2022 Marks 31 Years! Two Ways to Attend. Click here for a link to the printable Festival Guide.
This year marks the 31st year of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and is the longest-running non-fiction film festival in North America. HSDFF will return to the Arlington Resort Hotel as the main venue with two screens hosting in-person screenings. The 2022 festival is embracing an expansive hybrid approach and making films also available on its virtual platform following the in-person screenings.
Every film in the festival will have an in-person screening. All screenings will be hosted at the Arlington Resort Hotel on the 2nd floor in either Cinema 1 (The Crystal Ballroom) or Cinema 2 (Conference Room C).
Aside from a few exceptions, every film will be available on the virtual platform which will open up following the in-person screenings, October 16 – 21. Once you have “unlocked” the film, you will have a window of 48 hours to finish viewing it.
Passes are available at Pass Pickup at the Arlington Hotel at the Box Office starting on Thursday, October 6 from 4 – 6 PM, and during normal Box Office hours, shown here.
OCT 6: 4 PM – 6 PM
OCT 7: NOON – 7:30 PM
OCT 8 – 15: 9 AM – 7:30 PM
OPENING NIGHT
PATRICK AND THE WHALE
DIR: Mark Fletcher | USA
FRI | OCT 7 | 7:00PM Crystal Ballroom
US PREMIERE
Dive underwater to witness the extraordinary connection between one person and the natural world. Renowned wildlife photographer and television host Patrick Dykstra has traveled the world pursuing his passion for marine life and the Earth’s oceans. While filming a population of sperm whales near Dominica, Dykstra has a life-altering experience when he meets and begins interacting with Dolores, a female whale. What begins as play transforms into attempts at communication and, ultimately, the formation of a meaningful bond. PATRICK AND THE WHALE is a gorgeously photographed documentary that examines the interconnected nature of life on Earth.
Since childhood, Dykstra has been drawn to whales. Because of their sheer size, whales have the largest brain of any animal on Earth, and Dykstra cannot help but wonder what they are thinking about. As his connection with Dolores grows, he realizes he has a unique opportunity to better understand the giants of the ocean.
Director Mark Fletcher’s film is a conservation tale rooted in a sense of awe and wonder as Dykstra eagerly searches for a greater understanding of the natural world. James Reed, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker of MY OCTOPUS TEACHER, is an Executive Producer on the film. The 31st annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival is proud to present the US Premiere of PATRICK AND THE WHALE as our Opening Night Film.
CLOSING NIGHT
THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER – FEATURING BRANDI CARLILE
DIR: Kathlyn Horan | USA
SAT | OCT 15 | 7:00PM Crystal Ballroom
The 31st annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival is proud to present THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER: FEATURING BRANDI CARLILE as our Closing Night Film.
Enter the studio with country music legend Tanya Tucker as she records her first album of new material in nearly two decades. Under the guidance of producers Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings, Tucker creates a moving and vulnerable work that showcases her voice, both as a quintessential singer in the country canon and as an authentic and vulnerable songwriter. THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER: FEATURING BRANDI CARLILE is an invigorating music documentary that presents an intimate portrait of an artist ready to claim her rightful place in music history.
With her smash hit “Delta Dawn,” 13-year-old Tanya Tucker burst into the country music scene with her powerful voice and charisma. In that moment, a star was truly born. Tucker successfully continued her career into adulthood with hits like “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane,” “Down to My Last Teardrop,” and “Strong Enough to Bend.” As her star continued to rise, she faced media scrutiny amidst her own personal struggles.
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile often cites Tanya Tucker as an influential figure in her career, let alone as one of the great voices of her generation, alongside the likes of Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn. Carlile is eager to work with Tucker and a new album begins to take shape as the two artists spend time together and share stories.
Director Kathlyn Horan’s film captures an honest and thrilling look behind the scenes at the highs and lows of the creative process.
INTERNATIONAL CENTERPIECE
ALL THAT BREATHES
DIR: Shaunak Sen | INDIA
THUR | OCT 14 | 7:30PM Crystal Ballroom
An acrid fog perpetually blankets the city of New Delhi. Overcast skies shadow residents, and a dark, smokey haze engulfs every living creature – all daily reminders of the pollution permeating the cosmopolitan city. New Delhi is the capital city with the worst air pollution in the world, compromising the health and safety of its citizens and ecosystem.
In the city, swarms of black kites are common in the sky. While most residents rarely consider the birds’ plight, Muslim brothers Mohammed Saud and Nadeem Shahzad have an inexplicable kinship with the raptors. The co-founders of Wildlife Rescue, a bird hospital in urgent need of resources, work tirelessly to treat them. Despite a significant need, they are the only Delhi veterinary clinic treating birds of prey.
Polluted air and competitive kite flying are constant threats to the species. Limited visibility affects navigation, and accidental collisions with sharp paper kite strings lacerate the birds daily. Yet, religious practices restrict the leading bird hospital from offering treatment. Unable to handle meat, practitioners can’t prepare the carnivorous’ birds’ diet. Without Mohammed and Nadeem’s tireless commitment, the birds would be abandoned. The brothers pour all their spare time and resources into the hospital’s operation, despite the strain on their relationships and personal finances.
This captivating, award-winning film World Premiered at the 2022 Sundance to critical acclaim, winning the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize and designating the film as an awards season frontrunner. In a rare occurrence, it was subsequently invited to screen at the prestigious 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the top documentary prize.
Shaunak Sen’s ALL THAT BREATHES captures two men’s extraordinary devotion to a disregarded creature. Set against a backdrop of rising anti-Muslim sentiment and escalating environmental concerns, the balance between humankind and natural world is tested by rapid modernization and a radically shifting culture.
US CENTERPIECE
THE EXILES
DIR: Ben Klein & Violet Columbus | USA
FRI | OCT 14 | 5:00 PM | Cinema 2
Get ready to meet Christine Choy, a brashly opinionated and fearlessly punk documentary filmmaker whose straight-shooting, direct manner clashes perfectly with her provocative sense of humor. Her 1987 film Who Killed Vincent Chin made her an Oscar-nominee and her role as a film professor at NYU has influenced generations of filmmakers.
In 1989, Choy and her filmmaking partner Renee Tajima-Peña headed to China in the aftermath of the June 4th Tiananmen Square Massacre to document the leaders of the pro-democracy protests who were able to escape to political exile. Although that original film project was never completed, today Choy travels the world to share this footage with the dissidents who have never been able to return to their home country.
THE EXILES traverses time, cutting back and forth between Choy’s original footage of the Chinese exiles in the aftermath of the massacre and their present-day ruminations of how little has changed in the thirty years since the attack. Circling around three specific exiles who beat at the furious, aching heart of this story, the film scales down a national tragedy to a human level, searching for meaning amid lost time and reflecting on the individual cost of fighting for freedom.
Harnessing Choy’s star-power, directed with potent energy and precision by first-time filmmakers Violet Columbus and Ben Klein, and the winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, THE EXILES speaks to the universal power of the medium of documentary filmmaking.
For more information and updates to the film schedule, visit www.hsdfi.org. Click here for a link to the printable Festival Guide.
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Thanks for another great post.
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