This summer, meet TVO’s newest host, check out five hot new documentaries, and if you need to cool down, why not relax, unwind and catch up on some great docs you may have missed?
– Veteran journalist Piya Chattopadhyay joins TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin and TVO’s lecture series Big Ideas
– New docs include War in the Mind and Cannes award-winner Armadillo
– Encores of popular docs from past season presented all summer long
TVO WELCOMES PIYA CHATTOPADHYAY!
This summer TVO’s flagship current affairs program, The Agenda with Steve Paikin welcomes new guest host Piya Chattopadhyay. A seasoned journalist, Piya brings with her a nuanced understanding of the critical issues that are examined in the program.
Piya will anchor The Agenda with Steve Paikin throughout the summer, and will fill in as guest host throughout the year, allowing for even more of the in-depth analysis that Ontarians have come to rely on.
Now in its fifth season, The Agenda with Steve Paikin focuses on in-depth current affairs analysis, exploring multiple perspectives through one-on-one interviews and extended debate. The Agenda Online and The Agenda on the Road:Your Vote 2011 offer more opportunities for Ontarians to engage in the critical issues that impact the province.
Beginning in September, Piya Chattopadhyay will also become the new host of TVO’s popular lecture series, Big Ideas.
NEW DOCUMENTARIES
As a proud supporter of independent documentary filmmakers, TVO offers new films this summer from Canada and around the world, and gives doc lovers a chance to catch up on films they may have missed the first time around.
War in the Mind – World Broadcast Premiere
Wednesday July 6, 2011 at 9 pm ET and Sunday August 28, 2011 at 8 pm ET
58 minutes
Directed by Judy Jackson
Produced by Judy Films in association with TVO
War in the Mind gives voice to Canadian soldiers living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); exploring their thoughts and the therapeutic treatment they undergo to help erase the stigma surrounding PTSD. This documentary also looks at the stories behind the growing number of military suicides; and those whose service to their countries have gone unnoticed and unheralded. A unique therapeutic program provides hope that more soldiers can truly heal and return to life with their families.
Bloodied But Unbowed – Ontario Premiere
Thursday July 7, 2011 at 9 pm ET
56 minutes
Directed by Susanne Tabata
Produced by Knowledge in association with TVO
Bloodied But Unbowed chronicles the late ‘70s and early ‘80s Vancouver punk rock scene. Told by its surviving stars whose accounts are suffused with both humour and gritty realism, the documentary tells a tale of rebellion and music – a fiercely independent scene created from nothing and played out in a microcosm of urban squalor. Overarching those halcyon days of poverty and excess is the MUSIC that moved its audience to their feet and seemed to validate their very existence.
The Young Romantic – TVO Premiere
Thursday July 21, 2011 at 9 pm ET
55 minutes
Directed by Barbara Willis Sweete
Produced by Rhombus Media in association with TVO
Internationally acclaimed filmmakers shed light on the positive force of art within the political and economic monolith that is China. Taking a close look at Chinese social, economic and cultural realities through the unfolding story of young piano sensation Yundi Li and his travels with mentor Seiji Ozawa, one of the world’s most celebrated conductors, the film reveals Yundi’s musical genius while painting a picture of the new China, which includes 30 million piano students and 10 million violin students.
Armadillo – North American Premiere
Wednesday August 3, 2011 at 9 pm ET
62 minutes
Directed by Janus Metz
Produced by Fridthjof Film in association with TVO
Danish filmmaker Janus Metz’s gripping first feature-length documentary picked up the Cannes Critics Week’s Grand Prix for best documentary in 2010. Armadillo, named for a base in Afghanistan where soldiers from Denmark are fighting against the Taliban, has created controversy in Metz’s homeland. The film depicts six months in the posting of a handful of young soldiers and includes a frightening sequence in which a patrol faces a Taliban ambush, which ends with a Danish hand grenade killing several insurgents. Still high on adrenaline and relief, their debriefing involves boasting and laughter. The documentary’s coverage of the incident has embroiled the Danish military in questions about appropriate behaviour in combat situations. While the men are Danish, there is a universality to their story and a vitality in the filmmaking.
