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TIFFReviews.com - The directorial debut of cinematographer Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Neil Young: Heart of Gold) is a poetic and beautifully shot story about a Laotian family’s escape from their home country during the Vietnam War. Their hopes of a better life in New York City are shattered when they discover America isn’t “the heaven” that they dreamed about. Closely following Thavi, the eldest son of the family, the audience witnesses various forms of “betrayal” in the film, from the children’s loss of cultural values and identity, to Thavi’s father, who collaborated with the CIA and suddenly left his family to care for another. Undoubtedly, Kuras’s experience behind the camera helps to strengthen the story, having spent over 20 years collecting valuable footage. The film is visually stunning from the start documenting the family’s life in Laos and Thailand; Betrayal opens with a sunlit shot of children swimming in the river with water buffalo, very reminiscent of Terrence Malick, and shaky views of light seeping through the paddy fields to uniquely portray the family’s frantic escape to Thailand. The mix of this footage with interviews in different video formats over the years also enhances the film’s visual texture.
Rating: 
8.0/10
TIFFReviews.com - In Recycle, we watch Abu Amar, an ex-soldier in the Soviet-Afghan war, try to make a peaceful living by collecting and recycling cardboard in the streets of Zarqa, Jordan. His son accompanies him in his daily work, but nothing much arises from the film. Living room conversations with friends about al-Zarqawi, the late and infamous al-Qaeda leader who grew up in Zarqa, sparks short moments of intrigue, but for the most part, the film is drowned out with Abu Amar’s mundane activities. A whole segment is spent on retrieving camel’s milk for Amar’s sick mother, a questionable choice by director Mahmoud al Massad, who doesn’t appear to guide the film in any sort of direction.
4.0/10
TIFFReviews.com - Daddy Tran: A Life in 3-D is a sincere family portrait of 3-D photographer Hai Tran, a devoted father who grew up in Vietnam and fled to Calgary to share his passion by opening up one of Canada’s largest camera stores. Director Siu Ta reveals the history of the family through Hai’s photos, and shares many intimate and funny stories from his wife and children. Photographers and moviegoers expecting to learn more about the man’s profession might come out disappointed, as the focus of the film is Daddy Tran as a family figure, however he did offer to show his work to the audience after the show. Interviews with Hai’s children carried the weight through most of the film, and little artistic inspirations and motivations behind Daddy Tran’s photographs were shared during the plus 45 mins.
5.5/10
TIFFReviews.com - One of the largest mass murders in Canadian history, Air India 182 offers a gripping account of the air bombing in 1985 that killed over 300 passengers. The opening night’s film at Hot Docs was well received, as well as emotional, causing some in the crowd to tear up while listening to families of the victims share their stories of grief and loss. Interviews with CSIS, who investigated the Sikh separatists involved in the attack, were informative and were supported with a solid, but at times inflated, running dramatization of the accused’s movements days before the plane exploded in the sky. Learning that the suspected terrorists were released in the aftermath of their crimes draws up many questions about the Canadian government’s negligence in the matter. Imagery stand outs at several points in the film, including shocking scenes of rescuers recovering the children’s lifeless bodies in the Atlantic, clearly exhibiting the absolute disregard for life in times of conflict. As director Sturla Gunnarsson revealed on stage after the screening, CBC will be airing the documentary on the anniversary of the bombing, June 23. This is a Canadian tragedy that compares to the events of 9/11 in America, and should not be overlooked.
7.0/10
TIFFReviews.com - On the evening of Nov. 5, 2001, Dr. Andrew Bagby, 28, was murdered in a parking lot in western Pennsylvania. The prime suspect, his ex-girlfriend Dr. Shirley Turner, promptly fled the United States for St. John’s, Newfoundland — where she announced that she was pregnant with Andrew’s child. She named the little boy Zachary. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, Andrew’s childhood friend, originally began this film as a way for little Zachary to learn about his father. But when Shirley Turner was allowed to walk free on bail in Canada and given custody of Zachary while awaiting extradition to the U.S., the film’s focus shifted to Zachary’s grandparents, David & Kathleen Bagby, and their desperate efforts to win custody of the boy.
TIFFReviews.com - Over the summer vacation, a Finnish couple opens their home to a Russian orphan, who lives a mere 60 kilometers away. Geographic proximity is about all that the generous couple and 11-year-old Sveta have in common. Sveta doesn’t say much and the do-gooders struggle to pull her out of her shell, addressing her in Finnish, a language she does not understand. They communicate instead through bedtime stories, shopping sprees and apology. SUMMERCHILD is an intriguing and revelatory look at the role that performance and motive play in the act of charity. Are good intentions all that are needed to acclimatize Sveta to the West and to restore her childhood? The cultural and economic divide between Finland and Russia is sharply mirrored in Sveta’s personal struggle to connect with Tiina and Peter, and to express herself freely, outside the confines of the orphanage and beyond her role as charity case.
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TIFFReviews.com - After World Premiere sell-outs in competition at IDFA (6th in the Audience Award rankings - just 0.007 points away from Jury Winner ‘Stranded’) and winning the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Gothenburg Int’l Film Fest (out of 450 dramas and documentaries), 
TIFFReviews.com - Celia Maysles, daughter of famed verite documentarian David Maysles (GREY GARDENS, GIMME SHELTER w/ the Rolling Stones, SALESMAN), will present her controversial debut documentary WILD BLUE YONDER at Hot Docs. This provocative first person documentary chronicles Celia’s journey to discover her father, who died when she was seven. She comes up against an unexpected roadblock when the other half of the Maysles Brothers, her Uncle Albert, refuses her access to the Maysles Films archive.
TIFFReviews.com - What is it like to have God like surgical powers, yet to struggle against your own humanity? What is it like to try and save a life, and yet to fail?
