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

My first day of Hot Docs was a surprising one, the biggest surprise being how popular the festival is. Having not been to Hot Docs before, I wasn’t sure if people would be flocking to a film festival that was dedicated entirely to documentaries that mostly dealt with serious subject matter. I was quickly proven wrong though, as almost every screening I went to was completely full. I was glad to see so many people having enough of an interest in documentaries that they’d come out and catch something they otherwise wouldn’t see in a major theatre.

The unfortunate surprise for me was missing out on a few titles that I wanted to see badly. Mercy Mercy: A Portrait of a True Adoption was too busy for me to get into, and I’ll shamefully admit that exhaustion got the best of me during my last screening of the day so I couldn’t finish the film. Other than that, I had a great first day at Hot Docs. Here are my thoughts on two films I managed to catch.

The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear

First thing’s first; I liked this documentary, but when I think back to it I get frustrated more than anything. Director Tinatin Gurchiani explains her film’s concept at the beginning: She held a casting call throughout Georgia (the country, not the state) for young people to audition for her film. Gurchiani cuts between the audition process and the day-to-day lives of some of the people she interviews.

Individually some of these segments can easily work on their own as a short film, but shown together they feel like a brief snapshot into the lives of Georgia’s young generation. The auditions are awkward to watch at times, with each participant standing still while Gurchiani needles them with questions about their personal lives (the title comes from when the director asks someone what they would “disappear” if they owned such a machine). These interviews, as unnatural as they look, end up bringing out the most honest moments as people begin to show how pessimistic they feel about their own lives.

When Gurchiani actually follows these people around with her camera the cynical qualities that come out from the auditions don’t show as much. One sequence, involving a 25 year old who runs a village where the average age is 70, could work on its own as a short comedy film. By watching these people simply exist in their daily lives the strength of human spirit on display prevails over the depressing moments that come out in the auditions.

Gurchiani, who amazingly shot this over 20 days on only a five figure budget, has a terrific eye for compositions. The only issue is that some segments simply aren’t interesting to watch. I think that, if the shooting schedule wasn’t so short, there might have been more time to find some stories worth pursuing. Still, Gurchiani captures some amazing moments, the highlight being a young woman’s reunion with her estranged mother. My feelings of frustration come from the fact that, if The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear wasn’t so hit or miss in its structure, it could have been something truly great. It’s still a good, fascinating snapshot of modern-day Georgia, but it requires getting through some dull parts to get to the truly great moments.

RATING: 7.3

The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne

This is a documentary which, while it’s not as thoughtful or impacting as The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear, does a very good job at what it sets out to do. Doris Payne, an 80 year old African American from West Virginia, has spent the last several decades stealing jewels around the world. Directors Matthew Pond and Kirk Marcolina began filming her when things took a surprising turn. Payne, now living in California, was charged with stealing a diamond from a store and faced up to 5 years in prison. She pleads not guilty, claiming that she was only considered a suspect because of her notoriety.

The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne cuts between the trial and various people, including Payne, explaining Doris’ life story. Doris turns out to have a very complex history, with her life in crime starting as a result of racial discrimination and a need to survive. When she was a kid Doris was kicked out of a store because of her skin colour, and as an act of rebellion she took the piece of jewelry she was trying on with her. From then on she kept stealing, partially out of spite for being discriminated but mostly as a way to survive (her father was abusive, and Doris says she stole to help support her mother financially so they could leave on their own).

The stories Doris tells about her travels are the documentary’s best moments. Hearing Doris describe how she stole a multi-million dollar diamond from Monte Cristo or made a daring escape in Switzerland are as entertaining as any Hollywood crime movie. Pond and Marcolina may have made a documentary that feels pretty lightweight (it breezes by at 72 minutes), but they were lucky enough to find a subject as interesting as Doris. As nice as she may seem, the film always puts in reminders that deep down she’s an incredibly manipulative person (at one point she ropes the directors into one of her schemes, and watching her get called out on it shows just how good she is at lying).

It may be a pretty conventional documentary in its structure and presentation, but it’s hard to come away from The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne without finding something to like. It’s a definite crowd-pleaser that benefits from a truly unique subject.

