Someone Lives Here | |
---|---|
Directed by | Zack Russell |
Produced by | Andrew Ferguson Matt King Zack Russell |
Starring | Khaleel Seivwright |
Cinematography | Chet Tilokani |
Edited by | Marianna Khoury |
Music by | Bram Gielen |
Production company | LaRue Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Someone Lives Here is a 2023 Canadian documentary film, directed by Zack Russell. [1] The film profiles Khaleel Seivwright, a carpenter who has launched a project of building small private shelters for homeless people in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic, against the bureaucratic resistance of the city government. [2]
The film premiered at the 2023 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, where it was named the winner of the Rogers Audience Award. [3]
Rachel Ho of Exclaim! praised the film, writing that "Russell may not have had aspirations to become a documentarian, but he sure has a natural knack for it. The film comes in at a lean 75 minutes, the perfect amount of time to tell Seivwright's story and explore the various angles to the greater issue of homelessness in Toronto. It's a simple thing, but particularly for a first-time documentary filmmaker, Russell shows a lot of restraint in not adding unnecessary pomp, ensuring the maximum impact is felt." [4]
The film was named to the Toronto International Film Festival's annual Canada's Top Ten list for 2023. [5]
It was a nominee for the Allan King Award for Best Documentary Film at the 2023 Directors Guild of Canada awards, [6] and won the award for Best Canadian Documentary Film at the 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival. [7]
The film was shortlisted for the Rogers Best Canadian Documentary Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2023, [8] and the Canadian Screen Awards for Best Feature Length Documentary and Best Editing in a Documentary (Marianna Khoury) at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards in 2024. [9]
The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June 2020. In addition to the annual festival, Hot Docs owns and operates the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, administers multiple production funds, and runs year-round screening programs including Doc Soup and Hot Docs Showcase.
Philippe Falardeau is a Canadian film director and screenwriter.
Alan Zweig is a Canadian documentary filmmaker known for often using film to explore his own life.
Nisha Pahuja is an Indian-born Canadian filmmaker, based in Toronto, Ontario.
There's No Place Like This Place, Anyplace is a 2020 Canadian documentary film, directed by Lulu Wei. The film profiles the issue of gentrification in Toronto, Ontario through the history, demolition and redevelopment of the historic Honest Ed's department store and its effects on the larger Mirvish Village neighbourhood.
Khaleel Seivwright is a Canadian carpenter and homelessness activist known for his construction of homeless shelters.
Someone Like Me is a 2021 Canadian documentary film, directed by Steve J. Adams and Sean Horlor. The film centres on Drake, a gay man from Uganda who moves to Vancouver, British Columbia as a refugee, and the group of Canadians who have agreed to sponsor him through Rainbow Refugee; it documents his arrival in Vancouver and his adaptation to Canadian life, including friction among his sponsors when all he wants to do is celebrate his new freedom by partying, and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic as a complicating factor.
The Hot Docs Audience Awards are annual film awards, presented by the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival to the most popular films as voted by festival audiences. There are currently two awards presented: the Hot Docs Audience Award, presented since 2001 to the most popular film overall regardless of nationality, and the Rogers Audience Award, presented since 2017 to the most popular Canadian film.
Rich Williamson is a Canadian film director, cinematographer and editor, most noted as codirector with Shasha Nakhai of the 2021 film Scarborough. The film won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Picture, and Nakhai and Williamson won the award for Best Director, at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022.
The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks is a 2022 Canadian documentary film, directed by Reginald Harkema. Released to coincide with Amazon Prime's relaunch of the influential Canadian sketch comedy series and based partially on Paul Myers's 2018 book The Kids in the Hall: One Dumb Guy, the film documents the history of the troupe through both archival footage and contemporary interviews with the members, largely filmed at The Rivoli, the Toronto club where the troupe got their start on stage.
Geographies of Solitude is a Canadian documentary film by Jacquelyn Mills that was released in 2022. The film is guided by Zoe Lucas, a naturalist and environmentalist who lives on Nova Scotia's Sable Island, where she catalogues the island's wild Sable Island horses, and endeavours to preserve its unique ecosystem.
Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Barri Cohen and released in 2022. The film documents the history of child abuse at Ontario's Huronia Regional Centre facility for developmentally disabled children, based in part on the story of her own two older brothers, Alfred and Louis, who died at the institution.
Rojek is a 2022 Canadian documentary film written, directed and produced by Zaynê Akyol. It is about the recovery of Kurdistan from the Rojava–Islamist conflict with a special emphasis on interviews with imprisoned former members of the Islamic State about their motivations. It was selected as the Canadian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
Jason Loftus is a Canadian documentary filmmaker. He is most noted as the director of the documentary film Eternal Spring, which was selected as Canada's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.
Zack Russell is a Canadian writer and filmmaker. He is most noted for his 2015 short film She Stoops to Conquer, which was the winner of the Canadian Screen Award for Best Live Action Short Drama at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards in 2016.
Twice Colonized is a documentary film, directed by Lin Alluna and released in 2023. A coproduction of companies from Canada, Denmark and Greenland, the film profiles Aaju Peter, an Inuk lawyer and activist who has lived in both Greenland and Nunavut, profiling both her lifelong fight for justice for Inuit peoples and the personal struggles and traumas she dealt with along the way.
Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe is a 2023 Canadian documentary film, directed by Robert McCallum. The film profiles Ernie Coombs, the children's entertainer who created and starred in the long-running Canadian television series Mr. Dressup, documenting his career and its impact on Canadian culture and entertainment.
Steve J. Adams is a Canadian film director who co-directs with Sean Horlor under their production company, Nootka St.