The film component of Indie Week Canada relocates to the AGO’s Jackman Hall this year from its old roost at The Royal.
But otherwise, the Reel Indie Festival hasn’t skipped a beat, returning with a strong election of musically inclined documentaries and shorts.
It all gets rolling tonight (Wednesday November 16) at 7 pm with Hired Gun, a documentary about the unsung heroes of the music industry: session and touring players who serve as sidemen for established acts in the studio and on the road. It’s a fascinating little niche gig, and director Fran Strine has found a fun way to explore it she and one of her subjects, occasional Bon Jovi guitarist Phil X, will be in attendance at the screening for an introduction and Q&A.
Friday (November 18) offers two very different documentaries. At 6 pm, A Song For You: The Austin City Limits Story digs through four decades of the popular PBS series with an upbeat, celebratory vibe, while things get a lot darker at 8 pm with Sad Vacation: The Last Days Of Sid And Nancy, which revisits the death spiral of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen without buying into any of the beautiful-loser bullshit. (It’s also fascinating for the archival footage of a Manhattan that no longer exists.)
It wraps up Saturday at 6 pm with Who Is Lydia Loveless?, a profile of the rising alt-country star. This one wasn’t available for preview, but if you enjoyed director Gorman Bechard’s movie about the Replacements, Color Me Obsessed – or, like me, you’ve been struck by Loveless’s breakout album Real – you’d best be getting your ticket now.