We expect a film to entertain. But what a bonus when it also provokes discussion or reflection or teaches us something.

In the past four days I have seen seven of the 17+ films presented at 2019 Kingston Canadian Film Festival. Every one of them intrigued me and taught me in some unique way.

I will give one brief comment about each. I recommend them all if you find them later in theatres, on Netflix or Crave or on iTunes. T

The Woman Who Loves Giraffes This wonderful film combined themes of wildlife conservation, resiliency, feminism, racism and reward as it celebrates an exceptional Canadian – Anne Innis Dagg. I will write more about this film soon. Stay tuned.

Who is Bruce Kaufman I have known Bruce for 20 years and watched him blossom (there must be a more accurate but less poetic term) into a leader, mentor and enabler in the Kingston writing/arts community. Very Kingston film celebrating artists who work in both visual and written genres. The black and white film images of traveling through Kingston gave me a while different view of familiar streets. So much so that I shot a little black and white Facebook post of City Hall last night. The film left its impression on me quickly.

Hugh Hefner’s After Dark : Speaking out in Americ I loved seeing clips from the 60’s with people like Joan Baez and Sammy Davis Junior and Pete Seger. We usually associate Hefner with Playboy centrefolds but this points to another side of his influence to open public discussion about climate change and politics and racism, not easy to do on TV back in the day. It made me feel somewhat sad to think that entertainers and athletes were warning about the same things back then that apply now but we seem to be, if anything, slipping backward.

Anthropocene The theme was centred on how humans are changing the earth – much of it not for better. It wasn’t preachy but presented a sometimes stunningly beautiful visual depiction of natural and geological sites where we are altering the planet in . Not much said in the film but lots to ruminate on while we watch this unfolding around the globe. This film is available on iTunes now but would be much better appreciated on a big screen. The images are incredible

1991 Thank goodness for this film to add some levity to the day I saw the previous two. I booked this film at the last minute and am so glad that I did. What fun it was to watch. It is in French, English and Italian but subtitled when necessary. It was easy to follow (the trailer is all in French and I was afraid that although I have some basic French knowledge, I would miss the subtlety and jokes but that was definitely NOT the case.) I enjoyed all the Italian settings and the interactions between friends and family and strangers.

The Grizzlies Every Canadian should see this film. Full stop. It will be in theatres in mid April and I will remind you again then (and go to see it again myself). Mulling over how much this film hit me and will likely write more about it later when I have had time to digest.

Go-Boy Kingston is a penitentiary town so this locally produced film about a bank robber, Roger Caron, who also became a notorious escapee from numerous prisons was popular. Lots of history about Kingston Penitentiary and the archival footage of this fellow talking to schools and on Front Page Challenge, showed him to have a great sense of humour and real charm despite his sketchy past. He actually won the Governor General’s literary award for non-fiction in 1978 for his book, written while he was incarcerated, also called Go-Boy.

Congratulations and thank you to Mark and Megan and all the other folks involved with organizing and implementing this very successful festival. It is absolutely wonderful to see such a robust and varied collection of Canadian films. I am looking forward to next year’s KCFF already.

Please leave a comment or “review” if you saw one of these films or any others that you enjoyed at the 2019 KCFF.