October 19, 2026
In our last blog, titled OVERTURN THIS – RED CARD FOR THE PIPE DREAMS, we concluded by saying, “Speaking of the Indigenous residents of this country, any new pipelines will need rigorous consultation and approval to cross Treaty land. This is not a minor annoyance as some previously named Premiers seem to think. Don't be surprised if some of the pipe dreams aren't overturned. Perhaps we are at a crossroads...let's explore that in the next blog.”
I would like to begin by discussing two film documentaries that we have recently viewed that may or may not focus our attention on the issues at hand.
In September, we attended the 51st. edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)…after much due diligence in assessing and ranking the films available on the day we were going, we were able to get tickets to our #4 choice…Bleeding Hearts…world premier documentary by director Andrew Morgan…this real-life love story follows the charismatic musicians Zella Day and Jesse Woods as they team to create the folk/roots/alt-country band Chaparelle with collaborator Beau Bedford. This might seem a slightly odd film for us to attend, but we took note that Dolly Parton had just passed…never listened much to her music, but respected her abilities as both a song writer and singer…although her greatest characteristic was perhaps her humanity. Alt-country, would be best described as a subgenre of country music that stands apart from commercial, mainstream radio pop-country (corporate country we would refer to it as) by blending traditional roots with folk, country, punk and rock. Queen Street West produced some fine bands that ventured into that sub-genre, including among others, our favourites Blue Rodeo and the Cowboy Junkies. Interestingly, Chaparelle played at the Horseshoe Tavern (just down Queen Street West from where we had dinner after the film) two nights before the film was shown…we thought that perhaps they might just show up at the theatre for the film showing.
Even with some insight into the film, before we went to see the documentary Bleeding Hearts, we really didn’t understand exactly what we were about to not only see, but to experience. Prior to the start of the film, the MC came out on the stage and discussed that his function at TIFF was to review all the musical documentaries that were submitted…about 90 or so and pick the very few that would end up being shown during the Film Festival. Bleeding Hearts was one of just a few that were selected (the others include Neil Peart: No One’s Disciple, about the drummer for RUSH, Gail, about a superfan following Our Lady Peace on tour, Pretenders, focusing on the band’s founder Chrissie Hynde which are certainly on our list of films we will see at some point). This was the world premiere of Bleeding Hearts. The MC then invited the Director of the film, Andrew Morgan to come out on stage and provide a short insight into what we were about to see…also announcing that there would be a Q and A after the film had shown.
The Director said that a friend of his sent him a demo tape of a song that these two singers had just recorded…they were starting to refer to themselves as the band Chaparelle…Morgan was impressed and had wanted to film a documentary of a band during its infancy and follow its initial development, saying that all documentaries are made long after a band has reached a level of success after many years. He immediately contacted the band principles, Zella Day and Jesse Woods, who were in a developing personal relationship, and along with their collaborator Beau Bedford agreed to open up both their personal and musical lives. The documentary was filmed in black and white, which we’ve always enjoyed as it pushes aside much of the superfluous stimuli and focuses ones attention on what is most important.
The lights go down and their story unfolds. Their 12 year age difference (she was 28 and he was 40), Zella’s early career as a pop princess and her bubbly effervescence contrasted with Jesse’s admitted focus as an introverted folk singer-songwriter, made them look on the surface as very much an odd couple. However, with a selection of self-written potent love songs with that alt-country tinge, coupled with Zella’s soaring and celebratory voice and Jesse’s anchoring and supportive sound, when they get on stage, magic somehow happens…a glorious and emotive sound envelopes everything. As TIFF wrote in their brief overview about the film, “Music documentaries are plentiful these days, but this one soars high above the rest”. At several moments in the film, I kept having flash backs to another musical couple that hit their peak over 5 decades ago, with many similarities including balancing their personal and musical careers, the musical genres they were navigating through…even down to the white cowboy hat…whose relationship began and flourished in the bohemian coffee houses in Toronto’s Yorkville back in the 1960’s…more on them in a minute. We can’t ever remember being more enraptured by a musical documentary…still can’t get it out of our thoughts…during the film that followed their development for one year, we see them get engaged and pouring their hearts and souls into their debut album Western Pleasure, Jesse explains the music as “a clever way of talking about a feeling that everyone has had, but explaining it in a way that you’ve never thought of before.” It was a marvellous experience in that place…at that time…the only disappointing aspect of it all was that the film had to end. As the credits rolled another beautiful Chaparelle song drifted around the theatre with their soaring harmonies uplifting everyone in attendance.
