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>> The hot docs at this year's fest

by MATTHEW HAYS

The Westray mine disaster remains a bitter and nasty memory for those touched by the tragedy. And a new documentary feature on the subject from the NFB, titled simply Westray, won't disappoint viewers looking for a brutal examination of this bit of history.

NFB vet Paul Cowan (Justice Denied, Give Me Your Soul) explores some unusual formal techniques with the film, so those expecting a straightforward news-style doc need not attend. The narration itself is noteworthy; Michael Jones and Katie Malloch deliver an odd back-and-forth commentary on the disaster, its historical precedents and aftermath. In a sense, there aren't that many surprises here in terms of content: the company looks pretty sleazy, just as we might expect. It's the filmmaker's formal breaks that make the film worthy; Cowan leaps between black and white and colour, talking-head testimonial and recreation, reflection and observation. It's a keenly thought-out bit of documentary filmmaking on a pretty heavy topic, and does the Film Board proud.

Winnipeg-based filmmaker John Paskievich returns to the fest this year with what is clearly his most personal, autobiographical film to date. The man who brought us If Only I Were an Indian (a hilarious look at a group of Czechs who emulate their perception of native North American ways of life) and Gypsies of Svinia (a heartbreaking glimpse of an outcast nomadic minority in Eastern Europe) here turns the camera on his own family with My Mother's Village. Paskievich delves into his mother's experience as a refugee from the Ukraine and his own feelings about growing up in Canada between two cultures, that of the old country and the new. Paskievich manages to be both touching and illuminating while never resorting to the maudlin.

As well as documentaries, this year's fest offers up a compelling docudrama on an infamous true story. Rather unpleasant subject matter can be found in Harry Bromley-Davenport's Mockingbird Don't Sing, essentially a movie of the week about the sensational story of a case of child abuse. In 1970, it was revealed that a 13-year-old girl had been bound, gagged and confined to one room for her entire life by her deranged father. This film chronicles her release from this insane situation and her rehabilitation to a more normal existence. Soon dubbed the Wild Child by the media, the girl became a guinea pig for researchers who wanted to see how much human behaviour is learned and how much is instinctual. Newcomer Tarra Steele is fine as the disturbed teen while Sean Young shows up in a supporting role as a manipulative, calculating foster parent. There isn't a whole lot of formal innovation here, but Bromley-Davenport knows he's got a good story and takes us through the motions of the plot effectively.

Westray, My Mother's Village and Mockingbird Don't Sing run throughout the festival. Info: 848-3883 or www.ffm-montreal.org