A Canadian documentary about the secret world of doll collectors makes its world broadcast premiere this week, and it will air in the U.S. on Logo TV.
The documentary introduces not young girls playing with toys, but quirky and colourful characters whose adult lives – with jobs, families and friends – are ultimately shaped by their obsession with collecting all types of dolls.
Living Dolls, created by Toronto- based Makin’ Movies in association with Shaw Media, will be broadcast on Global Television (October 5) and Logo TV in the U.S.
“From my previous documentaries that focus on women and their families, I noticed many of my subjects collected dolls and that dolls played an important role in their lives,” described the film’s producer and director, Maureen Judge. “In Living Dolls we see a deep and passionate connection between the collectors and their dolls, and how this relationship offers an outlet for the hidden side of their emotional lives.”
Her film takes an intimate look at, among others, a pleasant middle-aged gentleman named David who travels with his beautiful partner, Bianca. Unremarkable, except that Bianca isn’t real. She’s a life-size, anatomically-correct “living doll,” made of skin-textured latex.
David is seen en route to an Annual Doll Lovers gathering to tell all with 20 or so other literal “doll lovers.” A married man whose camera-shy wife apparently has come to terms with the “other woman,” he’s one of four compelling and unforgettable individuals profiled in the documentary.
Their motivations are shown to run the gamut from lasciviousness, to loneliness, to devotion to a bizarre aesthetic vision. But they share a compulsion to live out a fantasy with representations of the human form collectively known as “dolls” – from Barbie’s, to sex toys, to sexually-active old-school robots.
Living Dolls is co-written by Judge and Martin Waxman. Directory of photography is Daniel Grant, editor is George Wright. Original soundtrack music is composed by Aaron Davis.
Makin’ Movies Inc. is a Toronto based film and television production company, co founded by award-winning producer/director Judge. The Genie –award winner has created films for TVO, NFB and Bravo TV, among others. She sits on the Board of Directors of Women in Film and Television – Toronto (WIFT-T), is an elected member of the Board for the Toronto Chapter of DOC (the Documentary Organization of Canada) and is a past programmer for Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival
Produced by Makin’ Movies in association with Shaw Media and the assistance of the Shaw–Hot Docs Completion Fund and the assistance of the Canadian Media Fund, The Government of Ontario – Film & Video Tax Credit, the Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit. Distributor is TVF International.