Hot Docs News for Ottawa

Toronto, June 7, 2010 – Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and the Canadian Film Institute (CFI) have partnered to bring to the nation’s capital some of the outstanding documentary films presented by Hot Docs this past year. Screening June 16 and 18 at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street, the Best of Hot Docs features four Canadian films – three official selections from the 2010 festival and one Doc Soup title from the 2009-10 season – presented as part of the CFI’s summer season.

"In the Canadian Film Institute we’ve found a partner that shares our passion for film and our belief in its power to educate, enlighten and transform,” says Hot Docs executive director Chris McDonald. “With the Institute’s reputation for superb programming and discerning audiences, Hot Docs is honoured to contribute to its summer slate of films with these compelling titles that showcase the best of what we have to offer.”

“We are delighted to be in partnership with Hot Docs here in Ottawa, as the Canadian Film Institute has long been an enthusiastic presenter of documentary cinema, having mounted retrospectives in the recent past of such luminaries as Kevin McMahon, Peter Mettler, and Alanis Obomsawin,” says CFI executive director Tom McSorley. “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.”

Tickets to each Best of Hot Docs screening are $10 for non-members and $6 for CFI members. For more information, visit http://www.hotdocs.ca. Screening times and descriptions for the Best of Hot Docs appear below. In some cases, filmmakers will be in attendance to introduce their screening and participate in a post-screening Q&A.

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.

Wednesday, June 16 7:00 PM Filmmaker in attendance

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.

Wednesday, June 16 9:00 PM Filmmaker in attendance

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 7:00 PM

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-***censored*** in this hilarious pre-mortem by Academy Award-winning director John Zaritsky.

Friday, June 18 9:00 PM