"VISION – it's more than seeing" Wakefield Doc Fest Weekend 2017, September 22 – 24

Wakefield, QC Wakefield Doc Fest (WDF) is delighted to announce the lineup for the Wakefield Doc Fest Weekend 2017, screening September 22 – 24 at Centre Wakefield La Pêche. This themed Weekend mini-fest was initiated in 2016, to take place outside of WDF's main festival in February, as a response to audience demand. As usual, WDF will offer a selection of the best in current Canadian and international documentary film, along with director visits and/or panel discussions to enrich the audience experience. Here are the films: REBELS ON POINTE – Friday 22 September, 7:30pm d Bobbi Jo Hart (Canada, 2016, English) 90 min Men in tutus! Meet the extraordinary members of the all male, classical – and comic – Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, who combine the beauty, discipline and passion of classical ballet, while sending it up with a decidedly hilarious turn – a deliciously subversive vision. REBELS ON POINTE is rich with behind-the-scenes access, character-driven stories, and universal themes of identity, dreams, family, loss and love. Awards at Santa Barbara Int'l FF, San Luis Obispo FF CAMERAPERSON – Saturday 23 September, 4pm d Kirsten Johnson (USA, 2016, English, and Bosnian, Arabic, Dari, Hausa, Fur w English s.t.) 102 min An impressionistic, lens-eye and personal view from cinematographer Kirsten Johnson. Using footage from her 25-year career, Johnson combines documentary, autobiography and ethical inquiry – CAMERAPERSON thus provides a particular portrait of Johnson's personal journey and a thoughtful examination of what it means to train a camera on the world. "A transcendent documentary experience. There has never been a memoir quite like this one." Eric Hohn, Indiewire. Awards at Full Frame Documentary Festival; Sheffield Doc/Fest; San Francisco International FF. THEATER OF LIFE – Saturday 23 September, 7:30pm – DIRECTOR PETER SVATEK WILL ATTEND d Peter Svatek (Canada, 2016, Italian w English s.t.) 94 min For Milan's World's Fair 2015, renowned chef Massimo Bottura invited 60 international chef confrères to join him transforming food waste from the Expo into flavourful, nutritious meals for refugees, the homeless, and the impoverished, in a respectful environment – the Refettorio Ambrosiano. THEATER OF LIFE tells this important food story – and also tells some of the diners' stories, thus offering a glimpse of a more equitable world. Co-produced and distributed by the National Film Board of Canada. Awards at San Sebastian FF, Planet in Focus FF. MANAKAMANA – Sunday 24 September, 1pm d Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez (Nepal/USA, 2014, Nepali w English s.t.) 118 min A remarkable experimental documentary, MANAKAMANA is shot entirely inside the narrow bubble of a cable car, high above a mountainside in Nepal, as it transports people to and from an ancient mountaintop temple. Comprised of 11 rides, each a single, static take, it is both character study and window on a culture in transition. But ultimately, your vision, what you bring into the theatre with you, defines this film. Produced by the Sensory Ethnography Laboratory at Harvard, who are also responsible for the remarkable immersive films LEVIATHAN (2013) and SWEETGRASS (2008). "Austerely magical." Aaron Hillis, Village Voice. Grand Jury Prize, Locarno FF DON'T BLINK – ROBERT FRANK – Sunday 24 September, 4pm d Laura Israel  (Canada/France/USA, 2015, English)  82 min Robert Frank is gloriously notorious – groundbreaking photographer; iconoclastic film director; difficult interview subject; rejecter of wealth and celebrity; a man whose ‘sympathies were with people who struggled.’ A man whose vision affected our view of ourselves, his work is emotional and impulsive. Fans will be giddy with unprecedented access to Frank—his irrepressible irascibility, energy and humour. Those uninitiated should prepare themselves for a wild, wonderful, beat-driven ride.