When Einstein passes away in April of 1955, Harvey was in charge of the autopsy which to him was a big pat on the back. He thought of it as a huge honour and took great pride in being the doctor in charge of Einstein’s body.

But then he did an odd thing: rather than just discovering the cause of death, he opened up the skull and took out the brain. He handled the brain with great care, dissecting it into different parts and preserving it in formaldehyde. And instead of keeping this a secret, he told the press, saying that it would be a great travesty if we were to not study the greatest brain that ever lived.

He was even successful at convincing Einstein’s family that this would be the best thing to do with the brain. And so, starts the story of The Man Who Stole Einstein’s Brain.

The movie depicts Harvey’s life with the brain, through interviews with family members and old footage and photographs of different scientists who got to study different parts of the brain. And though you are very certain that Harvey was a bit of an oddball, you are also certain that he had a great deal of respect for Einstein and his brain.

By the end of the film, it becomes apparent that Harvey wasn’t actually crazy for taking the brain and I’m kinda thankful that he did.

The Man Who Stole Einstein’s Brain is part of the Hot Docs Film Festival and is playing again on May 5^th, at 5.30 pm at Isabel Bader Theatre. It can also be seen online through their streaming service between May 5-9.

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The narrator explains that he and his companions have been trapped in the hospital that is now under siege and my heart starts to beat a little faster. Before we can find out what happens with the tank, we go back in time to before the Russians invade Ukraine. The invasion seems imminent, and we see the crew moving about Mariupol in a frenzy trying to figure out what to do – flee or stay put?

The documentary is filmed from the narrator’s point of view and there are times you feel as though you can hear his thoughts. Fear. Astonishment. Hopelessness. Are these the director’s feelings or are they mine? A sign, perhaps, of a truly astonishing documentary.

It should be no surprise that 20 Days in Mariupol is incredibly moving. The true horrors of war are splayed across the screen for everyone to see. Each scene is a new horror and with each horror comes more tears. A word to the wise, if you plan on seeing this film, bring plenty of Kleenex.

By the time the movie ends, everyone is in stunned silence. Though this film may not be fun to watch, it might just be essential to watch.

20 Days in Mariupol is directed by Mstyslav Chernov and will be playing again at the Isabel Bader Theater on May 4^th at 5.30 pm.

Hot Docs Film Festival is 30!

The post 20 Days in Mariupol – Review appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

The film fest was started in 1993 by the Canadian Independent Film Caucus (now called the Documentary Organization of Canada) as a way of celebrating Canadian documentaries. It quickly grew to include films from all over the world, as the audience expanded to 150,000.

It now boasts 214 films from 72 countries, along with a Podcast Festival Showcase where five outstanding podcasts record their shows live. The Podcast Festival Showcase runs from May 4^th to 7^th at the Hot Docs Cinema and features popular podcasts such as The Happiness Lab, On With Kara Swisher, Scamfluences, and Radiolab.

It also features a night of storytelling by some of the most popular CBC podcasters such as Anna Maria Tremonti and Gavin Crawford. This special event is being put on to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the Fest, so get your tickets quickly as they are sure to sell out.

With a few hundred films to see, it might be hard for you to decide where to start. Here are a few films you might like to take in:

The Man Who Stole Einstein’s Brain | Directed by Michelle Shephard, 78 min.

In April of 1955, the pathologist performing the autopsy on Einstein, covertly steals his brain, with hopes of uncovering the secret to his brilliance. The film depicts this story and what happens in the aftermath.

Wed. May 3 – 6 pm – Hot Docs Cinema

Fri. May 5 – 5.30 pm – Isabelle Bader Theatre

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie | Directed by Davis Guggenheim, 95 min.

Canadian icon recounts his improbable rise to Hollywood alongside his diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 29.

Mon. May 1 – 6.30 pm – TIFF Bell Lightbox (TBLB)

Fri. May 5 – 6.30 pm – TBLB

Sun. May 7 – 10 am – Hot Docs Cinema

The Lebanese Burger Mafia | Directed by Omar Mouallem, 103 min

The Burger Baron franchise, popular in Alberta is the subject of this film. The filmmaker captures the trials and tribulations of Arab immigrants while uncovering the saga of a fast-food chain with mysterious origins.

