They Will Have To Kill Us First was a unique viewing experience for me. I have watched a couple hundred documentaries in my time. Never have I had to pause it in under three minutes. Walk away from it. Then vent on social media.
The cause - A message of Sharia. "We, the Mujahideen of Gao and Timbuktu, henceforth forbid the broadcasting of any music. This ban takes effect today. We have informed all radio station owners. We do not want Satan's music." The feeling - Dumbstruck. Eliminating music from life (well ... from my life) would be such a foreign concept that you could tell me I was going to live forever, on another planet and be worshipped as a goddess. That seems so much more likely than the complete death of music. The vent - It went to Twitter. "Access to music and music education should be defined as a human right. Why else would the sound of your core be described as a heart BEAT? They Will Have To Kill Us First is the perfect title for this documentary. They would have to kill me first too. HOT DOCS Screening Times Sunday, April 26th - 6:30 p.m. - Scotiabank Theatre Tuesday, April 28th - 3:30 p.m. - Hart House Theatre Thursday, April 30th - 3:30 - Hart House Theatre
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"Sweet Micky for President" definitely has my vote. This documentary begins by outlining the devastation of the largest earthquake in the region on January 12th, 2010. The Haitian government estimated 220 000 people died, 300 000 were injured and 2.3 million were displaced. Ten months later there was no leadership, no significant repairs to structures affected by the earthquake. That was in spite of Haiti receiving billions of dollars in international aid. The Haitian people needed a change in the highest level of government. Whether the people of Haiti were ready or not the most unlikeliest of presidential candidates "Sweet Micky"entered the race. He was a very popular controversial musician who eventually ended up on a government hit list. The controversy involved his lyrics and his style of performance. "Sweet Micky for President" is a great documentary that details the journey from candidate to leader with detailed accounts of the public's concern about "Sweet Micky" the artist versus Michel Martelly the person, a surprise election entry by Fugee's band mate Wyclef Jean, followed by his disqualification, election fraud, international exposure, and a postponed election. "Sweet Micky" goes from a mini skirt, tank top wearing, crotch grabbing musician to Michel Martelly the suit and tie, handshaking politician. Along for the ride from the very beginning was Pras Michel an ex-Fugee's member. It is little wonder that "Sweet Micky for President" won both Audience and Jury Prizes for Best Documentary at the Slamdance Film Festival. HOT DOCS Screening Times Tuesday, April 28th, 2014 - 6:30 p.m. - Bloor Hot Docs Cinema Wednesday, April 29th, 2015 - 1:00 p.m. - Scotiabank Theatre Sunday, May 3rd, 2015 - 5:30 p.m. - Revue Cinema Hot Sugar's Cold World is a peak into the life of Nick Koenig. It takes place in a world that encourages over-sharing in the attempt to appear socially acceptable measured by the amount of likes and followers. In this case, we get to follow (but not necessarily like) Nick Koenig.
Nick seems to have a great disdain for social graces, and quite possibly, as a result feels socially isolated. In the first couple clips he doesn't care enough to change out of a ratty torn up t-shirt. Later on, when he reaches Paris he questions the authenticity of friendship. He comments on how things in this hyper-connected world seem to be so very superficial. Hot Sugar's Cold World also questions our visually based culture at the exclusion of auditory experiences. It would seem like a biased argument given that he obsessively records sounds to alter into notes. But, think about it. You know what a hippo looks like. You could probably draw one while you were in pre-school. Do you know what one sounds like? ... Hot Sugar's Cold World may be his attempt to gain social relevance. More importantly, it also appears to be Nick Koenig's way of questioning the whole notion of our prioritizing the visual. Finally, I don't think Nick Koenig gives a tweet whether you like him or not. Nor should he. HOT DOCS Screening Times Saturday, April 25th, 2015 - 9:30 - Scotiabank Theatre Monday, April 27th, 2015 - 2:15 - Scotiabank Theatre Friday, May 1rst, 2015 - 3:45 - Hart House Theatre Stay Awhile is a phenomenal documentary. It is about a Canadian band, The Bells, who were the first musical group from north of the border to play the legendary Copacabana in New York City. This was long before Canadians even had a clue that The Bells (Ann, Jackie, Cliff, Doug & Gordie) existed.
