DOC SOUP SET TO LAUNCH IN VANCOUVER AND CALGARY; SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW AVAILABLEHot Docs is pleased to announce that it has partnered with the
Calgary International Film Festival and the
Whistler Film Festival to launch its immensely popular Doc Soup screening series in Calgary and Vancouver this fall.
"We're thrilled to have these dynamic partners helping us to cultivate wider Canadian audiences for documentaries," says Chris McDonald, Executive Director of Hot Docs. "Both festivals have developed loyal followings and we're certain that they'll embrace Doc Soup as Toronto audiences have done."
Launched in 2001, Hot Doc's monthly Doc Soup screenings have become must-attend events for Toronto's film-loving public. The series showcases the latest Canadian and international documentaries, and has premiered for Toronto audiences such notable Academy Award-nominated films as CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (2003), JESUS CAMP (2006), and NO END IN SIGHT (2007). As an added bonus, guest directors are in attendance at select screenings to introduce their films and engage in post-screening Q &A sessions with audiences.
Films selected for Doc Soup in Calgary and Vancouver will be p
remieres in those markets and guest directors will also be present at select screenings. To ensure the best available selection, Doc Soup films are programmed and announced a month prior to their screenings.
Vancouver's Doc Soup will run monthly from October to March, with screenings taking place at the Pacific Cinematheque, 1131 Howe Street.
Calgary's Doc Soup will run from November to May (no screening in December), with screenings taking place at the Cineplex Odeon Eau Claire Market, 200 Barlay Parade, S.W.
Subscriptions for all three Doc Soup series are currently available at
www.docsoup.ca and come with additional bonus tickets to the co-presenting festival.
Hot Docs is pleased to acknowledge City TV as the Presenting Partner of the Doc Soup series. Toronto's Doc Soup is presented with the generous support of Rogers, deluxe and the Toronto Star.
APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR TDF DIRECTOR POST THIS FRIDAY
The application deadline for the post of TDF Director is this Friday, August 1. The TDF Director is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Toronto Documentary Forum, Hot Docs' flagship market event. The position is a 7-8 month contract running through May 31, 2009, with the potential for full-time or contract extension. The position offers a competitive salary and opportunity for international travel. Visit
www.hotdocs.ca for the full job posting.
HOT DOCS HIT THE LAST CONTINENT OPENS IN TORONTO AND VANCOUVER
A hit at this year's Hot Docs, THE LAST CONTINENT, directed by Jean Lemire, will receive its English-language release in Toronto at
AMC Yonge and Dundas and Vancouver at the
Ridge Theatre this Friday, with other cities to follow.
For 430 days, a crew of scientists, sailors and filmmakers live on a schooner in the Antarctic to study the impact of global warming in this gloriously cinematic adventure, full of awe, joy and life-threatening danger. Gale-force winds threaten to dash the crew on the rocks in one of the most nail-biting scenes ever seen in a non-fiction film. Abnormally warm temperatures prevent the formation of the deep pack ice needed to stabilize the schooner and provide a birthing ground for seals. When desperately needed winter arrives at last, the camera goes overland to scenes of unbearable beauty and beneath the ice to a magical undersea world of never-before-photographed species. A marine biologist by training, Jean Lemire's acclaimed 2006 feature The White Planet focused on the Artic. The massive devastation from climate change he shows at this, the other polar extreme, is a powerful reminder of the fragility of our world. - Lynne Fernie
THE TDF CONGRATULATES...The Toronto Documentary Forum congratulates director Israeli David Ofek and his producer Edna Kowarsky whose film,
THE TALE OF NIKOLAI AND THE LAW OF RETURN has just won the Wolgin Award for Best Documentary at the Jerusalem International Film Festival. The project was pitched at the TDF market under the title THREE LEGENDS in 2007 and was cited by the JIFF jury for its "critical and ironic view on the situation of foreign workers in Israel and the Law of Return" and its "originality and humor...in a approaching a very sensitive and complicated subject."
The TDF also congratulates Parvez Sharma and producer Sandi DuBowski on the current successful theatrical run in the USA (FirstRun Features) and Canada (Mongrel Media) for their feature
A JIHAD FOR LOVE, which was pitched at the TDF in 2006. It has already enjoyed theatrical releases in other parts of the world, including sold out screenings in India and Turkey.
