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May 4, 2011
Hot Docs Brings it All Home: 8 Documentaries You Should See
indieWIRE
by Basil Tsiokos
The 18th annual Hot Docs is an embarrassment of riches for documentary fans. Running running April 28-May 8, it’s virtually impossible to catch a screening of every film one would like to see. Spotlighting more than 200 Canadian and international documentaries for Toronto audiences, there’s have a lot of tough viewing choices.
The eight titles below share a particular focus on questions of home and belonging - from explorations of literal dwellings to broader questions of nationhood and community.
...Daniel Goldstein’s Brooklyn condo is the point of contention in Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley’s “The Battle for Brooklyn,” which makes its world premiere at Hot Docs. Goldstein’s building is in the footprint of Mayor Bloomberg’s ambitious Atlantic Yards’ economic development plan for the borough. While there are many uncertainties about the benefits promised by the project, developers and the city government are determined to move forward, making questionable use of eminent domain laws to essentially force people out. Not willing to go without a fight, Goldstein becomes an activist, little realizing that his battle will take seven years and cost him a relationship. Galinsky and Hawley found a great underdog in Goldstein and have constructed a thoroughly engaging look at the infuriating erosion of individual rights in the interest of corporate concerns and political maneuvering.
Posted by eric at May 4, 2011 10:13 PM