Toronto has two incredible film festivals, TIFF and HotDocs. Clear your calendar between April 25^th and May 5^th because the lineup of films marking the 20^th Anniversary of HotDocs 13 is amazing. There are over 200 films to choose from. The festival has remarkably inexpensive ticket prices and Students and Seniors can see plenty of films for FREE. HotDocs has separated the films into 11 categories that will run from 11am to about 2am each day for 11 days. Here is myETVmedia’s guide to HotDocs 13. Let the passion of others inspire you.

 

 

The opening night gala takes us to the ‘Manor’, a strip club in the heartland of small town Ontario. Told by the owner’s son, it reveals a titillating, cautionary tale about operating a Strip Club as the family business. Here are 19 other films we highly recommend:

 

1.     ‘Blood Brother’, Sundance Award-winner; a man follows his friend on a remarkable journey to India to help HIV-positive orphans.

 

2.     ‘Continental’ about the legendary NYC gay bathhouse well know to Bette Midler and many celebs and was at the forefront of a sexual revolution.

 

3.     ‘Fight Like Soldiers Die Like Children’, former LGeneral Romeo Dallaire puts his experience and power behind trying to end the use of children as soldiers.

 

4.     ‘God Loves Uganda’, exploitation under the guise of humanitarian aid by the American Evangelical movement, promoting anti-homosexuality laws punished by death.

 

5.     ‘Muscle Shoals’, Mick Jagger, Bono and many others. Did alchemy help a small town in Alabama to become the epicenter for the production of the greatest musicians and music in the world?

 

6.     ‘Pussy Riot’, Russia’s new revolutionaries are a girl band who spoke out against oppression, stood trial with the world watching and were shamefully sentenced.

 

7.     ‘The Unbelievers’ best selling authors, biologist Richard Dawkins and theoretical physicist Lawrence Krause discuss science, religion, human existence and faith across the universe.

 

8.     ‘Occupy: The Movie’ looking at the genesis of America’s most daring social movement since the civil rights era.

 

9.     ‘In God We Trust’ Eleanor Squillari, Bernie Madoff’s personal assistant of 20 years and unwitting victim becomes witness to the greatest fraud in history.

 

10. ‘Downloaded’ technology genius Shawn Fanning, Sean Parker’s partner, the teen that cracked the code for peer-to-peer file sharing and launched Napster.

 

11.  ‘Brothers Hypnotic’ the eight brothers of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble reinvent horns, hip-hop, and their father’s legacy as they struggle to create and control success.

 

12. ‘Everybody Street’ Celebrated filmmaker and photographer Cheryl Dunn looks at the most infamous and influential NYC street photographers who defined the art form.

 

13. ‘Good Ol’ Freda’ tales from the Liverpool teen who became the Beatles fan and manager of their fan club.

 

14. ‘Interior. Leather Bar.’ James Franco and Travis Mathews re-imagine the censored gay and S&M scenes from the controversial 1980’s film Cruising starring Al Pacino.

 

15. ‘Always For Pleasure’ the best of New Orleans music and culture from the Mardi Gras to the Jazz Fest.

 

16. ‘Dizzy Gillespie’ Les Blank’s intimate portrait of legendary jazz musician Dizzy.

 

17. ‘Which Way Is The Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington.’ An intimate portrait of Tim Hetherington, photojournalist and Oscar nominee who died April 2011 covering the Libyan Civil War.

 

18. ‘The War Room’ Winner: Cinema Eye Legacy Award. One of the greatest political documentaries ever made.

 

19. Who Is Dayani Cristal? Death of a nameless migrant in the Arizona Desert sparks a search for his identity based on his only identifying thing – a tattoo.

Documentary film is provocative, searing, controversial and sometimes gritty. It’s about the story not the glamor, about many whom you may never have heard of before, but when you leave the theatre you will never forget. HotDocs is a chance to ignite your imagination and see the world through a different lens.

 

Moira Romano