20 Days in Mariupol | Directed by Mstyslav Chernov, 94 min.

A journalist and his colleagues get trapped in Mariupol for 20 days while the Ukrainian War rushes on around them. This Sundance award-winning film exposes the unspeakable horrors of the Russian invasion and its propaganda machine.

Sat. April 29 – 2.45 pm – TBLB

Thu. May 4 – 5.30 pm – Isabelle Bader Theatre

Seven Winters in Tehran | Directed by Steffi Niederzoll, 97 min.

In 2007, 19-year-old Reyhaneh Jabbari was convicted of murdering the man who raped her. After being sentenced to death by hanging, her protest made her a symbol of resistance and women’s rights.

Mon. May 1 – 1.45 pm – Isabelle Bader Theatre

Sun. May 7 – 3.15 pm – Scotiabank Theatre

The Longest Goodbye | Directed by Ido Mizrahy, 87 min.

This film follows the work of the NASA psychologist who is tasked with protecting the mental health of the astronauts who have signed up for the Mars expeditions. They will be leaving the Earth for three years and will need to prepare for this long-haul adventure.

Sun. April 30 – 3.30 pm – Hot Docs Cinema

Thu. May 4 – 7 pm – TBLB

Sat. May 6 – 6.30 pm – TBLB

Another Body | Directed by Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn, 79 min.

An engineering student investigates the intersection of deepfake technology and porn after seeing her own face on another body in an adult video.

Fri. April 28 – 8.45 pm – Isabelle Bader Theater

Sat. May 6 – 3 pm – Scotiabank Theatre

Someone Lives Here | Directed by Zach Russell, 75 min

A young Toronto carpenter starts to build life-saving shelters during the pandemic for people to escape the cold winter. His actions get international attention but major push-back from the city.

Sat. Apr. 29 – 5. 30pm – Hot Docs Cinema

Thu. May 4 – 4.15 pm – TBLB

***

These are just seven of the amazing films the festival has to offer, so if you don’t see what you want here, head over to the Hot Doc’s website to find out more.

Single tickets are now on sale for $19- $26 or you can get a package deal for as low as $99. For more information on tickets click here.

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Framing Agnes

(Virtual Screening noon May 26th)

Framing Agnes is a documentary discussing and investigating the lives and experiences of trans people. The name’s sake and re-enactments emerge from a case study of interviews with transitioning people in the late 1950s by Dr. Harold Garfinkel of UCLA. Agnes is the first sociological case study of a transitioning person. However, after Garfinkel died in 2011, two grad students categorizing his archives found not only Agnes’s original file but eight other interviewees as well.

Framing Agnes re-enacts these patients’ interviews while intermittently showing us the BTS of those shoots, the interpretation and experience of the actors, and scholar Julien Gill-Paterson’s takes on the historical context. Paterson’s interpretations of the history, transcripts and today’s culture provide the novice viewer with the information to properly comprehend the significance of these archives, of these people, of this history.

Chase Joynt is one of the grad students to find the forgotten archives of Dr Harold Garfinkel; he is also the director, co-writer, and interviewer in the documentary. The re-enactment of the transcripts is presented as a talk show with Joynt as the host – a play on the prevalent meaning talk shows have for the trans community and their progressive visibility in mainstream culture. Chase Joynt’s presence is prominent throughout the feature. His openness to the experiences of the trans actors portraying the archive interviewees creates a warm environment for them to be vulnerable.

The standout performances are from Zachary Drucker (Agnes) and Angelica Ross (Georgia). Zachary Drucker’s Agnes is the misunderstood trans icon; she is confident and sly – she only answers the questions she wants. Angelica Ross’s Georgia is similar, but she’s black whereas Agnes is white. Ross provides that confidence while also showing vulnerability in her movement and fidgeting – Georgia encompasses the intersectional history Garfinkel’s original publication lacked. Her existence and her archive contribute to a much larger context of the growing history of trans people.

