Aside from the obvious, what makes Hot Docs extra special for us non-industry folks? No doubt it's the moment after the house lights come up and the filmmaker emerges from the audience, often with other key members of the cast and crew, for an open Q&A session. These moments allow us a glimpse into what was going on behind the lens and after the cameras stopped rolling.
For more information on the festival, films, showtimes etc. visit www.hotdocs.ca
And without further delay, here's my take on the two films I've seen so far.
FELIX AUSTRIA!
A people who understand their history, have hope for the future.
Feliz Austria! takes us into the world of the eccentric Felix Pfeifle (born Brian Scott Pfeifle), an average American from California with a deep connection to Vienna, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the remnants of the Habsburg dynasty. Many years ago, Felix was left 60 years worth of written correspondence between Otto von Habsburg, the last crown prince of Austria-Hungary, and another seemingly average American named Herbert Hinckle. Felix Austria! documents the highlights of Pfeifle's everyday life as he attempts to discover both the meaning of this correspondence and the nature of his own personal investment in the history and aristocracy of Central Europe.
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| Felix Pfeifle in Vienna Screenshot from Felix Austria! |
Meanwhile, back in California, Felix's father is suffering from Huntington's, a fatal degenerative disease which results in poor muscle coordination, cognitive decline, and other psychiatric problems. Huntington disease is a genetic disorder, meaning that someone like Felix has a 50% chance of developing these irreversible symptoms. There is no preventative treatment for Huntington's, a person either has the gene variant or does not. Genetic testing, for those who chose it, can offer psychic-like insights into what the future holds for individuals with a family history of the disease. We watch Felix grapple throughout the film with whether or not he wants to know what his genetic history has in store.
Felix Austria! Trailer
Filmmaker Christine Beebe doesn't seem to know if she's making a film about the relationship between the aristocracy and the average civilian in the modern era, or a film about the inescapability of our genetic predispositions. Both stories have their compelling elements but the thematic links between the two are a stretch. We're offered a glimpse into what Beebe may have been going for with the words of Otto von Habsburg, who tells Felix : "A people who understand their history, have hope for the future".
With this one line, we see that Beebe may have been trying to weave together these stories through the idea that we cannot ignore our pasts, whether we're speaking of our cultural or biological histories. This one line; however, isn't enough to hold the two plot lines together. The film lacks a clear, strong narrative and thematic journey, and ultimately doesn't feel like much more than a day in the life of an eccentric character.
The final screening of Felix Austria! will be on Sunday May 5th at 3:30pm at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Buy advance tickets here or visit www.felixaustriafilm.com for more info.
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SICK BIRDS DIE EASY
Every second, 7 billion moments are happening simultaneously.
Sick Birds Die Easy takes a group of American recreational drug users deep into the jungle of Gabon, Africa in search of spiritual enlightenment and the ultimate hallucinogenic trip. In this cradle of civilization grows the iboga plant, a powerful hallucinogen which has been known to cure hardcore drug addicts of heroin and/or cocaine dependancies. The side effects of the drug make it illegal in the United States, among other countries, but here in Canada it is not regulated and has been used in detoxification therapies for chemically dependant drug addicts.
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| Screenshot from Sick Birds Die Easy |
In Gabon, the cast and crew of Sick Birds Die Easy are introduced to Bwiti a heavily spiritual and shamanistic belief system which includes ritual ingestion of the iboga plant as a rite of passage and a method of attaining what Westerners may call "spiritual enlightenment" or a "higher plane". Peppered among the native peoples live a handful of Western ex-drug addicts who, in Gabon and the iboga plant, have found physical and mental healing for their addictions, and a unique spiritual awakening.
Sick Birds Die Easy Teaser Trailer
Sick Birds Die Easy is a hilarious, quirky, and unpredictable quest for healing, sobriety, psychedelic adventure, and God, which challenges us to question our definition of reality. Just because experiences may exist only in our minds, does that make them less real? As filmmaker Nik Fackler says in his voiceover, "every second, 7 billion moments are happening simultaneously". Meaning that every moment is at the mercy of the subjective experience of the individual. According to Fackler, there are over 7 billion realities (and counting) in existence on Earth today at any given moment, and no one's reality is more or less real than the others. So amidst all of those planes of being, where do we find God? Can a drug trip be a gateway to a greater understanding of the universe, or all we all just hooked on the high of everything this physical world has to offer?
Sick Birds Die Easy is playing Tuesday April 30th at 11:59pm at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema and Friday May 3rd at 7pm at the Royal Cinema. One of these screenings will feature a surprise musical performance by the film's composer Sam Martin, but no one's saying which show that will be!
Buy advance tickets here or visit www.sickbirdsdieeasy.com for more info.
