TIFF 2012: sexual abuse in the Catholic church, how to sell drugs and more subjects in this year’s Documentaries programme
The Documentaries programme at TIFF this year is packed full of interesting subject matter, from Ben Johnson’s record-breaking run at the 1988 Seoul Olympics (and the reality that he took steroids to achieve that feat) to Tomi Ungerer and his subversive art to moon worshippers. For those who want to step away from genre films and works of fiction, these 30 docs are a pretty safe bet.
9.79* (U.K.) Director: Daniel Gordon Subject: 1988 Seoul Olympics
Artifact (U.S.) Director: Bartholomew Cubbins Subject: Jared Leto’s band 30 Seconds to Mars
A World Not Ours (U.K., Lebanon and Denmark) Director: Mahdi Fleifel Subjects: Three generations of exile in the refugee camp of Ain El-Helweh, in southern Lebanon
The Act of Killing (Denmark, Norway and U.K.) Director: Joshua Oppenheimer Subjects: Unrepentant death-squad leaders
As If We Were Catching a Cobra (Syria and France) Director: Hala Alabdalla Subjects: Arab artists fighting for freedom and justice
Bestiaire (Canada and France) Director: Denis Côté Subject: Observing animals
Camp 14—Total Control Zone (Germany) Director: Marc Wiese Subject: A man who was born and grew up in a Gulag-style North Korean camp
The Central Park Five (U.S.) Director: Ken Burns, David McMahon and Sarah Burns Subjects: Five black and Latino teenagers wrongly convicted of raping the Central Park Jogger
The End of Time (Canada and Switzerland) Director: Peter Mettler Subject: Perception of time
Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story (U.S.) Director: Brad Bernstein Subject: Tomi Ungerer and his subversive art
Fidaï (France, Algeria, Qatar, China and Kuwait) Director: Damien Ounouri Subject: El Hadi, a 70-year-old veteran of the Algerian War of Independence
First Comes Love (U.S.) Director: Nina Davenport Subject: Husband-free pregnancy
The Gatekeepers (Israel, France, Germany and Belgium) Director: Dror Moreh Subjects: Six former heads of the Shin Bet—Israel’s secret service agency—share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions
The Girl From the South (Argentina) Director: José Luis Garcia Subject: A young Korean student activist Garcia met in 1989
How to Make Money Selling Drugs (U.S.) Director: Matthew Cooke Subject: The lives of those on both sides of the “war on drugs”
Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp (U.S.) Director: Jorge Hinojosa Subject: Iceberg Slim and his transition from pimp to author of seven books
London—The Modern Babylon (U.K.) Director: Julien Temple Subjects: London’s immigrants, bohemians, musicians, writers, artists, dangerous thinkers and political radicals
Lunarcy! (Canada) Director: Simon Ennis Subjects: Moon worshippers
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (U.S.) Director: Alex Gibney Subject: The abuse of power in the Catholic Church
Men At Lunch (Ireland) Director: Seán Ó Cualáin Subject: The untold story behind iconic image Lunch atop a Skyscraper, take on the 69th floor of the Rockefeller building in the autumn of 1932
More Than Honey (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) Director: Markus Imhoof Subject: Honeybees
No Place on Earth (U.S., U.K. and Germany) Director: Janet Tobias Subjects: 38 Ukrainian Jews that spent 18 months living in caves during the Second World War
Reincarnated (U.S.) Director: Andrew Capper Subject: Snoop Dogg in Jamaica
Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out (U.S.) Director: Marina Zenovich Subject: Roman Polanski’s arrest at the Zurich Film Festival
The Secret Disco Revolution (Canada) Director: Jamie Kastner Subject: History and influence of disco music
Shepard & Dark (U.S.) Director: Treva Wurmfeld Subject: Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark’s friendship
Show Stopper: The Theatrical Life of Garth Drabinsky (Canada) Director: Barry Avrich Subject: The rise and fall of show business mogul Garth Drabinsky
State 194 (Israel, Palestine and U.S.) Director: Dan Setton Subject: Palestinian statehood
Storm Surfers 3D (Australia) Directors: Christopher Nelius and Justin McMillan Subjects: Two surfers seek out the world’s biggest waves
The Walls of Dakar (Senegal) Director: Abdoul Aziz Cissé Subject: Street art in Dakar