RATING: 7

Stay tuned to Way Too Indie for an interview with Doris Payne directors Matthew Pond and Kirk Marcolina, along with reviews of Entangled, Valentine Road and After Tiller

While Cannes, TIFF, Sundance and other major film festivals put their focus on a wide range of films, the Hot Docs festival puts the spotlight entirely on documentaries. Now celebrating their 20th year, Hot Docs is screening over 200 titles this year from 43 countries. For me, it was a bit difficult to decide on what to see. Only a few documentaries were familiar to me, like After Tiller and Valentine Road which had festival premieres earlier this year. For the most part I had to rely on my own judgment, picking titles based on nothing more than the official description. Below are some of the documentaries I hope to see throughout the festival.

The Hot Docs festival runs from April 25th to May 5th in Toronto, Ontario. You can check out what’s playing and buy tickets at www.hotdocs.ca

The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear

Director Tinatin Gurchiani announces a casting call for youth, aged 15 to 23 years, from villages and cities throughout the country of Georgia. Some come for fame, others for a chance to tell their story. As the hopeful subjects stare into the revealing lens of Gurchiani’s camera, extraordinary tales unfold. With turns sorrowful and comedic, this cinematically stunning film reveals truths of war, love, dreams and poverty. Some of the subjects are followed more intimately, and through their eyes we get a glimpse into modern day Georgian youth. Winner of the Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary at Sundance 2013, The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear explores the unlikely circumstances we’re born into and the paths we choose to travel from there forward.

Valentine Road

The seaside town of Oxnard, California, was shattered in 2008 by the shooting death of Lawrence “Larry” King, a 15-year-old biracial, LGBTQ student. The killer? His white, 14-year-old crush, Brandon McInerney. Was this a hate crime—retaliation against unwanted advances—or something more complex, entrenched in the community and society at large? Did flamboyant Larry, who liked to crochet, wear makeup and don heels, push his attacker, an emerging white supremacist, over the edge? It sure made for catchy headlines and drew attention to the plight of LGBTQ teens, as well as the overwhelmed educational and juvenile justice systems. But sensational press coverage only scratched the surface of the real story. Valentine Road delves deeper, to explore the complicated issues of accountability, sympathy and deviance at the heart of a legal defense that posited a murder victim can be the cause of his own murder.

Entangled

The roles of victim and aggressor are tragically reversed when a young man exacts revenge on his molester. The abuser becomes the abused in this complicated and ambiguous debate between crime and punishment, attempted murder versus rape. Presented using cross-cutting narratives, the young man is put behind bars while his pedophile remains free. But neither man can escape the other. For over 10 years they’ve lived in the same small town, in a tight, messy knot of hatred, fear and emotional chaos. “Maybe you have to feel it to understand it,” the juvenile muses about getting even as he paces his cage. “Life is not fair. Life is evil,” the pedophile states from behind locked doors, fearful of harassment from neighbours and his victim’s looming release date. Neither man regrets his crime, just its consequences. Entangled portrays a brutal grey area of blame, where both and neither is guilty.

Mercy Mercy: A Portrait Of A True Adoption

Easily one of the most important documentaries on inter-country adoption, Mercy Mercy gives a rare look at all participants in the adoption process, including the parents who give their children up. Two loving Ethiopians parents, Sinkenesh and Hussen, have just been diagnosed with HIV and told they have only a year to live. They make the painful decision to give their two youngest children up for adoption, handing them over to a Danish family. In an emotional departure, the Danish family promises to stay in touch and the adoption agency agrees to broker the relationship. What seems like the best decision for the children becomes a series of tragic and painful events for all, unveiling that the well-being of children is not always the main priority in the adoption process. Greed, selfishness, unrealistic expectations and skewed cultural perspectives idealizing one way of life over another collide in this powerful story.

The Life And Crimes Of Doris Payne

How does a poor, single, African-American mother from segregated 1950s America wind up as one of the world’s most notorious jewel thieves? Just ask her. A glamorous 81-year-old, Doris Payne is as unapologetic today about the nearly $2 million in jewels she’s stolen over a 60-year career as she was the day she stole her first carat. With Payne now on trial for the theft of a department store diamond ring, filmmakers Kirk Marcolina and Matthew Pond probe beneath her consummate smile to uncover the secrets of her trade and what drove her to a life of crime. Stylish recreations, an extensive archive and candid interviews reveal how Payne managed to jet-set her way into any Cartier or Tiffany’s from Monte Carlo to Japan and walk out with small fortunes. This sensational portrait exposes a rebel who defies society’s prejudices and pinches her own version of the American Dream while she steals your heart.