Last week, the 2013 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival announced their special presentations line up. The festival runs from April 25-May 5 in Toronto. They are set to announce the rest of the line up including the opening night film on March 19.
Also, Full Frame announced their 2013 line up as well for their 16th annual documentary festival, which is held in Durham, North Caroline from April 4-7. Additional films will be annoucned on March 14.
Here are the women directed special presentation documentaries from Hot Docs and the Full Frame lineup below.
Hot Docs:
AFTER TILLER: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson | USA | 2013 | 88 min | International Premiere
Personal struggles, compassion and moments of deeply rooted self-doubt reveal a deeply human portrait of the only four remaining doctors willing to provide third-trimester abortions in the U.S.A.
ANITA: Freida Mock | USA | 2013 | 84 min | International Premiere
In 1991, Anita Hill’s powerful testimony against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas brought sexual harassment into America’s national spotlight. For the first time on film, she speaks about the testimony that shaped her life.
THE CRASH REEL: Lucy Walker | USA | 2013 | 100 min | Canadian Premiere
At the height of his career, just days away from the Olympics, championship snowboarder Kevin Pearce was left fighting for his life after a major brain trauma. THE CRASH REEL is a high adrenaline film about discovering what’s most important.
GIDEON’S ARMY: Dawn Porter | USA | 2013 | 96 min | International Premiere
In this study of exceptional grace under extreme pressure, a trio of public defenders makes considerable personal sacrifices to shield their indigent clients from the full weight of the judicial system.
HIGH FIVE: A SUBURBAN ADOPTION SAGA: Julia Ivanova | Canada | 2012 | 95 min | Toronto Premiere
A suburban Canadian couple travel to Ukraine to adopt five siblings, ages 6-16. The successful adoption, however, is just the beginning of a four-year odyssey to create a family.
OUR NIXON: Penny Lane | United States | 2013 | 85 min | Canadian Premiere
500 reels of long-forgotten super 8 footage unwittingly recorded by three of Richard Nixon’s most trusted associates form the raw material for this revealing behind-the-scenes look at one of the most controversial presidencies in U.S. history.
REMOTE AREA MEDICAL: Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman | USA |2013 | 79 min | International Premiere
Hundreds wait in line for days, hoping for a chance at free basic eye, dental and medical care. This is not Haiti or Darfur, but less than 100 miles from Knoxville, Tennessee, in the heart of the U.S.A.
VALENTINE ROAD: Marta Cunningham | United States | 2013 | 87 min | Canadian Premiere
In 2008, an eighth-grader shot and killed his openly gay classmate at point blank range for asking him to be his Valentine. This heartbreaking film explores the tragedy and the shocking aftermath.
THE WAR ROOM: Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker | USA | 1993 | 96 min | Special 20th Anniversary Screening
One of the greatest political documentaries of all time, and winner of this year’s Cinema Eye Legacy Award, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus’ THE WAR ROOM celebrates its 20th anniversary with Hot Docs. The filmmakers will be in attendance for this special screening.
Full Frame:
Invited Program
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (Directors: Drew DeNicola, Olivia Mori)
Myth and music collide in this story of the influence and impact of revered power-pop band Big Star, featuring never-before-seen footage, photos, and interviews.
Citizen Koch (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin)
A multilayered dissection of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United campaign finance decision as seen through the lens of Wisconsin’s 2011 election standoff.
The Crash Reel (Director: Lucy Walker)
After a training accident leaves Kevin Pearce with a traumatic brain injury, the intrepid snowboarder undertakes a remarkable recovery.
Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (Director: Shola Lynch)
Activist Angela Davis recounts her 1970 arrest and trial, which helped define her life as a revolutionary icon and champion of free speech.
Gideon’s Army (Director: Dawn Porter)
This remarkable film–a powerful testament to what it means to dedicate one’s life to the service of others–follows three young public defenders as they wrestle with massive caseloads and overwhelming student loans in order to ensure the rights of the accused.
