Posts Tagged ‘the education of auma obama’

TIFF ’11 Preview: Real to Reel

Monday, September 5th, 2011

There are 26 films in the Real to Reel section of TIFF this year, of which I’ll be able to catch maybe five or six. As always, it’s hard to tell by the catalog descriptions which films you’re going to love and which you aren’t; in 2009, I wouldn’t have necessarily had The Topp Twins doc at the top of my list, but it ended up being one of my favorite films of that year.

So as with all fest previews, take this one with the generous grain of salt that most of the films on this list are the ones whose subject matter most interested me; your list might very well be completely different. Such is the fun and randomness of TIFF.


Dark Girls
Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry, USA

Directors Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry set out to examine why skin-colour bias per­sists and how it affects the lives of women on its receiving end. This is a documentary of testimony. In emotional, heartfelt inter­views, women tell stories of being judged inferior, less attractive and even less intel­ligent because of their dark skin. They tell of black men passing them over in favour of lighter-skinned women. They also speak of judging one another based on skin colour, and of how it feels to internalize racism that dates back to the Atlantic slave trade, but has been left to fester for generations.

Comments: TIFF World Premiere
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