art.
OBSCENE Neil Ortenberg and Daniel O’Connor, USA
Drawn from more than 60 years of home movies, media appearances and rare archival footage, OBSCENE tells the story of American publisher Barney Rosset, who fought battles in court to put out some of the most forbidden works of the explosive post-war decades, including Tropic of Cancer and Naked Lunch.
OPERATION FILMMAKER Nina Davenport, USA
When the dreams of a young Iraqi film student are crushed following the bombing of Baghdad’s film school, actor Liev Schreiber invites him to intern on the production of EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED. But in a comedic turn of events, Schreiber’s good intentions quickly backfire as the eager student proves to have intentions of his own.
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME Weijun Chen, China
In an experiment to determine how democracy might be received in China, third-graders hold an election to select a Class Monitor, competing against one other for the coveted position while being egged on by teachers and doting parents. A part of Why Democracy?.
SURFWISE Doug Pray, USA
Filmmaker Doug Pray tells the bizarre story of an eccentric family: 85-year-old legendary surfer Dr. Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, his wife Juliette, and their nine children - raised and home-schooled in a camper on a California beach.
TERROR’S ADVOCATE (L’AVOCAT DE LA TERREUR) Barbet Schroeder, France
Veteran director Barbet Schroeder explores the life, career and conscience of criminal lawyer Jacques Vergès, whose clients - including Klaus Barbie, Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein - are among the most infamous figures of the 20th century.
TRUMBO Peter Askin, USA
Told through spoken-word performances of some of its subject’s extraordinary letters, TRUMBO presents a portrait of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who fought back after being blacklisted by HUAC. Featuring appearances by Donald Sutherland, Michael Douglas, Joan Allen and Liam Neeson.
VERY YOUNG GIRLS David Schisgall, USA An eye-opening survey of teenage prostitution in New York City, David Schisgall’s film also tells the story of Rachel Lloyd, the remarkable woman who founded Girls Education & Mentoring Services (GEMS), dedicating her live to help ensure that young girls avoid making the same mistakes that she did.
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Toronto Film Festival 2007 Award Winners - Article
Toronto Film Festival 2007 - Contemporary World Cinema
Toronto Film Festival 2007 - Gala Screenings, Masters, Special Presentations
Toronto Film Festival 2007 - Visions and Vanguard Sidebars
Monsters, Creeps, Ghouls, Faceless Fiends, Alien Pods, and Their Buds at the American Cinematheque
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More on Toronto’s 2006 Film Sidebars
Claude Miller’s UN SECRET to Close the Montreal World Film Festival 2007
Seattle Film Festival - 2007 Awards
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Pedro Costa at Cinematheque Ontario
Emilio Estevez’s BOBBY opens AFI FEST 2006
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