Eleven Minutes

Eleven Minutes (official site) is a documentary about the lead up to Jay McCarroll's debut fashion show. Known for being the first winner of Project Runway (I only watched Project Runway Canada, so I have no background on this guy) he made the big leap to Bryant Park (albeit the smallest tent) for September 2006.
Clearly a man who loves attention, but has a wavering self-esteem - as demonstrated by his animated introduction to the screening, Jay was open and honest throughout the documentary. So candid in fact that the audience was privy to an odd story about Kelly Cutrone of People's Revolution.
Walking out of the screening, I overheard one lady say to her companion, "It was fun, but you couldn't have been expecting anything insightful." Strangely enough, I was. Maybe I take everything too seriously, and assume that anything as such a wonderful festival such as HotDocs would be just as deep, even if on a light subject matter.
The audience seemed like a much different crowd than other shows that I've been to. Lots of whispering during the documentary, laughter (some of which was warranted, but others a little superficial) and the questions after the movie for Jay and directors, Michael Selditch and Rob Tate were just as shallow as the film that was presented. I guess the subject matter draws a different crowd than the other shows that I've seen.
Not to say I didn't appreciate learning more about the fashion industry and what goes into producing a fashion show. I also appreciated Jay's sweet nature, but unless you want a really light movie, I'm not sure this movie is the most stellar.
The documentary was shot quite casually. Sometimes the cameraman (often one of the directors) could be heard casually asking questions to the subjects, other times shots went in and out of focus. The film was even a little grainy, not that super saturated colour and picture perfect quality stuff.
I thought his collection was very nice. There were pieces that even I'd be interested in wearing. It was really colourful, but I still liked it. I'm sure if I really tried, I could get some pieces, but I'm not ready to dish out that cash and really go out there to seek it out. Unfortunately, there were no distributors that picked up his line. I love watching designers sketch. The colours and fabrics that he chose were yummy. Even the jewellery and shoes and he partly designed were very nice.
Oh, and I still really want to go to a fashion show. A big, legit one. I think it would be fascinating to see what's on the runway, feel the vibe of the crowd and people watch.

I think this may have been my last documentary for the festival. I might look into something for the weekend, but I'm not sure if it'll happen. I had a great time and got to see some wonderful documentaries. I will definitely participate in the festival again next year. Conveniently timed with the arrival of spring weather, it was nice to be downtown and visiting other theatres in the city. It was also nice to see crowds of people out and about. I enjoyed picking up the free Toronto Star newspapers as well. I've sure missed those crosswords.