FILMS IN FOCUS

Acclaimed doc Amy leads NXNE film pack

RARE SMILE Better known for her sultry stare, a playful Amy Winehouse grins for a friend’s video camera in this archival image from Amy, an acclaimed documentary by Asif Kapadia ( Senna) making its Canadian premiere Saturday at 9:30 p.m. at Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. Part of the NXNE Festival, and in advance of its July 10 general release, the docs bears witness to the triumph and tragedy of British songbird Winehouse, a six-time Grammy winner who succumbed to alcohol poisoning in July 2011, at the age of 27. It’s all there, and painful to watch, in Kapadia’s chronicle, which had its world premiere at last month’s Cannes Film Festival. He expertly stitches together previously unseen footage of Winehouse and her own words — in voice and via onscreen handwritten lyrics — to show just how much songs such as “Rehab” and “You Know I’m No Good” mirrored her life and emotions. Another NXNE film depicts self-destructive behaviour as dramedy: Slamdance sensation Diamond Tongues, by Toronto filmmakers Pavan Moondi and Brian Robertson, which screens 8 p.m. Sunday at NXNE Hub, in advance of its August run at TIFF Bell Lightbox. July Talk singer Leah Goldstein (a.k.a. Leah Fay) stars as a struggling T.O. actress with an urge to succeed, but also a knack for trouble. Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning co-produces and also co-wrote the score (with Ohad Benchetrit). NXNE Film’s well-curated selections also include: Made in Texas, a collection of six shorts by Jonathan Demme about the Austin punk/new wave scene of the 1970s-80s (2 p.m. Saturday at NXNE Hub, SXSW co-founder Louis Black leads the Q-and-A); and Industrial Soundtrack For The Urban Decay (5 p.m. Sunday at NXNE Hub), a doc by Amélie Ravalec and Travis Collins that grinds the birth and growth of industrial music. Details at nxne.com.