Doc/Fest Blog
TIFF 2010
By Hussain Currimbhoy 05 August, 2010
If only easy jet flew to Toronto I'd be in line for some of the masters of the universe at TIFF this year.
After releasing the line up yesterday there was a small dribble glass under my mouth. I can't remember the last time so many greats were under the same banner. Herzog - Guzman - Wiseman - Morris - Longinotto - Gibney: and almost all still have their touch I can assure you.
It will be a fight of champions in TIFF cinemas this year with the likes of Patiricio Guzman being the one I put my money on. His new film 'Nostalgia for the Light' is a Cannes doc that weaves memories of war and the crimes committed under Chile's Pinochet regime with: the most spectacular imagery of the universe. Unrelated, yes perhaps at first - but as the anolgoy advances its all them more powerful and you understand why the master has not lost his touch at all.
What excites me most is the new Herzog 3D doc. There were rumours zipping about the bar at the Galyway film fest that his new 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams' would be ready for Venice. Perhaps the 3D thing held him up ( If he likes it I can only imagine the Bad Lieutenant re-release. "his soul is still dancing right in yo face!') but I can also imagine being totally enamoured and swept up in seeing the cave painting by the earliest Europeans from 30,000 years ago. I wish he did the same in Australia where cave paintings were just as old (some older) and get some 3D lizard action in the outback...
The UK's Kim Longinotto has finally announced 'Pink Saris' to the world, a film that returns to her focus on pariah female characters but this time in India. Sampat Devi works to get some kind of justice for women in her region, tries to stop the violence and at least start a dialogue about it with her townsmen. Unforgettable lines like, 'god? Then make your god turn me to dust right now!' make for sensational tension with a woman, for her faults, seems utterly alone in her fight. You'll be hearing more about this one soon! Another UK doc is Sarah McCarthy’s “The Sound of Mumbai: A Musical" - another Slumdog Millionaire in the waiting...?
I know Mr. Morris has a fan club in this part of the world and there will be a few Sheffield soldiers up at the TIFF screening. I wonder if this will be a return to form for of America's greats. The Wiseman doc 'Boxing Gym' (from this year's Cannes) is about... You got it, a boxing gm. Its more concise and feels more instinctive then has last films but no where as profound or memorable. Ireland's 'The Pipe' was a hit at Galway FF in June and will no doubt be a talking point at TIFF, what with BP being in the news just a little over the coming months.
Denmark's Januz Metz has been on a fire ball with 'Armadillo', yet another great Danish doc, that tracks Danish soldiers on their tour of duty. As unnerving as 'Restrepo' but more refined, this and 'Nostaliga' are films that are made for the cinema.
For those about to doc it out at TIFF, I'm jealous.