Discovering the Documentary Section in My Local Video Store

My favourite thing, I wrote in my Yelp review about local video store Videomatica in Kitsilano, is their documentary section. With the Doxa festival here in Vancouver just wrapping up this weekend now's a good time to get acquainted with what local video stores have to offer in the documentary domain.

Videomatica rents a couple docs I've previously written up on sister site 416style, like the truly touching tale of two men in love in Chris and Don: A Love Story; you'll also find Addicted to Plastic a hopeful doc focusing on our predilection for plastic. If you missed American Swing at Doxa, and your chance to peek behind the doors of the seventies swinger spot Plato's retreat, Videomatica has that too.

604style's Doxa Documentary Festival Picks

Having missed Hot Docs in Toronto I was pretty upset, I kept thinking I'd have to start my own documentary festival in Vancouver. Fortunately I found Doxa which, like other doc festivals around the globe, is growing and gaining the kind of attention it deserves.

I spent a nice afternoon at Kits beach making some picks which I'll pass your way.

Chasing Wild Horses - An NYC fashion photographer finds himself chasing some beautiful beasts on Sable Island.
Directors: Matt Trecartin and Natasha Ryan, Canada, 2008, 50 minutes
Tuesday May 26 | 1:00PM | Pacific Cinémathèque

Here Are The News - An originally illiterate Yukon woman creates an esteemed and lengthy career for herself as a journalist.
Director: Cathleen Smith, Canada, 2008, 51 minutes
Wednesday May 27 | 3:00PM | Pacific Cinémathèque

Devil’s Bargain: A Journey into the Small Arms Trade - The director gains amazing access to a seething underworld we rarely hear from.
Director: Shelley Saywell, Canada, 2008, 89 minutes
Thursday May 28 | 6:30PM | Vancity Theatre

Carmen Meets Borat - People of Romania revolt at being manipulated on-screen by filmmaker and comedian Sasha Baron Cohen.
Director: Mercedes Stalenhoef, The Netherlands, 2008, 85 minutes
Friday May 29 | 9:00PM | Vancity Theatre

Act of God - From the director of Manufactured Landscapes comes a striking look at people's who's lives have been touched by lightning.
Director: Jennifer Baichwal, Canada, 2009, 75 minutes
Saturday May 30 | 7:30 PM | Granville 7 Theatre

Vancouver versus Toronto

Since I visited Vancouver in 2000 I'd always wanted to see what life was like on the west coast...now I've finally made it! Starting the summer soaking up life in Kitsilano, a fabulous community that rivals many of my fav places in Toronto. It's sort of a mix of the Annex and Avenue Road, Bloor West Village and the Beaches.

Since I did a little comparison of the two Canadian cities on my sister blog 416style and reminisced about some things I missed I thought I should even things up and tell you what I love about living in VanCity.

1) The mountains, the ocean and the beach, but that's an easy one. Last weekend I kayaked with a loon family including two babies, albeit not in the city, I was up at Sakinaw Lake.

2) Sushi! It's everywhere and I never grow tired of it. Walk a block from my house and there are 3 restos right on the corner. The day was driving out of Toronto to come to Vancouver I visited seven sushi restaurants and not one was open on a Sunday. (Mind you, Mondays in Vancouver might be the equivilant.)

3) The walkability of the city, strolling Denman, Commercial, Granville or West 4th.

4) Community gardens. A block from me are these abandoned railroad tracks that are blooming with flowers and fruit planted in neighborhood plots. A trail follows the Cypress garden path for several blocks with a flash of colour that makes up for the graffiti I miss in Toronto. (: There's a huge plot downtown too and if that weren't enough there seem to be so many avid gardeners, nearly every place I pass by on foot has landscaped or added a bit of natural beauty.