The Canadian Film Institute (CFI) in Ottawa will screen a selection of the best documentaries from Toronto’s Hot Docs festival and Doc Soup series as part of their official summer program on June 16 and 18.
Films in the series include In the Name of the Family, Last Train Home, Life With Murder, and Leave Them Laughing (full schedule below).
CFI executive director Tom McSorley has this to say about the partnership: “The passionate commitment of Hot Docs to documentary production is remarkable, and we both applaud and share its goal to promote the presentation of the best of Canada’s and the world’s documentaries.”
Films screen at Library and Archives Canada. Tickets are $6 for CFI members and $10 for non-members. More information can be found at hotdocs.ca or cfi-icf.ca.
Schedule of films:
Wednesday, June 16 at 7 p.m.
In the Name of the Family
Shelley Saywell | Canada | 2010 | 87 min.
Hot Docs 2010 Award Winner – Best Canadian Feature
The tragic murder of Mississauga’s Aqsa Parvez is featured in this powerful and sensitive investigation into the killing of young girls in the name of family honour in North America. These young girls’ heartbreaking stories expose the patriarchal beliefs used to justify violence against women.
*Filmmaker will be in attendance.
Wednesday, June 16 at 9 p.m.
Last Train Home
Lixin Fan | Canada/China | 2009 | 91 min.
Doc Soup 2009-10 Selection, Canwest-Hot Docs Funds Recipient
Every spring, China’s cities are plunged into chaos as all at once, a tidal wave of humanity attempts to return home by train for the Chinese New Year. The wave is made up of millions of migrant factory workers. Last Train Home draws us into the fractured lives of a single family caught up in this desperate annual migration.
*Filmmaker will be in attendance.
Friday, June 18 at 7 p.m.
Life With Murder
John Kastner | Canada | 2009 | 95 min.
Canwest-Hot Docs Funds Recipient
Both a gripping murder mystery and a complex psychological thriller, Life with Murder captures the ordeal of small-town-Ontario parents who steadfastly stand by their son after he is convicted of killing his sister.
Friday, June 18 at 9 p.m.
Leave Them Laughing
John Zaritsky | Canada/USA | 2009 | 89 min.
Hot Docs 2010 Award Winner – Special Jury Prize, Canadian Feature
Lou Gehrig’s disease may be taking the life of Carla Zilbersmith, but it’s not going to defeat the mother, performer, and darkly funny smart-ass in this hilarious pre-mortem by Academy Award-winning director John Zaritsky.
Top image: A scene from Life With Murder. Courtesy Hot Docs.
