The Festival Circuit — Blog

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.

The Festival Circuit, RoundtablesAnders BergstromMay 14, 2024Hot Docs 2024, documentary, dinosaurs, Jack Horner, capitalism, scienceComment

Hot Docs 2024: The Wasp and the Orchid

The Wasp and the Orchid is an intriguing first-person account of the migration crisis hitting Europe and Africa.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 8, 2024Tunisia, France, The Wasp and the Orchid, Saber Zammouri, Hot Docs, Hot Docs 2024Comment

Hot Docs 2024: Fire Tower

Fire Tower is a pleasant, instructive film that showcases a unique occupation and the eccentric individuals that pursue it.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 7, 2024Hot Docs, Hot Docs 2024, Fire Tower, Tova Krentzman, documentaryComment

Hot Docs 2024: Rising Up at Night

Rising Up at Night has striking footage of the DRC’s capital, Kinshasa, but its editorial approach is muddled.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 6, 2024Rising Up at Night, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hot Docs, Hot Docs 2024Comment

Hot Docs 2024: Porcelain War

Porcelain War is beautiful propaganda, but propaganda nevertheless.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 3, 2024Hot Docs, Hot Docs 2024, Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, Porcelain War, Russia, UkraineComment

Hot Docs 2024: The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine

This well-meaning documentary never justifies its feature length or the specific focus of its narrative.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 2, 2024Hot Docs 2024, Hot Docs, The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine, Alfredo Pourailly De La PlazaComment

Hot Docs 2024: Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger

Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger is an interesting primer on the works of these great directors, as well as an insightful window into the artistic journey of Martin Scorsese.