Oscar-nominated docs

This week 15 docs were short-listed for the Oscars. Films must have been released before September 30 to qualify.

Discussion in the blogosphere has focused on the omissions, rather than the nominees. Saw The Beaches of Agnes (Les Plages d'Agnes) by Agnes Varda at last year's TIFF and it was absolutely lovely. The Cove was one of my faves at this year's Hot Docs. Tyson was also popular at Hot Docs but I didn't see it and I still haven't seen Capitalism or Good Hair. I'd like to see more from the list, like The Garden. It screened at the Big Sky Documentary Film Fest (see their blog), which is also where Marathon Women screened following our premiere at Hot Docs.

Read more:
>>The Playlist
>>The Envelope
>> for good measure... Werner Herzog's 1999 Minnesota Declaration (love this blast from the past - the late 90's was the last time I was in Minnesota at the Walker Art Centre)

Doc Soup 2 - boo

October Country, Doc Soup's second screening on Wednesday, November 18th, was very disappointing. It was all I could do to sit through until the end. I did not stay for the Q&A although the filmmakers were in attendance.

The film was described as "A beautifully rendered portrait of an American family struggling for stability, this vibrant and intimate documentary examines the forces that unsettle the working poor and the violence that lurks beneath the surface of American life."

Makes it sound alright, kind of like this review of October Country. Whenever someone says "lyrical meditation" in their description of a doc, warning bells ring in my head (are you listening Jennifer Baichwal?) Upon re-reading, I should have recognized THE CODE:
>> vibrant? No. The pacing was sleep-inducing (HkD had a great 20 minute nap during the screening)
>> violence? Yup. All 3 generations of women in this film were victims of abuse (psychological, physical, sexual). On camera they were seen repeatedly slapping the men (or toys) in their lives. Even the male foster kid dressed up as a female abuse victim for Halloween, complete with his friend in a T-shirt labeled Wife Beater.
>> intimate? Sure. The interviews were shot in extreme close-up and I guess you could call it brave that this guy aired ALL of his family's skeletons, secrets, misery onscreen. But the characters were not sympathetic so I couldn't relate and I didn't care what happened to them. They were totally resigned, full of blame and unmotivated to change. Even the young single mother just gave her baby over to her wife-beating, drug smoking ex and shrugged. Not good enough, sorry.

I avoided Precious throughout TIFF this year because the trailers were enough for me (although I hope the performances are recognized at Oscar time) Despite the tough subject matter, that film seems to point to redemption at the end. I never watch the show Intervention but Wednesday's film felt like an entire season rolled into 90 minutes. I always look forward to my monthly doc screening because I always learn something new. Not this time. At least next month's film Tibet in Song sounds exotic.

Weekend in Winnipeg

My family weekend in Winnipeg has been jam-packed and very enjoyable. It has been great to see my parents, my brother, and my Uncle Bill and Uncle Sam.

Spent much of my time redesigning my Dad's website - please visit and bookmark: http://web.me.com/semeon_hrushovetz/
I've been doing a lot of web design lately at work. We launched our new ministry intranet last week before I left on vacation - very gratifying to see that go LIVE after many months of collaboration and revisions (too bad you can't see it because it's inside our firewall :-)

Visited the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) -- saw some amazing Innuit carvings, an interesting exhibition of modern Cuban art and the wonderful Yousef Karsh exhibition.

Karsh's portraits are absolutely exquisite! Too many familiar subjects to name but a few favourites: I really liked Jacques Cousteau (he had Uncle Wes' nose), Audrey Hepburn (looked gorgeous), the profile of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier looked like it could have been used for the flipside of a coin, W.H. Auden's face had the deepest ridges I'd ever seen, Frank Lloyd Wright was smiling and smoking, Mies van der Rohe looked like Alfred Hitchcock, Picasso and Andy Warhol stared the photographer straight in the eyes, and Muhammad Ali looked young, powerful and handsome in a pinstripe suit.

Our Chinese food dinner last night was AWESOME! The leftovers tonight were just as good. How come I haven't found great Chinese in Toronto?

