Canada

Wrapping up his blog from Hot Docs in Toronto, filmmaker Paul Devlin writes about some of the memorable conversations he has had this past week with filmmakers from around the world. He also reflects on a charming speech given by Richard Leacock (pictured at left), the 86-year-old documentary legend who was awarded a lifetime achievement award. Plus: A few thoughts on Paul Rowley's Seaview (view the trailer), Astrid Bussink's The Lost Colony (view the trailer), and Tanaz Eshaghian's Be Like Others.

Still euphoric over his film's reception at Hot Docs, filmmaker Paul Devlin heads over to the Toronto Documentary Forum where a sober mood prevails among his fellow documentarians. Among the 30 participants invited to pitch future projects to commissioning editors around the world, only Eugene Jarecki mustered much enthusiasm (for a Ronald Reagan project.) Devlin also met up with Geoffrey Smith, director of The English Surgeon (said surgeon is pictured at left; view the trailer), who had smart advice for filmmakers on budgets, editing, and shooting.

"A premiere can be an ecstatic experience, but there's a bit of a hangover the next day," writes filmmaker Paul Devlin from the Hot Docs festival in Toronto, where his film BLAST! debuted to a sold-out house. "Now what? Will the movie get in more festivals or is this it? Is this movie going to sell? Will we make our money back?" These questions are common in today's over-saturated documentary marketplace and with all the new online distribution platforms popping up. Plus: Thoughts on John Walker's Passage (left), Juan Carlos Pineiro's Second Skin, and Celia Maysles' Wild Blue Yonder.

At long last, filmmaker Paul Devlin's documentary BLAST! has its world premiere at Hot Docs in Toronto, which also happens to be where many of the scientists who appear in the film live and work. That makes for a warm reception for the documentary (view the trailer). But, as Devlin writes, putting the finished project in front of the audience for the first time was not without its surprises.

At the Hot Docs festival in Toronto, filmmaker Paul Devlin attends a luncheon honoring Nick Fraser, the editor of BBC's documentary program Storyville, who also happens to be the executive producer on Devlin's new film BLAST!. In accepting his "Doc Mogul" award, Fraser offers filmmakers the following advice: be ambitious in your storytelling and message, figure out how to survive in a system that offers you less and less support, and "pray for the grace of accuracy."

Paul Devlin's last film Power Trip, a look at a culture clash between American utility executives and some Russian workers they inherit in a merger, won the award for best international documentary feature at Hot Docs in Toronto in 2003. But due to the SARS scare, the filmmaker wasn't there to enjoy the accolades in person. This year, he's unveiling BLAST! (view the trailer), a new doc about a group of astrophysicists whose work takes them on a trip the length of the world. Devlin is blogging this week from Hot Docs.