The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The event takes place annually in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June 2020. In addition to the annual festival, Hot Docs owns and operates the

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema (formerly the Bloor Cinema and the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema) is a movie theatre in the Annex district of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the 506 Bloor Street West, near its intersection with the Bathurst ...

, administers multiple production funds, and runs year-round screening programs including Doc Soup and Hot Docs Showcase.

History

Hot Docs was founded in 1993 by the

Documentary Organization of Canada The Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC) is a non-profit organization representing the interests of independent documentary filmmakers in Canada. It was founded as the Canadian Independent Film Caucus (CIFC) in the 1980s. DOC advocates for ...

, previously known as the Canadian Independent Film Caucus. The DOC is a national association of independent filmmakers.

Paul Jay Paul Jay (born 1951) is a journalist, filmmaker, is the founder, editor-in-chief, and host of theAnalysis.news, a news analysis service. He was the founder, CEO and senior editor of The Real News Network (TRNN). Jay was born and raised in Toront ...

, then chair of the CIFC, was the founding board chairperson and Debbie Nightingale was the event producer. The first event was held on February 24 to 27, 1994, including the first industry conference and the National Documentary Film Awards. 20 films of the line-up were screened at the AGO’s Jackman Hall auditorium and the NFB screening room at Richmond and John, while the opening film, ''

André Mathieu, musicien ''André Mathieu, musicien'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Jean-Claude Labrecque and released in 1993.John Griffin, "Musical prodigy's troubled life is subject of film". ''Montreal Gazette'', November 21, 1993. The film is a portra ...

'' by

Jean-Claude Labrecque Jean-Claude Labrecque, (June 19, 1938 – May 31, 2019) was a Film director, director and cinematographer who learned the basics of filmmaking at the National Film Board of Canada. Career Jean-Claude Labrecque was born in Quebec City, Quebec, a ...

, was screened at the Bloor Cinema. In 1995, the festival grew to 29 films. In 1996, Hot Docs separated from the DOC to become an individual entity with a mandate to showcase and support the work of Canadian and international documentary filmmakers and to promote excellence in documentary production. That year's edition had 52 films in the line-up. In 1998, Chris McDonald, formerly of the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded in 1988 by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally launched as a film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for ...

, was hired as its first full-time employee, eventually rising to become president of the festival in 2014. The 2020 festival was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Most cases over the course o ...

. In April, the organization partner with

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

on the short-run series '' Hot Docs at Home'', which broadcast several Canadian documentary films that had been slated to premiere at the festival. In May, Hot Docs launched an online version of the Festival and its own Hot Docs at Home screening platform. The 2021 Hot Docs Festival was originally expected to be a hybrid event, but remained online. In 2022 the festival returned to accepting live audiences. McDonald stepped down as festival president in 2023, to be succeeded by Marie Nelson. Also in 2023, Hussain Currimbhoy was appointed new artistic director of Hot Docs, succeeding Shane Smith, while Heather Haynes became the director of festival programming. In March 2024, Currimbhoy stepped down as artistic director after just a few months in the role, amid allegations of mismanagement and toxic behaviour that had led much of the programming team to resign en masse weeks before the 2024 festival. Many of the programmers who quit in March rejoined the programming team in October after the board implemented a restructuring plan under Haynes's leadership. The anniversary 30th edition of the festival was marked by a record 2848 submissions and 214 screenings. In March 2025 the festival named Diana Sanchez, a former programmer for the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

, as its new executive director.

Festival

Each year, the festival screens over 200 documentaries from countries around the world. In addition to the Canadian and international competitive programs, each festival includes themed programs along with Outstanding Achievement Award and Focus On retrospective programs. Official selections are divided into sections or programs. Recurring programs include: * Canadian Spectrum – A competitive program of Canadian stories and perspectives * International Spectrum – A competitive program of world and international premieres * Artscapes – A showcase for the arts, creativity, music and pop culture * Big Ideas – Screenings of films with thought-provoking issues, followed by an extended discussion with notable guest subjects and experts * DocX – An interdisciplinary program celebrating works outside the traditional format * Focus On – An annual showcase of the work of a Canadian filmmaker * Made In – A selection of films celebrating a selected country or region * Nightvision – A showcase of future cult classics and diverse approaches to filmmaking * Outstanding Achievement Award Retrospective – Celebrating the work of a distinguished filmmaker * Redux – A retrospective program, occasionally focused on a theme * Special Presentations – Award-winning films, celebrated filmmakers, high-profile subjects and special screenings * World Showcase – A popular global selection of docs * Incubator – a program to ignite developing doc projects with creative and market potential. Additionally, each festival includes two to three theme programs that showcase documentaries united by a topic, subject or issue.

