2013 Hot Docs: Wrap-Up

Despite my short time at Hot Docs, I’d say that I came away seeing a batch of relatively good documentaries. The only problem for me is that, if I had to sum up the films I saw in one word, it would be ‘pleasant.’ Sure, the subject matter on a lot of them is harsh, but I rarely saw anything that tried to shake things up structurally/formally. Talking head interviews, animated interludes and statistics, light background music and other familiar documentary elements were used abundantly. With the exception of couple titles I was disappointed with the lack of risk in what I saw. The problem with that is, for me, the make or break factor on a lot of these films is the subject matter.

Overall ratings for Hot Docs 2013

Valentine Road: 7.5
Despite some poor choices and a conventional presentation, it’s a very powerful documentary – Review
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear: 7.3
A promising debut from director Tinatin Gurchiani – Review
The Conversation: 7
The foreboding mood more than makes up for how much of a mess it is – Review
The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne: 7
A light and enjoyable doc with a compelling main subject – Review
Tales From The Organ Trade: 6.5
Well-done but too shallow in its approach – Review
After Tiller: 5
Compelling subject matter that probably would have worked better as a short – Review
Entangled: 4
A bold stylistic choice by the director ends up ruining what could have been something a lot more interesting – Review