Framing Agnes does a beautiful job bringing life to people we should have met long ago and teaches us a history often forgotten or ignored.

Pat Rocco Dared

(Virtual & In-Person Screenings June 4th)

Pat Rocco Dared is a documentary about the late queer activist photographer and filmmaker Pat Rocco of the late 1960s and 70s. Filmmaker Charlie David guides us through our growing understanding of this influential man and takes us through the various influential films that helped push boundaries and change laws for LGBTQ+ people.

The documentary features interviews with Pat Rocco, his original footage and photographs, people he knew and worked with, Toronto’s own trans activist Syrus Marcus Ware, and historian Whitney Strub.

Despite all of Pat Rocco’s accomplishments and recognitions, pop culture often overlooks his influence as a gay nude erotica filmmaker, the first to put gay erotica in cinemas across the United States. He’s known for his romanticism, sentimentalism, and long, lingering passionate kisses.

Pat Rocco was the first President of Pride. He filmed the first Pride parade; he was instrumental in the sculpting of how we understand the Pride Parade today. His activism was raw and unyielding – he filmed the truth and showed the beauty in it. Pat Rocco worked closely with Harvey Milk; the first only gay man elected to public office.

Pat Rocco’s body of nude films prevalently showed the joy and happiness of gay love, not Hollywood’s preferred tragic gay narrative. Pat Rocco’s work was provocative and pushed the boundaries so much so that he kept a lawyer on site.

Pat Rocco Dared shares the stories of Pat Rocco’s successes and intentions, his life and his work. Directors Bob Christie and Morris Chapdelaine carve an intricate picture of who Pat Rocco was with love and admiration for a man who inspired so many and brought joy to a community constantly fighting for their right to be happy and simply themselves.

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He can’t recall that he did it on a whim, hastily etching the animal onto a freshly coated canvas, his index finger splitting the paint as if he was parting the red sea. As his mother, I’ve had the chance to witness Yosef’s artistic development from the beginning and I can attest that from the fleeting moments of triumph to the dark nights of the soul, Yosef’s creativity has always carried the same bursts of impulsivity he channeled while making his hippo.

Today, as a filmmaker, Yosef lets his work be guided by limitations that facilitate this method of spontaneous creation. He has devoted the better part of a decade to exploring contemporary life in his native Afghanistan hoping to familiarize the spectator with its changing political and social landscape. The country and its perpetual instability offer no safeguards. Budgetary restraints and security risks are limitations that force Yosef to employ amateurs instead of actors, work with minimal equipment and turn the war-torn streets of Kabul into his sets. The spontaneity afforded by this guerilla-style filmmaking is fertile ground for someone like Yosef whose most fruit-bearing insights come from being inspired by the words and actions of real-life subjects. You will often see his work populated with natural landscapes, animals and children and it’s no wonder; they rejoice and despair with equal abandon exuding the immediacy of the present moment which reignites the impulsive hand that’s guided Yosef’s artistic journey from the day he fashioned that faithful hippo.

– written by Yosef Baraki’s mother Meriam

Which ‘hood’ are you from?

I live in Caledon, although I grew up in Brampton. Because it’s more of a rural area there’s always physical labour to keep you occupied no matter the season. I like that and in many ways it helps me get away from the arduous months spent filming abroad or having my face buried in a screen for the better part of the day while editing.

What do you do?

I am a filmmaker and a writer.

What are you currently working on?

I’m in the middle of making a film about alienation in Afghanistan’s middle-class. After so many years of war, the country has finally found stability and with it more prosperity. I am interested in how the newly established middle-class balances progress and tradition, wealth and poverty, and violence and peace.

Where can we find your work?

My new film I Do My Work screened at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. It’s a documentary about students at a music academy preparing to put on a concert to commemorate Afghanistan’s independence. The screenings are happening online because of COVID so you can enjoy the whole program from the comfort of your home. I encourage everyone to check it out.

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