Stay Awhile is a documentary put together by the youngest daughter of two of the band members. Bringing the band together almost fifty years later without a snippet of animosity between the members is astonishing. Everyone seems to still genuinely care for one another. So much so, that even as skeletons were being revealed they weren't allowed to simply clatter to the floor as they exited the closet. Stay Awhile was The Bells gold record smash hit. It set an impossible standard for the band as a whole. It was an even more impossible standard to achieve as Cliff soon found out after wandering off on his own solo career. The Bells, with their beautifully harmonizing vocals, are inviting you to Stay Awhile. HOT DOCS Screening Times Friday, April 24th, 2015 - 9:30 p.m. - Bloor Hot Docs Cinema Saturday, April 25th, 2015 - 3:00 p.m. - Royal Cinema Sunday, May 3rd, 2015 - 3:45 p.m. - Hart House Theatre *The Bells - 20th Century Masters The Millennium Collection was recently released in a digitally re-mastered version by Universal Music Canada. It is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and Rdio. There is only one flaw I can think of in relation to the screening of Music Lessons at this years HOT DOCS Film Festival. There are not enough showtimes. I am of the firm belief that this documentary should have been the opener for every single showing at this years festival.
In under twenty minutes in length we witness the success of a group of children, from Toronto's Jane and Finch neighborhood, as they take full advantage of music lessons. (After all the negative media attention it is oddly refreshing to hear the word "success" used when relating to something in, from, or about, the Jane and Finch neighborhood) Music Lessons highlights the importance of music lessons for all children by focusing its attention on those who would never have otherwise had the opportunity to participate. Music Lessons is the type of documentary that makes you wonder about the possibility of future episodes. You want to know where these children are in ten ... twenty years time. As far as I am concerned, if commercial movie theaters can stream quizzes and at least ten minutes of upcoming attractions, then Hot Docs could have made Music Lessons the focal point of the entire festival. HOT DOCS Screening Time Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - 6:30 p.m. - Isabel Bader Theater This documentary intros with a voice over from DJ AM indicating that "I like to be happy. I like to help other people. I don't wanna hurt anybody." I would suspect there is a lot more beneath that bassline that I believe As I AM The Life & Times of DJ AM has tried to spin.
Let me explain. "I like to be happy." That actually translates to I like to make others happy. His time in the DJ booth is about making sure the audience had a good time. DJ AM was the magician of the turntables and the "puppet master of the dance floor". In other words, he liked to help other people have a good time. His desire to "help other people" played out in many other ways. During his career DJ AM remastered what the salary expectations were for industry DJs. Then there was his work with Dr. Drew on a show about hard core drug addiction. He definitely re-mixed what as intervention could look like. Unfortunately, that desire to help others began to scratch his soul the wrong way. Not only was there the desire to not hurt anybody else but it becomes increasingly obvious in As I AM The Life & Times of DJ AM that he wouldn't let anyone see his pain either. There were so many professional requests of him that there is no wonder he succumbed to a break. Those with obsessive natures have a very difficult time maintaining anything that remotely resembles a balanced life. As much as he may have set the bar high for others it had to be reaching a deafening level within his own internal headphone monitor. The DJ gods may have just put his life on too intense of a loop. That's probably why he reached for that one final sample to get high. His life was on a track that only he could have arranged the outro for. As I AM The Life & Times of DJ AM is a great mash-up of audio/visual clips spliced with intense beats that will make you want to hit REWIND! HOT DOCS Screening Times Saturday, April 25, 2015 - 8:00 p.m. - The Royal Cinema Sunday, April 26, 2015 - 6:15 p.m. - Scotiabank Theatre Sunday, May 3, 2015 - 3:15 p.m. - The Royal Cinema There's a lot to like about this guy. Here's a link to an article I wrote a month and a half ago that Fresh Print Magazine has just now decided to publish.
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