Industry Conference & Market

During each festival, Hot Docs hosts an industry conference featuring sessions and workshops, along with market events like the Hot Docs Forum and Deal Maker where filmmakers can connect with more than 2,000 delegates, including

commissioning editor In book publishing, a commissioning editor is essentially a buyer. It is the job of the commissioning editor to advise the publishing house on which books to publish. Usually the actual decision of whether to contract a book is taken by a senior m ...

s, programmers, filmmakers, buyers and distributors from all over the world.

Hot Docs Forum

Founded in 2000 as the Toronto Documentary Forum, the Hot Docs Forum has established itself as North America's essential international documentary market event. Taking place over two days, the forum sees pre-selected international projects present to a round-table of leading international commissioning editors, film fund representatives, financiers, programming executives and delegates. Pitch prizes are also awarded during the Forum, including the Corus-Hot Docs Forum pitch prize, awarding a $10,000 cash prize to be used by the winning team for the production and completion budget for their project; the Cuban Hat Award, providing "real cash, no strings attached" money raised during the Hot Docs Forum; and ''first look'' Pitch Prizes as part of a curated access program for philanthropic supporters of and investors in documentary film. Notable Hot Docs Forum participants include Lars von Trier's ''

The Five Obstructions ''The Five Obstructions'' is a 2003 Danish documentary film directed by Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth. The film is conceived as a documentary, but incorporates lengthy sections of experimental films produced by the filmmakers. The premise is ...

'', Ari Folman's Golden Globe-winning ''

Waltz with Bashir ''Waltz with Bashir'' (, translit. ''Vals Im Bashir'') is a 2008 adult animated war documentary film written, produced, and directed by Ari Folman. It depicts Folman's search for lost memories of his experience as a soldier during the 19 ...

'', Cari Green and Mark Achbar's '' The Corporation'', David France's ''

How to Survive a Plague ''How to Survive a Plague'' is a 2012 American documentary film depicting the early years of the AIDS epidemic, and the efforts of activist groups ACT UP and TAG. It was directed by David France, a journalist who covered AIDS from its beginnings ...

'', Frederick Wiseman's ''

In Jackson Heights ''In Jackson Heights'' is a 2015 documentary film about the community of Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, directed by Frederick Wiseman. The film received widespread critical acclaim. In 2017, the film was considered the thirteenth "Best Fi ...

'' and Sean Fine and Andrea Nix's Academy Award-winning ''

Inocente ''Inocente'' is a 2012 short documentary film directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix. The film received the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). The film is an inspiring coming-of-age story of a 15-year-old girl in California. ...

''.

Awards

Each year, the festival recognizes the top Canadian and international films in official selection for feature, mid-length and short documentary. There are also Canadian and international emerging filmmaker awards, along with industry prizes and audience awards. At the 2019 Festival, $235,000 in cash and prizes was awarded. Hot Docs is recognized as a qualifying festival for the Academy Awards® in the Documentary Feature and Documentary Short Subject categories. The winner of Hot Docs' Best International Feature Documentary Award qualifies for consideration for the Oscar for Documentary Feature, and the winner of Hot Docs' Best Canadian and International Short Documentary Awards qualify for consideration for the Oscar for Documentary Short Subject without standard theatrical runs. The festival also presents juried awards for Best Canadian Short Documentary (Betty Youson Award) and Best International Short Documentary.

