The Festival Circuit — Blog

Hot Docs 2026: INDIVISUM: Legacies Adrift

This personal documentary digs into the problem of legal problem of indivision on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 8, 2026INDIVISUM: Legacies Adrift, Hot Docs, Hot Docs 2026, Katie Cafe-FebrissyComment

Hot Docs 2026: The Seoul Guardians

The Seoul Guardians is a gripping account of the failed coup in South Korea in December 2024.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 8, 2026Hot Docs 2026, Hot Docs, The Seoul Guardians, Cho Chul Young, Kim Shin Wan, Kim Jong WooComment

Hot Docs 2026: Ghost in the Machine

This video essay seeks to paint a damning portrait of AI, but is undone by its haphazard presentation.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 6, 2026Hot Docs, Hot Docs 2026, Ghost in the Machine, Valerie VeatchComment

Hot Docs 2026: The Tower That Built a City

This frenetic documentary charting the construction and impact of the CN Tower is fun Canadian boosterism.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 1, 2026Hot Docs 2026, Hot Docs, The Tower That Built a City, Mark MyersComment

TIFF 2025: Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband)

Zacharias Kunuk’s latest Arctic-set adventure film embraces the fantastical elements of myth.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromSeptember 26, 2025TIFF, TIFF 2025, Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband), Zacharias Kunuk, Sam Cohn-Cousineau, Haiden Anguitmarik, Theresia Kappianaq, Leah Panimera, Emma Quassa, Mark Taqqaugaq Comment

TIFF 2025: Blue Heron

Sophy Romvari’s feature debut blends autofiction and documentary to devastating effect.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromSeptember 15, 2025Sophy Romvari, Blue Heron, Eylul Guven, Iringo Reti, Adam Tompa, Edik Beddoes, Amy Zimmer, Liam Serg, Preston DrabbleComment

Hot Docs 2025: Unwelcomed

Unwelcomed provides a haunting vision of the migration of Venezuelans into northern Chile on a macro and micro scale.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 9, 2025Unwelcomed, Hot Docs, Chile, Amilcar Infante, Sebastian Gonzalez Mendez, immigrationComment

Hot Docs 2025: Colossal

Nayibe Tavares-Abel’s documentary uses personal family history to trace the recent political history of the Dominican Republic.

Aren's Reviews, The Festival Circuit, ReviewsAren BergstromMay 7, 2025Colossal, Hot Docs, documentary, Nayibe Tavares-AbelComment

Hot Docs 2025: Shamed

Matt Gallagher’s Shamed is an effective expose of Jason Nassr and online vigilantism.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 6, 2025Shamed, Matt Gallagher, Hot DocsComment

Hot Docs 2025: They're Here

This documentary on UFO encounters is too scant to satisfy either newbies or true believers.

Aren's Reviews, The Festival Circuit, ReviewsAren BergstromMay 5, 2025They're Here, UFO, Daniel Claridge, Pacho Velez, Hot DocsComment

Hot Docs 2025: Shifting Baselines

Julien Elie’s documentary about a small Texan town taken over by SpaceX is visually remarkable.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 5, 2025Shifting Baselines, Julien ElieComment

Reel Asian 2024 Quick Hits: Borrowed Time and Lucky Star

Short reviews for the 2024 Toronto Reel Asian Toronto International Film Festival.

Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromNovember 21, 2024Borrowed Time, Choy Ji, Wang Yin, Lin Dongping, Eddy Au-Yeung, Pan Jie, Tai Bo, Sunny Sun, Lucky Star, Gillian McKercher, Terry Chen, Olivia Cheng, Conni Miu, Summer Ly, Andrew Phung, John Dylan Louie

TIFF24: Oh, Canada

Paul Schrader's Oh, Canada is for true Schrader heads only.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromSeptember 24, 2024Oh Canada, Paul Schrader, Foregone, Russell Banks, Richard Gere, Jacob Elordi, Uma Thurman, Victoria Hill, Michael Imperioli, Penelope Mitchell, Kristine Froseth, Zach ShafferComment

TIFF24: The Piano Lesson

Malcolm Washington's The Piano Lesson relies on the strength of its source material to compensate for some of its ambitious, if uneven, filmmaking choices.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromSeptember 23, 2024Malcolm Washington, Virgil Williams, August Wilson, John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Danielle Deadwyler, Corey Hawkins, The Piano Lesson, TIFFComment

TIFF24: By the Stream

Hong Sang-soo's latest minimalist work is a charming, emotional work that investigates art and romance.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromSeptember 19, 2024By the Stream, Hong Sang-soo, Kim Min-hee, Kwon Hae-hyo, Cho Yun-hee, Ha Seong-gukComment

TIFF24: The Shrouds

David Cronenberg's latest is a sad, strange elegy to his late wife.

Aren's Reviews, The Festival Circuit, ReviewsAren BergstromSeptember 17, 2024The Shrouds, David Cronenberg, Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce, Sandrine Holt, Elizabeth Saunders, Jennifer DaleComment

Table Talk: Hot Docs 2024: The Bones

Anton and Anders discuss this documentary featured at Hot Docs 2024 on how the search for dinosaur bones links colonialism, the global bone trade, and scientific discovery.