After the film, the MC returned to the stage and invited back the Director Andrew Morgan as well as the two amazing musicians of Chaparelle, Zella Day and Jesse Woods for a Q and A. The Director was asked about why he filmed it in black and white and he reinforced what we had always thought, but articulated his reasoning more clearly than we’ve ever heard, about allowing us to focus on the truth, the honesty and getting to the soul about what was happening. Zella said that it was the first time they had seen the film in its finished state, while Jesse admitted that he had tears in his eyes on more than one point, not remembering some of the honest emotional moments that had been captured on film. Woods was asked the question about the influence on him of Townes Van Zandt, and he said that Van Zandt had been an inspiration in allowing him to do a whole bunch of rather wild things. The Director then asked everyone in attendance who had worked on the film to stand up…about 30 people did which brought a great cheer and applause from all of the rest of us in the audience.
After the Q and A was over and we were headed for the exit, I approached the Director Andrew Morgan and had a nice chat including thanking him for sharing such a moving film with us all and how it had been a privilege to have been there to see it with all those involved in the making of such an extraordinary film. I then explained about the flash back I had back to another couple whose evolution occurred in some coffee house not far from where we were standing…Ian Tyson and Sylvia Fricker, soon to be a married couple and performing as Ian and Sylvia…Andrew admitted that he was unaware of them…cutting him some slack as he is way too young and he’s a director not a musician…but he did say he would mention them to Jesse who has a wide range of musical interests. As we mentioned earlier, two days prior to the film showing, Chaparelle had performed a concert a few blocks away from the theatre at the Horseshoe Tavern on Queen St. W…I told Andrew that Ian and Sylvia performed there on a few occasions as well as some roots/folk/alt-country Queen St. W. bands from the 1980’s including our favourites Cowboy Junkies and Blue Rodeo…they all developed a wide following and that Chaparelle will no doubt have similar success. Andrew said he had been at the Horseshoe concert and had been impressed that the Rolling Stones had once played there…perhaps a peek into where his own personal tastes run. Andrew thanked me for the insights…we shook hands and the experience drew to a close…but what an experience it had been.
Serendipitously, I recently discovered that Van Zandt was also an inspiration for the Cowboy Junkies, who had him as their opening act on a 1990 tour after which he wrote the song `Cowboy Junkies Lament` for the band.
Sometimes the negative things that we see and hear that are going on in the world can be overwhelming, but there are so many more beautiful things going on around us and it is those that we must remain most focused on…this film experience was, for us, one of those.
Other documentaries that were being shown at TIFF that we are looking forward to viewing include ones about two famous Canadians, Terry Fox and Gilles Villeneuve.
Have been waiting to find the showing of the documentary film titled NAZA…a code word euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence for ‘collateral damage’, to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. These days, the murder of women and children is no accident. As interviews with some two dozen serving IDF military operatives make clear, when Israeli missiles are sent into Gaza all potential casualties have been factored in. One Hamas agent is worth 15 NAZA, or more. This investigative documentary by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor (No Other Land) is both restrained and chilling, a sombre, modest but unforgettable and deeply upsetting film that demonstrates how modern technology is not only facilitating mass killings, it’s benumbed the conscience of the killers and maybe the rest of us too. There isn’t a single shred of human emotion expressed towards the victims in NAZA. The directors stated that “We made this film out of a sense of obligation to use our position as Israeli filmmakers and journalists to examine the systems behind the mass killing of Palestinian civilians for which our country is responsible. While filming members of Israel’s military on rooftops at night in Tel Aviv over the past three years, we found ourselves asking the very questions that were asked by our grandparents’ generation and throughout the 20th century: how does one group of people allow the total dehumanisation of another? What do the inner workings of such a system look like?” The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sanctioned Israeli leaders for what they have inflicted on Gaza, but they along with the United States are attempting to undermine the very existence of the Court, the one place where the monsters of the world, including Putin, Netanyahu and Trump can be held to account.
We will not be able to address the existential threat of what is going from a climate crisis, to in many places a climate collapse, unless we have all of us paddling in the same direction. A respect for Mother Nature goes hand in hand with respect for our fellow human beings…respecting others’ sovereignty…their territorial integrity…their economic well-being…their right to self-determination…their humanity… their right to live free from the threats of the monsters…their right to live in a climate safe environment…
Premier Danielle Smith wants to double Alberta's oil production in a decade. The math still says that's impossible — and all the MOUs in the world can't change that.
We all understand that we need to just stop burning fossil fuels…we are indeed at a crossroads…what are the alternatives to creating the energy we need to power our lives? There are several effective green energy options that have gained significant traction, but none are as entrenched and surrounded by controversy as much as the nuclear option.
In our next blog, we can talk about another interesting documentary film that focuses on that nuclear choice and whether the benefits of nuclear energy outweigh the risks.
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The photo of Chaparelle courtesy of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)
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The photo of the ruins of Gaza courtesy of NPR.
