 Hi, art lovers! | | |  | Carole Pope in a scene from Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions. (Hot Docs) | | | Picture a Venn diagram. On one side: people who love documentaries; on the other: readers who can’t resist clicking on a dishy first-person essay. Who belongs in the middle? A whole lot of us, I’d guess. And if I’m right, you’re in luck!
CBC Arts revived Cutaways last week. It’s a project we’ve been running for years now, usually timed to coincide with a major film festival. And now that Toronto’s Hot Docs Festival is underway, we’ve commissioned original writing from some of the talent involved in the year’s top features. They’ve been asked to share tales from behind the scenes, and they definitely delivered.
Hot Docs kicked off Thursday with the premiere of Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions and we have an essay by the punk legend herself. In it, the Rough Trade singer reveals the reason she agreed to make the film.
We also heard from Sébastien Trahan, director of Code of Misconduct, a film about the 2018 Team Canada junior hockey sexual assault trial. In his article, he reflects on a phrase he heard far too often during production. And veteran filmmaker Barry Avrich explained why his doc is the ultimate passion project. It’s a portrait of his longtime friend, Stratford Festival artistic director Antoni Cimolino.
Hot Docs continues this week. Watch for more filmmaker essays on the site. | | | | | Because we promised you eye candy ... | | | | |  | Luke van H | | Vineland (Repeat Pattern) by Luke van H. (Hey, Toronto readers, when was the last time you were at Chinatown Centre? The Drey gallery recently moved to that mall on Spadina Avenue, and Luke opened an exhibition there this weekend. It’s up through May 16.) | | | | |  | Phil Irish | | Elsewhere in Ontario, Phil Irish is showing an exhibition at the Elora Centre for the Arts, blending painting, photography and site-based installation. The work’s inspired by his research trips to the Arctic. (Pictured: Companion Animals.) | | | | |  | Artwork: Clarissa Tossin; Photo: Brica Wilcox/Commonwealth and Council | | Doth thy recycling bin overfloweth? Check this out. Los Angeles-based artist Clarissa Tossin used old cardboard from Amazon delivery boxes to make this piece, Future Geography: Cosmic Cliffs. Its title inspired the name of an exhibition opening May 14 at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and you can see the piece there. Future Geographies: Art in the Century of Climate Change explores environmental issues and features more than 30 Canadian and international artists. (There’s an online component too, so you can visit from wherever you’re reading this.) | | | | |  | Artwork: Zadie Xa; Photo: Eva Herzog/Thaddaeus Ropac | If you’re in Calgary, Toronto or Montreal you’ll have the chance to immerse yourself in the world of Vancouver-born artist Zadie Xa, who was nominated for the U.K.’s Turner Prize last year. Zadie and her collaborator, Benito Mayor Vallejo, launch a touring exhibition next month in Calgary. Moonlit Confessions Across Deep Sea Echoes: Your Ancestors Are Whales, and Earth Remembers Everything opens May 23 at Esker Foundation before moving to the Power Plant in Toronto and Phi in Montreal.
One more thing! Before we get into the week’s top stories, check out this mini-survey. The team’s curious what you’re liking most about the Eye Candy section. | | | | |  | Maya Annik Bedward | | | | | Now appearing at the Hot Docs Festival, Black Zombie examines the origins of a movie monster you thought you knew. | | | | |  | Dahlia Katz | | | | | The Division, a new play by Andrew Kushnir, is an autobiographical story about family, history and truth. | | | | |  | Dahlia Katz | | | | | | | In the past year, the Toronto-based actor has appeared in four major productions, including Clyde’s at Canadian Stage. | | |  | Esmaa Mohamoud | | Esmaa’s Glorious Bones (pictured) is appearing at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto as part of Game On!, an exhibition about the history of games and the civilizations that created them. We took a tour. | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time! | | | | | |
