OUT OF THIN AIR and LA CHANA play Hot Docs
Two new documentaries with Icelandic ties, Dylan Howitt's Out of Thin Air and Lucija Stojevic's La Chana, were recently screened at Hot Docs, North America's largest documentary film festival, conference and market, which was held in Toronto from April 29 to May 7.
Out of Thin Air, a British/Icelandic production, had its world premiere at the festival. The film explores the case of six young Icelanders who confessed in 1976 to two violent murders, in a country where such crimes are almost unheard of. This was the biggest criminal investigation Iceland had ever seen, but no bodies were found, there were no apparent motives and no credible witnesses.
Toronto Film Scene's review from the festival states: “For its depiction of a messy, biased criminal investigation done in a pastiche of styles that rarely come together, [Out of Thin Air is] worth a watch for patient viewers who like their true crime stories to be smart rather than salacious and tawdry.”
La Chana, a Spanish/Icelandic/American documentary, also received praise from Toronto Film Scene: “La Chana is one of the best crowd pleasers at the festival this year, but also a poignant look at one woman's journey back from an abusive situation. It's a biography that isn't only inspiring, but also important.”
La Chana has been on an impressive festival run during the past few weeks. It won the audience award at IDFA, recently screened at DOK.fest München and will soon screen at the Docaviv festival in Israel and Beldocs in Belgrade.
Both Out of Thin Air and La Chana will also screen at the upcoming Sheffield Doc/Fest, which will be held in Sheffield, England, from June 9 to June 14.
Further information on Out of Thin Air can be found here.
Further information on La Chana can be found here .