For filmmakers, both across Canada and abroad, it really doesn’t get much better than having your creative work premiere at Hot Docs.
The 31st edition of the renowned Toronto Canadian International Documentary Festival will be held April 25 to May 5, but for Peterborough filmmaker Rob Viscardis, two dates hold the most significance.
On Thursday, May 2nd at the Hoc Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, his film My Dad’s Tapes will have its world premiere. That 2 p.m. screening will be followed the next day — Friday, May 3rd — with a 2 p.m. showing at TIFF Lightbox 2.
“It has been a dream for a while,” says Viscardis of the screening of his work at Hot Docs that, since 1993, has advanced and celebrated the art of documentary while creating production opportunities for filmmakers.
“It feels really good, especially after how long I worked on the film. It’s definitely been a labour of love. To get that validation is worth it, in the sense that it will now hopefully reach more audiences than it would have if it didn’t get into Hot Docs.”
“We spend all this time making films. It can take years and years, and then you never know how many people are going to see it. Is it going to be a dozen, or is it going to be 100 or more? There is now the potential that the film could have a life (after Hot Docs) and be seen by many more people. That’s pretty exciting.”
VIDEO: “My Dad’s Tapes” trailer
Filmed mostly in Courtice just east of Oshawa, My Dad’s Tapes is an 82-minute film that chronicles director Kurtis Watson’s discovery of a trove of home videos recorded by his father Leonard during the time prior to his August 9, 2009 suicide, and Watson’s subsequent painstaking search for some answers in connection with his father taking his own life.
In doing so, Watson not only draws from the tapes’ recorded moments but also relies on testimonials from family members and others connected to the tragedy on some level.
Viscardis came to be involved as the film’s writer, producer, and editor after Watson first mentioned the storyline to him back in 2019.
“It was right around the time when his mom had handed him a thumb drive with all the tapes on it,” recalls Viscardis of his initial introduction to the idea. “He mentioned that he was thinking about making a film about him trying to find out more about his dad and why he committed suicide. Nobody had any idea Kurtis was struggling with it. He’s a super happy guy but, yeah, he was thinking about it.”
“It kind of sparked a bit of interest in me. I thought there was a story there. It was early 2020, right before the pandemic, that we decided to actually start developing it together. I worked on a few projects during lockdown and this was one of them.”
Through his production company Outsideinside, Viscardis says ideas and topics for documentaries regularly cross his desk, making it “difficult to decide what to commit to.” That said, he says the timing of Watson’s approach was a key factor in getting things started.
“With the pandemic and where I was at the time, I was looking for things to do and I didn’t have any ideas of my own (for a film),” he says. “It wasn’t necessarily the personal element of the story that attracted me, but that’s something I know I can do because I’ve done it a lot in the past. I worked with Lester Alfonso on his film Birthmark, which is a very personal journey story, and Megan Murphy on her film Murphy’s Law, which is another one.”
“So it’s definitely a type of story that I’m used to telling and maybe saw that in this one. There was an opportunity for some intriguing investigating of his dad and these tapes, but also that it would turn into this big cathartic journey for him (Watson) and his family.”
While wary of giving away too much about the film, Viscardis says it’s “conclusive personally” for Watson, adding “It’s beneficial for him to have opened up on this story together with his family — to get it out and talk about it, regardless of what he found. But sometimes, the things that we don’t find out end up telling us something on their own.”
Viscardis, who will attend both Hot Docs screenings with Watson and will host post-screening question-and-answer sessions, says it’s his hope that audiences will relate to the themes in My Dad’s Tapes.
“It’s about family relations, which is such a common thing for everybody. We all have these interpersonal relationships with our families. Regardless of the themes around suicide, a lot of this film is about connection — caring for each other and being there and checking in and what not. In a broader way, the film raises awareness of mental health issues which, as a filmmaker, is a goal of mine.”
Despite having done what he does for a long time, Viscardis admits he’ll have some butterflies at the premiere screenings.
“It’s a super nerve-wracking thing and it’s super exciting as well,” he says of the debut of any of his films. “It’s this weird dichotomy for me. I get really nervous and clammy, and I’m sweating and I want to sit in the back (of the theatre) or just leave, but I want to be right there and be able to see how everyone’s reacting.”
Meanwhile, for as much success as he’s had as a filmmaker — a journey that began in earnest in 2012 when he worked as an editor for a television series — Viscardis says learning and becoming better at his craft is an ongoing process that continues to this day.
“It’s still a big mystery as to how to make this work as a career but, yeah, I’ve come a long way,” Viscardis says. “Technically, it does get easier, and maybe it’s just faster now. I still get the same excitement out of it as I did at the beginning, but now I’m a little more focused on what I want to do and on what I’m good at.”
“I’m feeling optimistic about where I’m at and where my company is at, specifically for documentaries. I feel really good about where that’s going and pursuing things with more focus.”
Beyond Hot Docs, Viscardis hopes to hear from one or more of the numerous film festivals he’s applied to for acceptance of My Dad’s Tapes for screening. That outreach includes ReFrame, Peterborough’s annual film festival that will be held early in 2025.
As for future projects, Viscardis is launching one called “A New Story” on Wednesday, May 1st, which combines documentary storytelling with active advocacy to help transform public perceptions of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
At the project’s heart are three documentaries: Kirby’s House (which screened at this year’s ReFrame Film Festival), Advantage Gained, and Power Of The Walk. Following A New Story’s launch, the website anewstory.ca will go live, where everyone is invited to engage with its content as well as join a conversation around the themes of inclusion, respect, and empowerment.
For more information about Viscardis and his work, visit outsideinside.tv. For more information about this year’s Hot Docs Festival, including the full schedule and ticket details, visit www.hotdocs.ca.