Audience Awards

There are several audience awards at the Hot Docs Festival. The Hot Docs Audience Award, Hot Docs DocX Audience Award and Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary are all selected by audience ballot. The Hot Docs Audience Award and DocX Audience award are announced the day after the Festival closes. The Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary was established in 2017. It is announced at an encore screening of the winning film on the final Sunday of the festival, and includes at $50,000 prize courtesy of Rogers Group of Funds. Past winners of the Hot Docs Audience Award include '' The Backward Class'' (2014), ''Unbranded'' (2015), and ''

Angry Inuk ''Angry Inuk'' is a 2016 Canadian Inuit-themed feature-length documentary film written and directed by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril that defends the Inuit seal hunt, as the hunt is a vital means for Inuit to sustain themselves. Subjects in ''Angry Inuk' ...

'' (2016). At the 2017 and 2018 Festivals, one film took both the Hot Docs Audience Award and the Rogers Audience Award: '' Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World'' in 2017 and ''

Transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...

'' in 2018. In 2020, to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on film promotion and distribution, festival organizers opted to split the Rogers Audience Award among all of the top five Canadian films rather than naming a single winner. The films '' The Walrus and the Whistleblower'', '' 9/11 Kids'', ''

The Forbidden Reel ''The Forbidden Reel'' is a 2019 Canadian documentary film, directed by Ariel Nasr. The film profiles the cinema of Afghanistan through a history of the Afghan Film Organization. The film premiered in 2019 at the International Documentary Film Fe ...

'', '' First We Eat'' and '' There's No Place Like This Place, Anyplace'' were each awarded $10,000, while the Jury Award was presented to the film ''

Prayer for a Lost Mitten ''Prayer for a Lost Mitten'' () is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Jean-François Lesage and released in 2020. The film centres on the lost and found office of the Montreal Metro system. The film premiered as part of the 2020 Hot Docs Can ...

''. The Scotiabank Docs For Schools Student Choice Award is determined by audience ballot at Docs For Schools in-cinema screenings, and includes a $5,000 prize courtesy of Scotiabank. The Student Choice Award is announced the day after the festival closes.

Special Awards

Each year, the Hot Docs Board of Directors celebrates a distinguished filmmaker and their career with the Hot Docs Outstanding Achievement Award. Recipients include:

Barbara Kopple Barbara Kopple (born July 30, 1946) is an American film director known primarily for her documentary work. She is credited with pioneering a renaissance of cinema vérité, and bringing the historic French style to a modern American audience. S ...

(2018),

Tony Palmer Anthony or Tony Palmer may refer to: * Anthony Palmer (VC), English recipient of the Victoria Cross * Anthony Palmer (British Army officer) (born 1949), deputy chief of the Defence Staff * Tony Palmer (director) (born 1941), British film director ...

(2017), Steve James (2016),

Patricio Guzmán Patricio Guzmán Lozanes (born August 11, 1941) is a Chilean documentary film director, screenwriter, director. He is most known for his film trilogy '' The Battle of Chile'' (1975–1979) and more recently for another trilogy; ''Nostalgia for th ...

(2015),

Adam Curtis Adam Curtis (born 26 May 1955) is an English documentary filmmaker. Curtis began his career as a conventional documentary producer for the BBC throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The release of '' Pandora's Box'' (1992) marked the in ...

(2014),

Les Blank Les Blank (November 27, 1935 – April 7, 2013) was an American documentary filmmaker best known for his portraits of American traditional musicians. Life and career Leslie Harrod Blank Jr. was born November 27, 1935, in Tampa, Florida. He atten ...

(2013),

Michel Brault Michel Brault, OQ (25 June 1928 – 21 September 2013) was a Canadian cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He was a leading figure of Direct Cinema, characteristic of the French branch of the Nationa ...

(2012),

Terence Macartney-Filgate Terence Macartney-Filgate (6 August 1924 – 11 July 2022) was a British-Canadian film director who directed, wrote, produced or shot more than 100 films in a career spanning more than 50 years. Early life Born in England, Macartney-Filgate l ...

(2011), Kim Longinotto (2010),

Alanis Obomsawin Alanis Obomsawin, (born August 31, 1932) is an Abenaki people, Abenaki American Canadian, American-Canadian filmmaker, singer, artist, and activist primarily known for her documentary films. Born in New Hampshire, United States and raised prima ...

(2009),

Richard Leacock Richard Leacock (18 July 192123 March 2011)
The Telegraph (Lon ...

(2008),

Heddy Honigmann Heddy Honigmann (1 October 1951 – 21 May 2022) was a Peruvian-born Dutch film director of fictional and documentary films. Early life and education Honigmann was born on 1 October 1951 in Lima, Peru, to Jewish refugees. Her mother, Sarah Pa ...

(2007),

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

(2006),

Errol Morris Errol Mark Morris (born February 5, 1948) is an American film director known for documentaries that interrogate the epistemology of their subjects, and the invention of the Interrotron. In 2003, his '' The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Li ...

(2005),

Michael Maclear Michael Maclear, OC (1929 – December 25, 2018) was an award-winning Anglo-Canadian journalist, documentary filmmaker, and former correspondent for various CBC programs and for CTV's '' W5''. He is the great-great-grand- nephew of South African ...

(2004),

Nick Broomfield Nicholas Broomfield (born 1948) is an English documentary film director. His self-reflective style has been regarded as influential to many later filmmakers. In the early 21st century, he began to use non-actors in scripted works, which he call ...

(2003),

Frederick Wiseman Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is primarily about exploring American institutions. In 2017, ''The New York Times'' called him "one of the most important and origina ...

(2002),

D. A. Pennebaker Donn Alan Pennebaker (; July 15, 1925 – August 1, 2019) was an American documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of direct cinema. Performing arts and politics were his primary subjects. In 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci ...

and

Chris Hegedus Chris Hegedus (born April 23, 1952) is an American documentary filmmaker. She and her husband, filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker, founded the company Pennebaker Hegedus Films. Hegedus was nominated for an Academy Award for '' The War Room'', a behind ...

(2000) and

Albert Maysles Albert Maysles (November 26, 1926 – March 5, 2015) and his brother David Maysles (January 10, 1931 – January 3, 1987; ) were an American documentary filmmaking team known for their work in the Direct Cinema style. Their best-known films in ...

(1999). The annual Doc Mogul Award recognizes an individual who has made essential contributions to the creative vitality of the documentary industry over the course of their career. The award is presented by the Hot Docs Board of Directors at a luncheon on the Monday of the festival. Recipients include: Cara Mertes (2018), Monique Simard (2017), Iikka Vehkalahti (2016), Takahiro Hamano (2015), Mette Hoffman Meyer (2014),

Debra Zimmerman Debra Zimmerman is an American film distributor and lecturer. She has been the Executive Director non-profit media arts organization Women Make Movies since 1983. Life and career Zimmerman was born in New York City. In the late 1970s she worked ...

(2013), Diane Weyermann (2012),

Ally Derks Ally Derks is a documentary film curator and cinema industry professional from the Netherlands. She co-founded IDFA in 1988 and directed it for 30 years. Derks is nicknamed ‘Madam IDFA’ and ‘the High Priestess of Documentaries’ for her ...

(2011), Jan Rofekamp (2010),

Sheila Nevins Sheila Nevins (born April 6, 1939) is an American television producer and former head of MTV Documentary Films division of MTV Entertainment Studios. Previously, Nevins was the president of HBO Documentary Films. She has produced over 1,000 docu ...

(2009),

Nick Fraser Nick Fraser (born 21 January 1948) is a British documentary producer and journalist. Education Fraser was educated at Eton College, and graduated from Exeter College, Oxford in 1969. BBC and ''Storyville'' Fraser spent seventeen years at the B ...

(2008), and

Rudy Buttignol Rudy Buttignol (born June 18, 1951) is a Canadian television network executive and entrepreneur. Buttignol was the president and CEO of British Columbia's Knowledge Network, BC's public broadcaster, from 2007 until June 2022. He was also presi ...

(2007). The Don Haig Award is presented to a Canadian producer with a film in the festival, and recognizes creative vision and entrepreneurship. The winner receives at $10,000 cash prize courtesy of the Don Haig Foundation and Telefilm Canada; and the recipient also awards $5,000 to an emerging female documentary filmmaker of their choice to support career development. In honour of her legacy, the

Lindalee Tracey Award The Lindalee Tracey Award is an annual film award, presented in memory of Canadian documentary filmmaker Lindalee Tracey to emerging filmmakers whose works reflect values of social justice and a strong personal point of view."Award named for filmm ...

is presented to an emerging Canadian filmmaker. The winner receives a $5,000 cash prize from the Lindalee Tracey Fund, $5,000 in post-production services and a specially commissioned, hand-blown glass sculpture by Andrew Kuntz.

