
The international documentary film scene will be getting together for the 26th time at Hot Docs, one of the most important documentary film festivals in the world, from 25th April to 5th May 2019.
A total of 15 German films and coproductions will be shown at Hot Docs this year.
All good things come in threes at the Hot Doc World Showcase.
As every year, the Goethe-Institut Toronto is happy to partner with Hot Docs in presenting the innovative German documentary scene
Highlights include Ai Weiwei’s THE REST, Annekatrin Hendel’s BEAUTY AND DECAY fresh from the Berlinale and DOK Leipzig winner LORD OF THE TOYS by Pablo Ben Yakov.
A global issue is the focus of THE REST (AWW Germany) by Ai Weiwei, who will be in Toronto. In his film the Chinese artist devotes himself to the European refugee crisis; it is being shown in the section Special Presentations. In his work he takes a close look at the fates of the individuals beyond the headlines and media images.
Berlin actor-director Maryam Zaree, director of the Berlinale premiere BORN IN EVIN and winner of the Compass Perspektive Award 2019 for Best Film, will attend this year´s Hot Docs film festival as a guest of the Goethe-Institut.
BORN IN EVIN follows Zaree on her quest to find out the violent circumstances surrounding her birth inside one of the most notorious political prisons in the world. In the 1980's Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini had tens of thousands of political opponents arrested and murdered. Among them the filmmaker's parents who, after years in prison, managed to seek asylum in Germany. The family never talked about their persecution and imprisonment. Maryam Zaree faces the decades-long silence and explores her own questions about the place and the circumstances of her birth.
“In BORN IN EVIN, Maryam Zaree takes us along on a search for her own past, in a gruesome chapter of Iranian history. Resolute and sincere, brave and moving, the filmmaker relentlessly hunts for answers to unasked questions, in the process drawing us ever-deeper into her story and to a collective blind spot. She takes a stand, undaunted, and assumes responsibility for breaking the silence for an entire generation.” – Jury statement, Berlinale 2019
Hot Docs is also co-presenting the Goethe-Institut’s media arts show Touching from a Distance II: Transmediations in the Digital Age as an official part of their DocX program.
Two impressive German entries can also be seen in the Artscapes section this year. BEAUTY AND DECAY (IT WORKS! Medien) about photographer and Berghain bouncer Sven Marquardt is a film dealing with Germany and specifically with (East) Berlin by well-known producer and director Annekatrin Hendel. BEYOND THE VISIBLE – HILMA AF KLINT by Halina Dyrschka (Ambrosia Film) looks at the Swedish painter, a pioneer of abstract painting.
In her sensitive film recounting a tragic family story and an intense love between brothers, Julia Horn shows how this comes about in DEAR BROTHER (Corso Film). But the film, which is having its world premiere in Toronto, also raises questions: “What will we do for love? How far will we go? How can communication succeed, even beyond language?”. HI, A.I. by Isa Willinger (Kloos & Co. Medien) also examines communication and interpersonal relationships. The film won the documentary film award at the Max Ophüls Prize in Saarbrücken, ran in the Lola section of the Berlinale as part of the pre-selection for the German Film Award, and has been invited to CPH:DOX and Visions du Réel in Nyon. In SEARCHING EVA by Pia Hellenthal (Corso Film) sets out to explore the life of a young woman who grew up in the Internet era and has declared her search for self a public spectacle. The film ran in the Berlinale Panorama and has been invited to the competition of CPH:DOX.
In 2019, European Film Promotion (EFP) will be cooperating with Hot Docs for the second time in order to present the program section The Changing Face of Europe. 10 European documentary films examine current themes such as immigration, populist movements or economic fears. The EFP members submit suggestions for the section from which Hot Docs director of programming Shane Smith programs the selection.
The films chosen include LORD OF THE TOYS by Pablo Ben Yakov for Germany (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg), which received the prize for the Best German Documentary Film at DOK Leipzig.
For the Forum Pitch two majority German projects have been selected. 1001 NIGHTS APART von Sarvnaz Alambeigi (DE/US/UK/IR, Filmpunkt) and MISSION SEX-ED by Cosima Dannoritzer (DE/ES, Tondowski Films). The Forum Pitch will take place on 30 April and 1 May.
Hot Docs Film Festival is the largest North American documentary film festival with more than 200,000 visitors and 200+ films from around the world.
All German films and coproductions at Hot Docs 2019:
26th Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (25 April – 5 May 2019)
World Showcase
DEAR BROTHER by Julia Horn (Corso Film)
GODS OF MOLENBEEK by Reetta Huhtanen (FI/BE/DE, Tondowski Films)
HI, A.I. by Isa Willinger (Kloos & Co. Medien)
SEARCHING EVA by Pia Hellenthal (Corso Film)
Special Presentations
THE REST by Ai Weiwei (AWW Germany)
The Changing Face of Europe
#FEMALE PLEASURE by Barbara Miller (CH/DE, INDI FILM)
LORD OF THE TOYS by Pablo Ben Yakov (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg)
Artscapes
BEAUTY AND DECAY by Annekatrin Hendel (IT WORKS! Medien)
BEYOND THE VISIBLE – HILMA AF KLINT by Halina Dyrschka (Ambrosia Film)
Shorts
RIOT NOT DIET by Julia Fuhr Mann (University of Television & Film Munich, WildBird Film)
Made in Italy
ISIS, TOMORROW. THE LOST SOULS OF MOSUL by Francesca Mannocchi und Alessio Romenzi (IT/DE, Cala Filmproduktion)
UNA PRIMAVERA by Valentina Primavera (AT/DE/IT)
Making Believe
PROPAGANDA: THE ART OF SELLING LIES by Larry Weinstein (CA/DE, Taglicht Media)
Persister
BORN IN EVIN by Maryam Zaree (DE/AT, Tondowski Films)
DOCX
HOME AFTER WAR by Gayatri Parameswaran, Felix Gaedtke (US/DE/IQ)
TOUCHING FROM A DISTANCE II, media art group installation at the Goethe Media Space
FORUM PITCH
1001 NIGHTS APART by Sarvnaz Alambeigi (DE/US/UK/IR, Filmpunkt)
COLOUR OF THE WIND by Claire Sanford (CA/DE/FI, Alias film und sprachtransfer)
MIDWIVES by Hnin Ei Hlaing (CA/DE/MM, AMA FILM)
MISSION SEX-ED by Cosima Dannoritzer (DE/ES, Tondowski Films)
ZINDER by Aicha Macky (FR/NE/DE, Corso Film)
image: Born In Evin by Maryam Zaree c photo Tondowski Film