An adorable portrait of four babies from diverse parts of the world will launch this year's Hot Docs film festival, which kicks off its 17th year on April 29.
"Babies" by French director Thomas Balmes headlines Toronto's documentary festival, and features cute, candid and compelling images of newborns growing up in urban Tokyo and San Francisco, and rural Namibia and Mongolia.
Already the subject of a good deal of online chatter, "Babies" will see wide release on May 7 following its Canadian premiere at the festival.
It will be accompanied by rockumentary "Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage" on opening night at Hot Docs. The film declares Rush to be "the world's biggest cult band" and is one of many bringing Toronto culture to the internationally-minded festival.
Other Toronto-centric highlights:
- "Listen to This" follows three young students from Toronto's troubled Jane and Finch neighbourhood as they grow into artists thanks to an elementary school music program.
- "In the Name of the Family" looks into the tragic death of Mississauga teen Aqsa Parvez, whose father and brother are accused in her murder and will stand trial this year. Filmmaker Shelley Saywell says the stories of Parvez and others profiled expose patriarchal beliefs used to justify violence against women.
- "Dish – Women, Waitressing and the Art of Service" offers a take on "gender, power and the art of service" in restaurants around the word, including Toronto.
The 166 titles in this year's lineup were presented to more than 100 journalists, filmmakers and festival sponsors on Tuesday at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Arts.
Hot Docs executive director Chris McDonald says the selections include films from 41 countries or regions -- including Palestine, Congo, Peru and Yemen -- and 20 world premieres.
"This was the strongest year of documentary filmmaking in recent history," he says.
New aspects of the festival this year include an outdoor rooftop screening series, a street party in Yorkville and screenings at the Royal Conservatory of Music's state-of-the-art Koerner Hall.
The rugged Newfoundland coast – as seen in "National Parks Project: Gros Morne" -- will be displayed on three screens on May 3 at the Drake Hotel, accompanied by a live electronic music score.
It won't be the first time a film shot by Peter Mettler will be displayed in such a casual setting. The Toronto filmmaker's 2002 release, "Gambling, Gods and LSD," was shown at a dance party featuring several local DJs.
Hot Docs organizers say they're always looking for unique ways to present films, but also try to keep the focus of the event on the movies themselves.
"Every year our goal is the same… To put together the best collection of documentaries in the world," says Hot Docs programming director Sean Farnel. "This year, I think we've achieved that."
The Hot Docs festival offers free daytime screenings for students and seniors and runs from April 29 to May 9. For more information, visit HotDocs.ca.