Kinngait – Riding Light Into The World – TVO Premiere
Thursday August 18, 2011 at 9 pm ET
48 minutes
Directed by Annette Mangaard
Produced by Site Media in association with TVO
The remote Arctic region of Nunavut is home to some of Canada’s best-known and acclaimed visual artists. The documentary brings the audience to the community of Cape Dorset and the acclaimed Kinngait Studios, on the occasion of its 15th anniversary. The film follows Inuit artists whose lives and artwork reflect the ongoing social and environmental changes that are transforming the north. From artists working in their studios, to their community life, the dramatic landscape of Baffin Island is an inspiration for many artworks. The collaboration between artists and business people, Inuit and non-Inuit, committed to making the studio a success artistically and financially is showcased.
MORE DOCUMENTARIES ALL SUMMER LONG
Empire of the Word – Sundays July 3, 10, 17 and 24, 2011 at 8 pm ET
Eight years in the making, Empire of the Word is a compelling look inside the act of reading and traces its impact on more than five thousand years of human history.
The Man Who Saved Geometry – Tuesday July 12, 2011 at 9 pm ET
By the middle of the 20th century, the excitement in math had moved to computers and chaos theory from geometry. But one man – Donald Coxeter – kept the torch burning.
It’s A Boy – Wednesday July 13, 2011 at 9 pm ET
Both comic and informative, It’s a Boy is a witty take on male circumcision and how we in the western world generally feel about it.
Last Call at the Gladstone Hotel – Monday July 18, 2011 at 10 pm ET
Filmmakers chronicle the sale and restoration of Toronto’s oldest working hotel over a five-year period and capture the impact of this change.
Listen To This – Wednesday July 20, 2011 at 9 pm ET and Thursday August 11, 2011 at 9 pm ET
A pianist starts a music program at a primary school in a Toronto inner city neighbourhood. For some students, it’s the first time anyone has had the time to really listen to them.
Corpus – Wednesday July 27, 2011 and Tuesday August 23, 2011 at 9 pm ET
With her 33rd birthday quickly approaching, Connie Diletti goes on a journey to decide what she is going to do with her body after she dies.
The First Movie – Thursday July 28, 2011 at 9 pm ET
Filmed entirely in Kurdistan, northern Iraq, The First Movie explores the dream and aspirations of its children and the painful memories of its adults.
Mom’s Home – Sunday July 31, 2011 at 8 pm ET
A humorous, compassionate and intimate documentary about aging mothers who move in with their adult daughters.
Genius Within – The Inner Life of Glenn Gould – Thursday August 4, 2011 at 9 pm ET
One of the most comprehensive and touching film portraits of the great Canadian pianist in all his glories and miseries.
Recessionize! For Fun and Profit! – Sunday August 7, 2011 at 8 pm ET
A black-comic road trip through California, Europe and Dubai to meet those who manage to turn the world economic crisis into opportunity.
Cat Ladies – Wednesday August 10, 2011 at 9 pm ET
A verite documentary that pierces the intimate world of the “cat lady” – women who give and seek love in their world with their cats.
Disfarmer – Sunday August 14, 2011 at 8 pm ET
An Arkansas portrait photographer captured the lives and emotions of the people of rural America during the two World Wars and the Great Depression.
Urban Goddess: Jane Jacobs Reconsidered – Tuesdays August 16 and 30, 2011 at 7 pm ET
Documentary looks at the legacy of Jane Jacobs, a champion of neighbourhood activism, through two redevelopment disputes in neighbourhoods in New York and Toronto.
Inside Disaster Haiti – Wednesdays August 17, 24 and 31, 2011 at 9 pm ET
Thirty-six hours after one of the deadliest earthquakes in history, a team from the International Federation of Red Crosses (IFRC) was travelling overland into Haiti, and Canadian filmmaker Nadine Pequeneza and her crew were alongside to capture the massive relief efforts.
Land – Sunday August 21, 2011 at 8 pm ET
With its cheap land and cheap labour, Nicaragua has attracted people from all over the world – all looking to get their own little piece of paradise. It all plays out against a backdrop of yo-yoing land reforms and President Daniel Ortega’s mutable politics.
Water On The Table – Tuesday August 23, 2011 at 7 pm ET
Canada’s relationship with its most precious and increasingly threatened natural resource, freshwater, is explored.
Karsh Is History – Thursday August 25, 2011 at 9 pm ET
A portrait of legendary photographer Yousuf Karsh told through a compelling illustrated commentary on the history of photography, woven from the perspective of today.
