As the Toronto International Film Festival prepares to open on Sept. 10, we pick out five non-fiction features from its 30-strong documentary slate.
This Changes Everything
Challenging the status quo once again, this time on both an environmental and cultural level, Naomi Klein's 2014 analysis "This Changes Everything" is to make its international debut at Toronto.
Husband Avi Lewis was behind a film version of her book "The Take" and returns here, this time with Alfonso Cuarón of "Gravity" and another Klein interpretation, "The Shock Doctrine," on board.
Joining Cuarón as executive producers are three more star names -- street artist Shepard Fairey (who also worked on the film's bold poster), Danny Glover of "Lethal Weapon" and "The Color Purple," and Seth MacFarlane, creator of "Family Guy," "American Dad!," and the "Ted" films.
He Named Me Malala
Pakistani women's rights activist Malala Yousafzai became well known around the world after, as a 15-year-old, surviving an attempt on her life aboard a school bus. Here, the director of "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Waiting for ‘Superman'" widens the focus to include father Ziauddin, a school founder who joins her in touring and encouraging various women's initiatives worldwide.
Sherpa
Director Jennifer Peedom returned to the world's tallest peak to find out about the tensions between mountain climbers and the indigenous Nepalese people group, the Sherpas, who had for decades assisted visitors in their ascent. Doing so meant that the crew were on site to capture the effects of an April 2014 avalanche and responses to it.
The Reflektor Tapes
Among several musicians' documentaries at TIFF, Sundance winner Kahlil Joseph shows us a behind-the-scenes look at The Arcade Fire, as the band work away at Polaris and Grammy-nominated long player "Reflektor" and the subsequent continental tour that followed in 2013.
Women He's Undressed
If going behind the scenes isn't enough, then why not go behind the scenes when you're already behind the scenes? Multi-genre film director Gillian Armstrong, who shot "My Brilliant Career" and "Charlotte Gray," examines the life and work of Orry-Kelly, an Oscar winning costume designer thanks to "Some Like It Hot," "An American in Paris," and "Les Girls."