Of course, we've been to the Casino (Club Regent). I love my Wheel of Fortune slot machine whenever it doubles my money :-) Didn't win the big jackpot but there's always another day.

Winnipeg weekend:
dinners, websites, church, art, slots
family, no snow

Send me to Sundance!

Dear Friends of haikugirl,

Last Sunday I entered a video contest. The filmmaker of the winning video goes to Sundance in January 2010.

PLEASE - SEND me to SUNDANCE!!

Simply follow the link to view my video and login to VOTE for haikugirl:
http://lovethephone.com/node/176

Registered voters can also win prizes so please tell your friends - and check out some of the other fun videos on the site: lovethephone.com

FYI - I'm blogging to you from Winnipeg! Bombers are out but it's a gorgeous sunny day here. Home for a fun-filled family weekend doing the 4Cs: Casino, Costco, Chinese Food and Church (almost in that order)

The September Issue

Calling all Fashionistas (and everyone else who just loves a juicy doc!)

Doc Soup kicked off its 2009/10 Season in Toronto on Wednesday night with the Canadian Premiere of The September Issue - a 90-minute documentary about Vogue magazine Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and the 5 months it took her and her staff to produce the September 2007 issue of Vogue (all 644 pages worth). Directed by R.J. Cutler, this film is an absolute treat! Rather than focusing on the celebrity side of fashion (although Sienna Miller does come to shoot the cover and her hair is so bad they want to put her in a wig), we see the interplay between these very strong, larger-than-life (sometimes passive, agressive) characters. An intriguing look behind-the-scenes into a fascinating and fast-paced world. After the screening, we had a "green" Q&A with the Director via Skype with lots of funny stories (how Anna had several "suggestions" for the edited film and wore her sunglasses during the entire screening at Sundance.)

The September Issue (TSI) opens in Canadian theatres this weekend (it's playing at Varsity). Join the Facebook fan site and SEE THIS FILM - or at least watch the trailer. Just like the trailer for Nine, it demands repeat viewing and creates instant converts.

And besides, it's Fashion Week in Toronto.

And The House of Pomegranates just wrapped their awesomely successful, elegant (and deathly) Scary Monster Beautiful gallery show and sale at Gallery 1313 on Queen West. Congratulations!

Now everyone, go forth, watch, and SHOP!

Coco Avant Chanel and Nine

Last night the Film Club was reunited to see Coco Avant Chanel at the Varsity. We made the traditional pilgrimage to the Pilot afterwards for beers and burgers.

Enjoyed the movie - nice and relaxing. Audrey Tautou was excellent; Alessandro Nivola (of Junebug) was okay. The wealthy Balsan played by Benoit Poelvoorde stole the show. Pavlina reminded me he was also the voice of Steven the neighbourhood farmer in the stop-motion animated movie we saw during TIFF this year: Panique au Village (A Town Called Panic). This was the first animated movie invited to Cannes. It was pretty funny.

We also saw the trailer for Nine, the new film by Rob Marshall. Each time I see it I get giddy with excitement. A fun game I like to play is "count the number of Oscar winners in the trailer". This one features a tough-to-beat total of six: Daniel Day-Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard and Sophia Loren. Oh and bonus points to Pavlina and me (she for spotting Kate Hudson in a silver mini-dress, me for spotting Fergie (aka Stacy Ferguson) with a tambourine.) The whole thing just makes me want to get up and dance. And spray champagne. And drive in a convertible to Positano. And BE ITALIAN!

This is DEFINITELY the #1 upcoming Film Club pick - in theatres November 25th (not Christmas Day) so we can see it together opening weekend! (I can wait until Christmas for Sherlock Holmes.)

I LOVE GLEE! I'm a GLEEK!

I confess - I LOVE GLEE! I'm a Gleek. This new series on Fox has me singin (and dancin') in the street. The musical numbers are DOPE.

Here are some awesome MUST-SEE clips:

What is GLEE?

official extended series trailer

Kurt's Beyonce teaser

Who is Josh Groban?

obsessed with Glee

Dance Bootcamp with Zach!