Debates on national identity and foreign aid are par for the course for car riders – though this documentary is itself tangled up in the country’s complex power structures
‘Zo reken” means “shark bones” in Haitian Creole, and refers to a traditional cane liquor purported to increase virility. It is also a local nickname for the Toyota Land Cruiser, a high-powered car that can breezily weather the tough road conditions in Port-au-Prince. Largely shot in the back of one of these vehicles, Emanuel Licha’s documentary is structured around a steady flow of conversations on national identity, political conflicts and foreign intervention.
Emerging from these discussions is discontent at the government of Jovenel Moïse – the country’s former president who was assassinated in 2021 – as well as a distrust of international humanitarian aid. One passenger, for example, laments on the irony of how support from NGOs has had the negative effect...
‘Zo reken” means “shark bones” in Haitian Creole, and refers to a traditional cane liquor purported to increase virility. It is also a local nickname for the Toyota Land Cruiser, a high-powered car that can breezily weather the tough road conditions in Port-au-Prince. Largely shot in the back of one of these vehicles, Emanuel Licha’s documentary is structured around a steady flow of conversations on national identity, political conflicts and foreign intervention.
Emerging from these discussions is discontent at the government of Jovenel Moïse – the country’s former president who was assassinated in 2021 – as well as a distrust of international humanitarian aid. One passenger, for example, laments on the irony of how support from NGOs has had the negative effect...
- 8/14/2023
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
Montreal filmmaker Emanuel Licha’s new film—which won the juried award for best Canadian feature at Hot Docs—takes its title from the nickname Haitians have given the Toyota Land Cruiser, a popular mode of transportation among the humanitarian aid organizations ubiquitous in the country since the 2010 earthquake.
In “Zo Reken,” which means “shark bones,” a four-by-four becomes a kind of mobile confessional, as a driver navigates through barricades, demonstrations, and daily life of the Port-au-Prince streets while passengers urgently discuss the state of the nation, the president, neocolonialism, and humanitarian aid.
“Emanuel Licha uses cinematic metaphor to evoke the dignity of a people and the human trap that is the international aid industrial complex,” wrote the jury in the official statement about its decision. “[The film’s] minimalist controlled tableaus and carefully chosen conversations provide an unflinching gaze at the violent, often self-defeating consequences of foreign aid.”
In a conversation Friday,...
In “Zo Reken,” which means “shark bones,” a four-by-four becomes a kind of mobile confessional, as a driver navigates through barricades, demonstrations, and daily life of the Port-au-Prince streets while passengers urgently discuss the state of the nation, the president, neocolonialism, and humanitarian aid.
“Emanuel Licha uses cinematic metaphor to evoke the dignity of a people and the human trap that is the international aid industrial complex,” wrote the jury in the official statement about its decision. “[The film’s] minimalist controlled tableaus and carefully chosen conversations provide an unflinching gaze at the violent, often self-defeating consequences of foreign aid.”
In a conversation Friday,...
- 5/8/2021
- by Jennie Punter
- Variety Film + TV
Svetlana Rodina and Laurent Stoop’s “Ostrov — Lost Island” and Emanuel Licha’s “Zo Reken” took the top Hot Docs jury awards at a special online ceremony webcast from Toronto Friday night.
Eleven awards and $67,000 Cad in cash and prizes were presented to emerging and established Canadian and international filmmakers.
Best International Feature Documentary Award-winner “Ostrov — Lost Island” chronicles a fishing community in the Caspian Sea, where elders cling to tradition and youth look to a new kind of future. The award comes with a $10,000 Cad cash prize courtesy of the Panicaro Foundation.
In its statement, the international feature jury — MTV Networks executive producer Sheila Nevins, filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda, and producer Toni Kama — called the film “a truly powerful cinematic experience which shows the everyday reality of people in Russia.”
With this award, “Ostrov” now qualifies for consideration in the Best Documentary Feature category of the Academy Awards without the standard theatrical run,...
Eleven awards and $67,000 Cad in cash and prizes were presented to emerging and established Canadian and international filmmakers.
Best International Feature Documentary Award-winner “Ostrov — Lost Island” chronicles a fishing community in the Caspian Sea, where elders cling to tradition and youth look to a new kind of future. The award comes with a $10,000 Cad cash prize courtesy of the Panicaro Foundation.
In its statement, the international feature jury — MTV Networks executive producer Sheila Nevins, filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda, and producer Toni Kama — called the film “a truly powerful cinematic experience which shows the everyday reality of people in Russia.”
With this award, “Ostrov” now qualifies for consideration in the Best Documentary Feature category of the Academy Awards without the standard theatrical run,...
- 5/7/2021
- by Jennie Punter
- Variety Film + TV
Canadian documentary cinema takes center stage at Hot Docs, with films screening across programming strands, and pitch events—such as Forum and Deal Maker—connecting the global doc marketplace to the Canadian industry on its home turf.
The 2021 slate includes 17 Canadian-produced features, most world premiering in the competitive Canadian Spectrum program, and seven international feature co-productions, most also world premieres.
For this year’s virtual edition, Toronto’s famously doc-savvy local audience—which enjoys the big-screen doc experience year round at Hot Docs’ cinema (now via its streaming platform)—is joined by viewers from across Canada.
As of Wednesday, world premiering Spectrum titles “One of Ours” (CBC), “Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy” (Nfb), “Hell or Clean Water” (CBC), and “Still Max” were among the top 10 audience faves. Social-media chatter—which follows every shift in position on the Top 20 list, refreshed daily on the Hot Docs website—is more crucial than ever to festival buzz.
The 2021 slate includes 17 Canadian-produced features, most world premiering in the competitive Canadian Spectrum program, and seven international feature co-productions, most also world premieres.
For this year’s virtual edition, Toronto’s famously doc-savvy local audience—which enjoys the big-screen doc experience year round at Hot Docs’ cinema (now via its streaming platform)—is joined by viewers from across Canada.
As of Wednesday, world premiering Spectrum titles “One of Ours” (CBC), “Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy” (Nfb), “Hell or Clean Water” (CBC), and “Still Max” were among the top 10 audience faves. Social-media chatter—which follows every shift in position on the Top 20 list, refreshed daily on the Hot Docs website—is more crucial than ever to festival buzz.
- 5/6/2021
- by Jennie Punter
- Variety Film + TV
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