Hot Docs ‘09: Subjects on the Margins

A scene fromChristie Callan-Jones’ “Cat Ladies.” Image courtesy of Hot Docs.

“Diary of a Times Square Thief,” making its international premiere, also focuses on subjects operating on the seedy side of society. Acquiring a would-be writer’s journal describing the dangerous world of 1980s New York City, director Klaas Bense seeks out its various characters, including addicts, former prostitutes, and the journal’s author, to discover what has happened to these forgotten people.

Among the quirkier subjects, which may not deal with quite so heady topics, but nevertheless focus on people located somewhere on the fringes of “normal” society, two world premieres deal with feline lovers: Camilla Calamandrei’s “The Tiger Next Door” and Christie Callan-Jones’ “Cat Ladies.” “Tiger” presents the layered story of a big cat collector who must find homes for the tigers and cougars he keeps on his property after he is cited with violations and concerns from neighbors. Presented as both a potential victim and victimizer, he makes for a fascinating, ambivalent subject, as do the four women featured in “Cat Ladies.” Ranging from owners of three to over a hundred cats, Callan-Jones considers the stereotype of the “crazy cat lady” and what led them to their present circumstances and emotional investment in having cats, and in some cases, “rescuing” them off the streets.

Far from sensationalizing or trivializing their subjects, these films, and others featured in Hot Docs, instead expertly and sensitively remind us of the collaborative nature of the craft of non-fiction film - employing their subjects’ participation to spotlight stories that would otherwise not be told, or not told nearly quite so well.

[Basil Tsiokos is Programming Associate, Documentary Features for the Sundance Film Festival.]

Check out indieWIRE’s New Guide to Film Festivals (listings will be updated throughout the year):
JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC