Brent Hoff, editor of the brilliant dvd anthology Wholphin, delivers his picks of TIFF docs:

Bassidji (dir, Mehran Tamadon) - I just feel like we practitioners of western culture still desperately need to better understand the mind of the Islamic extremist and documentaries like Bassidji are truly the best and often only way to get this kind of vital information.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (dir, Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith) - I think people like Daniel Ellsberg are among the most vital members of a democracy. A documentary on this "dangerous man" who put his life at risk to expose a far more dangerous lie is not only long overdue but goddamn timely indeed.

Night Mayor (dir, Guy Maddin) - It's like Guy's reading my mind! I too have always dreamt of harnessing the power of the Aurora Borealis in order to broadcast images from the depths of my psyche to unwitting countrymen! It's an obvious idea really. Ha! The man is a genius!

I should also admit I have a great dread of seeing Videocracy. A movie about Silvio Berlusconi and the media almost certainly has to deal with the infamous nose picking / eating scandal that nearly derailed his career and I just don't think I can handle seeing that video again.

 ALSO: How to Fold a Flag (dir, Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein) - Michael and Petra always show me a part of the world I never even knew I needed to see. 

[P.S. from Thom:  I should note that Guy Maddin's wonderful short Night Mayor is actually fiction; and, don't worry, Videocracy may be full of gross indecency, but nose-picking isn't featured.]