On Saturday we checked out North America's largest documentary film festival, Hot Docs, and had the chance to test out some new documentary technologies!
Movie watching of the future?
On Saturday morning we took the subway to Bathurst Station and had a bite to eat (and a drink), at Pauper's Pub before wandering around the area. Before checking out the Hot Docs Festival, we wanted to stop into Honest Ed's for a browse. Honest Ed's is a famous discount department store that was started by Ed Mirvish in 1948 and will sadly be closing its doors at the end of this year to make way for a big property development.
We spent a bit too much time in the store and we're not even big shoppers; the deals were just too good! We ended up with some new, much needed, kitchen items and new knitting supplies for Elizabeth from Fabricland, another store within the store. Honest Ed's itself is huge, and we're told that they've already reduced their footprint.
After we finished scouring for deals, we made our way a couple of blocks over to Markham House which was hosting DocX, an exhibition part of Hot Docs, showcasing a selection of virtual reality documentaries, 360° video experiences, and interactive installations. The place was fairly busy but we did manage to watch one of the films that they were showing, KURIOS: Cabinet of Curiosities, on a couple of Samsung Gear VR devices.
After we finished scouring for deals, we made our way a couple of blocks over to Markham House which was hosting DocX, an exhibition part of Hot Docs, showcasing a selection of virtual reality documentaries, 360° video experiences, and interactive installations. The place was fairly busy but we did manage to watch one of the films that they were showing, KURIOS: Cabinet of Curiosities, on a couple of Samsung Gear VR devices.
We pulled on the headsets and were immediately immersed in the world of Cirque du Soleil. It took us centre stage in a performance, complete with acrobats and musicians in all directions. Elizabeth was totally engaged and thoroughly enjoyed the show (and even had to hold back some smiles for fear of strangers in the room looking at her funny), while Luke was slightly less impressed as his screen was slightly unfocused and he has more experience with different types of interactive experiences. Regardless, we enjoyed seeing how new technologies can transport you to completely different worlds and made us think about the future of movie-watching.
Then in the evening, we checked out the premiere of a film called Future Baby. It explored the topic of scientific advancements in biotechnology and human reproduction, such as in vitro fertilization, and impacts that it is having now and may have in the future. The documentary was careful to not have an explicit opinion and just presented different sides to many topics. It was interesting, especially because the director, cinematographer, and one of the subjects was in the audience so there was time for questions afterwards.
We are big documentary fans (and Hot Docs are showing over 200 of them this week!) so, who knows, we may have to check out so more films during the festival which continues until May 8th!
Then in the evening, we checked out the premiere of a film called Future Baby. It explored the topic of scientific advancements in biotechnology and human reproduction, such as in vitro fertilization, and impacts that it is having now and may have in the future. The documentary was careful to not have an explicit opinion and just presented different sides to many topics. It was interesting, especially because the director, cinematographer, and one of the subjects was in the audience so there was time for questions afterwards.
We are big documentary fans (and Hot Docs are showing over 200 of them this week!) so, who knows, we may have to check out so more films during the festival which continues until May 8th!
On another note, this week marks 3 years since we started the blog, so a big thanks to everyone who has been following along on our adventures! We're actually going to be traveling to Asia in less than 2 weeks (AH!) and have nothing planned so let us know if you have any tips or must dos for Hong Kong, Taipei, or Tokyo!
Curious what we were doing this time last year? Well we finally hit the road on a trip around the Yucatan Peninsula after some passport issues that prevented a trip earlier in the year. Then two years ago we took a Wilderness Survival course and decided that we never want to have to actually use those skills in the wilderness. Finally, three years ago was our first blog post!
Curious what we were doing this time last year? Well we finally hit the road on a trip around the Yucatan Peninsula after some passport issues that prevented a trip earlier in the year. Then two years ago we took a Wilderness Survival course and decided that we never want to have to actually use those skills in the wilderness. Finally, three years ago was our first blog post!