Industry Awards

Each year at the Hot Docs Forum, three types of pitch prizes are awarded to projects: * ''first look'' Pitch Prizes – Two to three projects receive a total of more than $100,0000, which is awarded by the ''first look'' participants. * Hot Docs Corus Pitch Prize – A $10,000 prize, disbursed from the Corus-Hot Docs Funds, which is awarded to the best Canadian Forum pitch, as voted by attending international buyers. * Cuban Hat Award – A no-strings-attached cash prize, donated by Forum observers, determined by Forum observer ballot.

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema

Hot Docs owns and operates

, a century-old theatre located in Toronto's

The Annex The Annex is a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood extend north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street (Toronto), Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road, ...

. In 2011, the cinema was purchased by Toronto-based Blue Ice Group, a film financing and production company, and its partner, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. After renovations, the cinema reopened in March 2012 under the management of Hot Docs as the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, becoming a year-round home for first-run Canadian and international documentaries, as well as special documentary presentations and showcases, including the popular Doc Soup screening series. In June 2016, a donation from the Rogers Family enabled Hot Docs to purchase the cinema from the Blue Ice Group.

Year-Round Programs

In addition to Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, Hot Docs runs several year-round programs in Toronto and across Canada.

Doc Soup

In 2001, Hot Docs introduced the Doc Soup monthly screening series running October through April at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. Doc Soup series launched in Vancouver and Calgary in 2008, and Edmonton in 2009. Doc Soup Calgary continues in partnership with

Calgary International Film Festival The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, in late September and early October. CIFF is the largest international film festival in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. In 2020, thei ...

, while the Vancouver and Edmonton series have since evolved into a Hot Docs Showcase events. In 2016, a Doc Soup Sundays series was introduced at Hot Docs Cinema, with a focus on documentaries about art, culture and design. Notable past Doc Soup titles include Oscar-winner Louie Psihoyos's ''

Racing Extinction ''Racing Extinction'' is a 2015 documentary about the Holocene extinction, ongoing anthropogenic mass extinction of species and the efforts from scientists, activists, and journalists to document it by Oscar-winning director Louie Psihoyos, who ...

'', Kirby Dick's ''

The Hunting Ground ''The Hunting Ground'' is a 2015 American documentary film about the incidence of sexual assault on college campuses in the United States and the reported failure of college administrations to deal with it adequately. Written and directed by Ki ...

'',

Joe Berlinger Joseph Berlinger (born October 30, 1961) is an American documentary filmmaker and producer. Particularly focused on true crime documentaries, Berlinger's films and docu-series draw attention to social justice issues in the US and abroad in such ...

's ''Under African Skies'', R.J. Cutler's ''

The September Issue ''The September Issue'' is a 2009 American documentary film directed by R. J. Cutler. The film centers on editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and the editorial team at '' American Vogue'' as they prepare the magazine’s September 2007 issue, at the tim ...

'', Yung Chang's award-winning ''

Up the Yangtze ''Up the Yangtze'' is a 2007 documentary film directed by Chinese Canadian, Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang. The film focuses on people affected by the building of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze river in Hubei, China. The theme of ...

'', Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's Oscar-nominated ''

Jesus Camp ''Jesus Camp'' is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing about a charismatic Christian summer camp, where children spend their summers being taught that they have "prophetic gifts" and can "take back America fo ...

'' and

's ''Crazy''.

Hot Docs Showcase

The Showcase program brings documentaries to communities across Ontario and Canada. Past Ontario-based showcase screenings have occurred at the Art Gallery of Hamilton BMO Financial Group World Film Festival, Belleville Downtown DocFest,

Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, also known as Cinéfest and Cinéfest Sudbury is an annual film festival in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada,"Cinefest provides cultural landmark". ''Sudbury Star'', September 16, 1999. held over nine ...

