Hot Docs recently wrapped up its most successful Festival to date with audience numbers reaching an estimated 165,000! We’re screening two outstanding Hot Docs Festival films this month, Big Boys Gone Bananas!* and Marley. If you didn’t have a chance to catch them at the 2012 Festival we’re bringing them back for encore presentations.

Fredrik Gertten’s documentary Big Boys Gone Bananas!* has its Canadian premiere during the Festival and was the runner-up for the People’s Choice Award. We’re featuring it this week, along with the film that inspired its creation, Bananas!*. Big Boys Gone Bananas!* runs through Friday, May 18.

Marley, which also had its Canadian premiere at the 2012 Hot Docs Festival, opens at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema on Friday, May 18. Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland, One Day in September) delivers the long-awaited authorized biography of reggae legend Bob Marley. According to Variety it’s “[A] generous, absorbing, family authorized docu on the late, still-reigning king of reggae music”. Marley runs through May 31.

Making long weekend plans? We have more great films this weekend including Earth (tickets only $6 for children 13 and under), Touching the Void, The Harder They Come, and The Last King of Scotland.

For showtimes and tickets visit www.bloorcinema.com/schedule.

Hot Docs Festival friends, fans, and supporters filled the cinema on April 26 for the official opening night of the 2012 Hot Docs Festival. Director Alison Klayman’s film Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry launched the festival, with resounding applause from the audience.

This year’s festival features 189 films from 51 countries, over 11 days. The newly renovated Bloor Hot Docs Cinema is the permanent home of the Hot Docs Festival and one of its primary screening venues. For a full listing of festival films see the Hot Docs Festival schedule.

Check out opening night photos on the Hot Docs website and enjoy the festival!

Despite a lack of obvious similarities between Siberia and Tokyo, a thriving model industry connects these distant regions. We have two more screenings of Ashley Sabin & David Redmon’s eye-opening doc Girl Model this week. The film shows two 13-year-old girls aspiring to become models in the complex and ethically-questionable world of modelling. Girl Model definitely takes the “glamour” out of modelling and reveals an industry that is more concerned about commodities than careers.

We’re also thrilled to bring Werner Herzog’s latest documentary Happy People: A Year in the Taiga. Referred to as a companion piece to Herzog’s stellar Grizzly Man, Happy People once again finds Herzog working with someone else’s footage to create an in-depth glimpse into a simpler life lead by the Indigenous people of the small village of Bakhtia in the Siberian Taiga. The film runs until Thursday, April 19.

Joel Heath’s award-winning documentary People of a Feather screens Friday, April 20 through Thursday, April 24. A biologist by trade, Joel Heath has made a breathtaking film that focuses on the unique connection between the community of Sanikiluaq and the artic bird that has been their life-blood for hundreds of years. It’s a fascinating portrait of a traditional way of life that is currently endangered by man-made intrusions. We’re very excited to have Joel Heath as well as members from the Community of Sanikiluaq in attendance April 20 and 21 at 6:30 p.m.

Come celebrate Record Store Day April 21 with Jeanie Finlay’s film Sound it Out! Set in northern UK, the film focuses on one of the last record stores in Teesside. The cast of characters who inhabit and frequent this shop are right out of the comic strips. Some might call it a real-life High Fidelity. The film runs Friday, April 20 through Wednesday, April 25.

A few more great flicks to choose from this month: Labyrinth, Comic Book Confidential, and Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie.

- Robin Smith, Programmer, Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

Opening This Week: The Vanishing Spring Light & Fightville

Xun Yu’s stunning award-winning documentary The Vanishing Spring Light (from the producers of Up the Yangtze and Last Train Home) comes to the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema fresh from its premiere at Doc Soup Toronto in March. It recently won the Joris Ivens Award at the Cinema Du Reel International Documentary Festival. Be prepared for a challenging but extremely rewarding film that critics are calling “incredibly intimate” (Variety). The film’s producer, Daniel Cross, will join the audience for post-screening discussions on Friday, April 6 and Saturday, April 7.

Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s documentary Fightville also premieres this week. The film follows the trials and tribulations of two up-and-coming Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) gladiators as they train and prepare for their big break. It’s less about MMA and more about the art and sport of fighting and following one’s aspirations within the context of the American Dream. Fightville is an amazing insider’s look at the incredibly competitive and often twisted world of professional fighting. Even if you’re not a boxing or MMA fan, this is a must see! The film was an official selection at Hot Docs 2011.

Can’t get enough docs? We’ll be featuring more great films in the second half of the month including Girl Model, Happy People: A Year in the Taiga, Sound it Out, and People of a Feather. For trailers, times, and tickets see our April calendar.

-    Robin Smith, Bloor Hot Docs Cinema Programmer

We hope you’ve had a chance to come by and see the renovations at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema – if you haven’t yet, take a peek at our Opening Night video!

On March 14 we held Opening Night festivities at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema which included a special screening of Big Boys Gone Bananas!* with a Skype Q & A with director Fredrik Gertten. This was one of several events held during the theatre’s opening week, which saw a couple thousand people take in films at the cinema.

We’d love to hear your feedback about the cinema’s renovations! Feel free to comment below.

The evening began with opening remarks by Chris McDonald, executive director of Hot Docs, Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, and Neil Tabatznik, principal of Blue Ice Group. Audiences were treated to a screening of a Hot Docs 2012 festival film BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS!*, and a special post-film Skype interview with director Fredrik Gertten.

Enjoy some images from the Opening Night event in the gallery below.

Image credits: Photos by Joseph Michael

In partnership with the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada proudly presents the inaugural Toronto screening of the acclaimed documentary JANE’S JOURNEY (PG), on March 22 at 7 p.m.

Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch Jane’s Journey unfold alongside Dr. Goodall herself. Dr. Goodall will introduce the film and take part in a Q & A and book signing following the event.

CONTEST
Enter for a chance to win a pair of premium tickets for this event including an opportunity to join a reception with Dr. Jane Goodall ($324 value)! Email info@janegoodall.ca by March 19 and answer the following question:

When Dr. Jane Goodall first started her research in the 1960s there were 1.5 million chimpanzees. How many are left today?

Proceeds will go directly to the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada.

We’ve created a video featuring the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema media launch and the cinema’s transformation. Enjoy the clips and share your comments and feedback with us!

Winner of the World Cinema Audience Award at Sundance 2010, Waste Land is an inspirational
story following renowned Brazilian artist Vik Muniz. Originally from a poor family in São Paulo, Brazil, Muniz primarily uses garbage and food waste to create his socially conscious pieces.

Tickets are free and are available for pick-up on Saturday, March 10 and Sunday, March 11, from noon – 5 p.m. at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema box office (506 Bloor St. W). Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to availability (limited to two tickets per person).

We held a media event on Wednesday, February 29 to showcase the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema’s renovations. We’re excited that the cinema is opening soon, and are looking forward to our opening day, March 16! We’ll be kicking off our programming with BEING ELMO: A PUPPETEER’S JOURNEY and CORMAN’S WORLD: THE EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL.

Check out links to some of the wonderful coverage we received and take a look at a few photos from our media event below.

Media Coverage
Introducing the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema – The Toronto Star
Inside the New Bloor Hot Docs Cinema – BlogTo
Meet the New Bloor Hot Docs Cinema – Torontoist
Touring the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema – NOW Magazine

Photos From Media Event