TMFF has come and gone, both in Toronto and Vancouver. Yeah, it happened here as well. Well, pretty much via a screener at the Rio which I attended. It was one of those cases where I attended some film type event and yet nobody knew my name. Except maybe the doorman recognized me from some other events. Maybe. But the seating was pretty open and there were some people there, but nobody I recognized. The guy sitting next to me was pretty friendly though. As I sat in the middle row of seats, the audience was treated to a waiting intro of motorcycle pictures by cycle enthusiasts and some rather loud music accompanying it. Finally, things started when Jeff of Trev Deeley came out to throw free t-shirts into the crowd, then there was a speech by the event host suggesting we stay around for the Q&A afterwards. Finally it was time for the screeners of the night.
100 Years of Deeley – A documentary about how Trev Deeley the motorcycle dealer business has been around for a century. History, interviews, pretty much everything I never knew about a motorcycle dealership, but then I don’t know anything about anywhere that sells motorcycles so this was very informing.
The Rider – Ondřej Vlk talks about how cycling makes him happy. He has pretty much journeyed around the world. There was something about this one that made it seem like one of those Old Spice ads featuring Axel Kiener.
Unpaved – Another cyclist and their story, except it’s a lady named Golnoosh who lives in Northern BC. She’s an Iranian Canadian who’s destined to create her own path in both cycling and life. This one was very bold as she dealt with issues like being a first-generation immigrant, and learned where she belonged in her community. She always fit in perfectly as a role model, I say.
Korta – A stuntman by the nickname of Korta-T, who shows off his skills to the children in the community and teaches them what they can do in a creative way to prevent gang violence and living peaceful lives. There was some serious passion over bike building as well as friends. But the noise in this one was a bit much for me.
We Ride – Remember “Hell’s Angels” by Hunter S. Thompson? That was featured in this short and given a whole new feel with the documentary’s subject matter being al about female cyclists on custom bikes. This was cool and impressive, and I liked how real it got.
Chasing Light – What happens when two photographers and a cinematographer decide to go beyond in their photography dreams? They travel all across Oregon by motorcycle to get the magic between sunrise and sunset when the sun is high and daylight is red, making for the best photo ever. Do they make it? It’s hard to say, but this was and funny and swell short documentary to watch.
Fast and Left – One of the more longer short docs at this screening, this talked about how cyclists both young and old drove around the dirt arena and had special steel shoe called a hot shoe on their left boot that made skidding more efficient and less likely to wreck footwear/cycle boots. Footage ranged from archival content, kid races, modern interviews, and how racers are friends on the track no matter who is in the lead. This one felt like it had too many montages.
No Men in the Front Seat – Alright, this was the feature of the night. The feature film. The longest. The most powerful even. It was a documentary about females bikers. I know, I know. There were already two of those in short form, but this one covered so much more in terms of stories, how these women had charities, how they bonded with their bikes, and their other skills as well as the adventures they took. These women include a policeman, a shop owner, someone who started riding in college, and many more even French and Mexican women. This was very well made and cool.
The Q&A afterwards wasn’t much, as it only featured Romain, the director of We Ride and Tiara, one of the women from No Men in the Front Seat, and most of these people didn’t have a whole lot of questions. But it got some info, Romain got more inspiration for content after reading Hell’s Angels for the first time, and Tiara was actually divorced between some of the interviews she was featured in. TMFF, at least the Vancouver variant was fun. I got a not-so-lousy t-shirt out of the screening, and guess what? If any of you Toronto readers missed TMFF this year, there’s an alternative event to check out on June 14-16, Moto Craft: Where Speed Meets Art which will be happening at the Fort York Amoury in Toronto, featuring cool motorcycles from the Haas Moto Museum and famous cycle builders, Craig Rodsmith, Max Hazan, and Jay Donovan. More details here. And just wait, the next TMFF will be October 4-5 at Paradise Theatre. Keep on riding until then!