, Guelph Film Festival, Junction North International Documentary Festival in Sudbury,

Museum London Museum London is an art and history museum located in London, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the forks of the Thames River. It started its operations in 1940 with London Public Library and amalgamated with London Regional Art Gallery and Lon ...

, Sault Community Theatre Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, and the

Windsor International Film Festival The Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF) is a cultural, charitable organization whose mission is to recognize and celebrate the art of cinema by showcasing Canadian and International films and filmmakers. When the festival first took place, ...

. Cross-Canada screenings include annual showcase screenings in Vancouver at Vancity Theatre, Winnipeg at Gimme Some Truth and Edmonton at Northwestfest.

Hot Docs Collection

Hundreds of documentary titles, including past festival and Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema selections, production fund recipients and market program alumni, are offered on on-demand viewing platforms across North America. Platforms include

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

, Hoopla,

Kanopy Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video platform for public and academic libraries that offers films, TV shows, educational videos and documentaries. The service is free for end users, but libraries pay fees on a pay-per-view model, from which ...

, Sundance Now,

Vimeo On Demand Vimeo ( ) is an American video hosting, sharing, and services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices and operates on a software as a service ...

Bell Fibe TV Bell Fibe TV is an IPTV-based multichannel television service offered by Bell Canada, as part of fibre broadband services in parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba (as Bell MTS Fibe TV) and Atlantic Canada (as Bell Aliant F ...

, Cineplex Store,

CraveTV Crave (originally CraveTV) is a Canadian subscription video on demand service owned by Bell Media. The service competes directly with other subscription-based over-the-top streaming services operating in Canada, primarily against American-bas ...

and Rogers On Demand.

Production Funds

Hot Docs currently administers three production funds: the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund provides financial support to Canadian filmmakers; the Hot Docs-Blue Ice Group Documentary Fund provides financial support to documentary filmmakers based Africa; and the CrossCurrents Doc Fund aims to foster storytelling from historically underrepresented or marginalized communities. Hot Docs also administered the Corus-Hot Docs Funds (formerly Shaw Media-Hot Docs Funds).

CrossCurrents Doc Fund

The CrossCurrents Doc Fund is an international documentary production fund that fosters storytelling from within communities whose perspectives have been historically underrepresented or marginalized. In particular, it focuses on emerging filmmakers who have a connection to or shared experience with their subject, as well as sharing stories with audiences within and outside the featured community. Initiated by the R&M Lang Foundation in 2013, the Fund promotes inclusion in the documentary space celebrating all doc forms and the diverse perspectives of storytellers. The short/interactive stream awards one $10,000 CAD grant and Hot Docs fellowship to participate in the Emerging Filmmakers Lab at Hot Docs. In 2016, the Panicaro Foundation introduced the theatrical stream for feature doc projects granting up to $30,000 CAD, and Hot Docs fellowships, to one or more projects each year.

Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund

Established in 2011, the Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund helps enable more African documentary filmmakers to tell stories and contribute to a new generation of the African documentary community. In 2016, the Fund was renewed with an additional $1.25 million CAD, bringing the total investment to $2.35 million. The Fund provides development grants of up to 10,000 CAD and production grants of up to $40,000 CAD to four to 10 projects annually. Each year, up to five funded projects are also invited to participate in a year-long mentorship program, along with private filmmaker labs at Hot Docs and the Durban FilmMart/Durban International Film Festival.

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund

In June 2016, Hot Docs and the Rogers Foundation founded the $1-million Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund to support Canadian documentary filmmakers. Over 10 years, production grants will be distributed to Canadian documentary filmmakers. Up to $20,000 is granted to three or four projects each year.

Corus-Hot Docs Funds

Established in 2008, the $4-million Corus-Hot Docs Funds provided production grants and no-interest development loans to projects at critical stages. After successfully distributing its allocated funding over eight years to 147 documentaries, the Corus-Hot Docs Funds closed in 2016.

References

External links

* {{Parades and Festivals in Toronto Film festivals in Toronto Documentary film festivals in Canada Film festivals established in 1993 Canadian documentary film awards Film markets 1993 establishments in Ontario