Screens big and small
Hot Docs is back and as brilliant as ever for its 29th annual edition happening from April 28 to May 8 in Toronto and streaming online across Canada. We’ve selected our five must-watch, art-related documentaries from this year’s lineup.
Still image from The Art of Silence (2022). Image courtesy of Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
Beginning April 28, Hot Docs is headed back to screens both big and small for its 29th annual edition. In cinemas across Toronto and online across Canada, audiences can watch an eclectic mix of 226 documentaries from 63 countries. Visit the Hot Docs website for complete details including the 2022 Hot Docs Festival schedule in full. In the meantime, here are five art-related documentaries we recommend adding to your watch list.
Historjà - Stitches for Sápmi (2022)
Directed by Thomas Jackson
Historjà - Stitches for Sápmi tells a compelling story of resistance and preservation from the perspective of internationally acclaimed Sámi textile artist Britta Marakatt-Labba, best known for her textile works weaving together the rich history and mythology of Sámi culture. This documentary brings her experiences grappling with Indigenous rights and the threat of climate change to the forefront, as she prepares to unveil a new work at documenta 14 in Kassel, Germany.
Once Upon a Time in Uganda (2021)
Directed by Cathryne Czubek
A maverick in the Ugandan film industry, Issac Nabwana runs Wakaliwood, a low-budget film studio based in Wakaliga, a slum in Uganda's capital of Kampala. Wakaliwood’s films are equal parts slapstick comedy and action-pack adventures. Once Upon a Time in Uganda charts Wakaliwood’s rise to international fame with of help of former film festival director Alan Hofmanis.
Images of a Nordic Drama (2021)
Directed by Nils Gaup
Decades after his passing, the paintings of Aksel Waldemar Johannessen emerge from obscurity to shake up Norway’s art establishment. A persistent art collector champions Johannessen’s work in the face of unexpected resistance from the National Museum and Munch Museum in Norway. Will this unknown painter ever get his chance in the spotlight?
Directed by Maurizius Staerkle Drux
A cinematic portrait of a legend, The Art of Silence takes us inside the beautifully complex world of French mime and actor Marcel Marceau with reflections from his family, friends and former protégées. The film shares poignant stories from his decades-long career, including how he survived World War II and his time in the French Resistance during his childhood.
Directed by Allison Otto
More than just another entry in the true crime genre, The Thief Collector uncovers the gripping tale behind the 1985 theft of Woman-Ochre by Abstract Expressionist Willem de Kooning. In a bizarre twist, the $160 million painting was eventually found in rural New Mexico with a mild-mannered couple being the alleged thieves.
To find more Hot Docs films to watch, click here. For more untold stories and candid retellings from creative minds, check out the documentaries listed under Artscapes.