In So Many Words (Director: Elisabeth Haviland James)
This intensely revealing biography of writer Lucy Daniels expands the documentary form with its imaginative visualization of the stresses of her early life. World Premiere
Leviathan (Directors: Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel)
This gripping multi-perspective account takes us deep within the shadows of a commercial fishing vessel.
Running from Crazy (Director: Barbara Kopple)
In light of her family’s history of suicide, Mariel Hemingway refuses to let mental illness overwhelm her own life: “control is everything.”
Venus and Serena (Directors: Maiken Baird, Michelle Major)
This unprecedented look at the tennis legends’ lives on and off the court is accentuated by the testaments of family, friends, and some of their more famous fans.
New Docs:
After Tiller (Directors: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson)
After the murder of their friend and colleague Dr. George Tiller, only four physicians continue to perform late=term abortions, risking their lives for women’s right to choose.
American Promise (Directors: Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster)
This personal film follows the directors’ son and his best friend from their first day of kindergarten through high school graduation, and how their lives diverge.
The Baby (De Baby) (Director: Deborah van Dam)
As one woman pieces together the fragmented memories of her childhood, she finds herself linked to a photograph of Anne Frank holding an infant girl. North American Premiere
Black Out (Director: Eva Weber)
With no power at home, Guinean children walk miles to study for exams beneath the humming glow of airport, gas station, and parking lot lights. North American Premiere
Camera/Woman (Director: Karima Zoubir)
A Moroccan divorcee supports her family by documenting wedding parties while navigating her own series of heartaches. North American Premiere
Dance for Me (Dans for mig) (Director: Katrine Philp)
A teenage Russian dancer relocates to Denmark to live with his adolescent partner so they can prepare for a series of prestigious ballroom championships. North American Premiere
First Comes Love (Director: Nina Davenport)
In this autobiographical portrait, Nina Davenport boldly lays bare the hardships and triumphs of her journey toward single motherhood in a modern age.
Homegoings (Director: Christine Turner)
This film explores the mind of a man whose heart and passion for the dead inspires our own appreciation for the human soul.
Maidentrip (Director: Jillian Schlesinger)
Follow teenager Laura Dekker across three oceans and five continents on her journey to become the youngest person to sail around the world—alone.
Outlawed in Pakistan (Directors: Habiba Nosheen, Hilke Schellmann)
After a young woman is brutally raped, her family overcomes severe social customs and tribal norms in order to take her case to trial.
Reborning (Directors: Yael Bridge, Helen Hood Scheer)
The story of one woman’s calling to create dolls that look exactly like newborn babies.
Remote Area Medical (Directors: Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman)
Over the course of one weekend, RAM’s dedicated team sets up a “pop-up” clinic at a NASCAR speedway to provide no-cost, accessible healthcare to people in need. World Premiere
A River Changes Course (Director: Kalyanee Mam)
Is convenience progress? A beautiful and heartbreaking verite look at three families subsisting in (what may be the end of) rural Cambodia.
Suitcase of Love and Shame (Director: Jane Gillooly)
This experimental film reconstructs a mid-century love affair using erotically charged correspondence left behind on reel-to-reel tape. North American Premiere
Taxidermists (Director: Nicole Triche)
This story of artists who love wildlife culminates in the “Olympics of taxidermy” and presents some of the most breathtaking animal sculptures ever captured on film.
True-Life Adventure (Director: Erin Espelie)
A dramatic four-minute nature documentary chronicling what happens in a tiny area of a Rocky Mountain stream on a lovely June afternoon. North American Premiere
A Will for the Woods (Directors: Amy Browne, Jeremy Kaplan, Tony Hale, Brian Wilson)
This film explores the green burial movement by focusing on one man’s quest for a final resting place that will do no harm to the earth. World Premiere
Yucca Mtn Tally (Director: Phoebe Brush)
An artful reflection on a nuclear waste repository in the Nevada desert is filmed against a backdrop of boundless horizon and thoughts about deep time.
Hot Docs Unveils Special Presentations (Deadline)
Full Frame 2013 Line Up Announced (Shadow and Act)
