Coven- 3 Witches journeys at Hot Docs

 

 Laura Hokstad, main film subject at Stonehenge

COVEN

Directed by Rama Rau

Screening at Hot Docs on May 5 at the Tiff Lightbox

Andra, Ayo (Witch Prophet) and Laura, all identify as Queer Witches.  They all go on their separate journeys to find out their past life stories that have shaped their reality today.

Andra Zlatescu, travels to Romania to find out more about the Witches of Romania and her roots.

Ayo -Witch Prophet, travels to New Orleans to meet with spiritual healers to be blessed.

Laura travels to Scotland and finds out that women in her family were killed because they were accused of being witches.

The film introduces an array of colorful characters, kind of sterotypical of what you might expect a witch or similar in a Hollywood movie.   Some scenes felt like they were lifted from one of those kinds of movies.   Lot's of drone shots,  lots of over the top, Hollywood character type of people explaining witches rituals and practices.

Anne Marie Greymoon,   Gardnerian High Priestess,  in Coboconk

A lot of it revolves around religion.  I don't know how I feel about the whole thing as I am not one that follows organized religion because I don't feel that it is always current with our times and I do not relate to some of the rituals and practices.   

I wondered how Director Rama Rau,  went about finding all these witches for this film.   Is there a Witches Convention?   I wondered why 3 female lesbians were chosen as the main subjects.  All of a certain similar age but not similar backgrounds.  

It is worth a look to make you think about how you feel about these stories and how they believe in astral projection, past lives, ritual ceremonies, spells and potions.

The Lebanese Burger Mafia - Documentary Review

 

The Lebanese Burger Mafia

Writer/Director/Producer - Omar Mouallem

Duration: 103 minutes

Screening at Hot Docs Film Festival - April 27-May 7, 2023

The Lebanese Burger Mafia documentary is an entertaining, funny and confusing tale of the Alberta based and mostly Lebanese run fast food burger chain called the Burger Baron.

It was literally the Wild West of Burger joints.  Multiple owners claimed they started the burger chain Burger Baron.  It was passed around like a cheap penny.  They were known for their popular mushroom sauce which was a lot simpler than you might think.

Lebanese families who migrated to the western provinces were brought in to run various locations.  Each one doing it their way.  It was run the exact opposite of how a franchise would operate with each location having different logos, signage, design, and menus.  

All the while it was originally created by a man named Jack McDonnell, (not Lebanese).

The documentary is told through the filmmaker Omar Mouallem who is part of the family of one of these Burger Barons.

It's a crazy look at how newcomers try and live their Canadian dreams while battling it out between different families.

It will make you want a burger after you see this film.  

It seemed as though the Burger Baron story became an Urban Legend at some point.  Many of the locations have closed but some were able to try and organize and survive the proliferation of burger joints all through the Canadian west.