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This year’s edition of the Hot Docs film festival runs April 25 to May 5, with 168 films playing at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, TIFF Lightbox and Scotiabank Theatre Toronto.

In Beethoven’s Nine, Canadian documentarian becomes a storyline after a devastating loss
Beethoven's Nine_Larry Weinstein For feature on doc Beethoven's Nine, and director Larry Weinstein.
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The Day Iceland Stood Still documentary is a worldwide cri de coeur
The Day Iceland Stood Still - On October 24, 1975, when 90% of Iceland’s women took the “day off” to show the importance of their paid and unpaid work to the economy of Iceland, the country came to a standstill. As US broadcaster John Chancellor reported on NBC’s Nightly News, “In Iceland today the beds were not made, dishes not washed, the telephone system went dead, newspapers did not publish, theaters did not open, the national airlines canceled flights, and most of the schools were closed.”
Two Hot Docs board members resign as beleaguered film festival marks opening weekend
The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema at 506 Bloor St. West in Toronto, is photographed on April 22, 2024. (Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)
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Hot Docs 2024: Behind the super-producing powers of Canada’s documentary titan Ina Fichman
Hot Docs 2024: Born Hungry follows Sash Simpson’s rise from hardship to haute-cuisine
Born Hungry 2_credit Lucia Remedios Chef Sash Simpson

Latest news and articles about the Hot Docs festival

film
In Beethoven’s Nine, Canadian documentarian becomes a storyline after a devastating loss
Beethoven's Nine_Larry Weinstein For feature on doc Beethoven's Nine, and director Larry Weinstein.
bigger picture
The Day Iceland Stood Still documentary is a worldwide cri de coeur
Johanna Schneller
film
Two Hot Docs board members resign as beleaguered film festival marks opening weekend
The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema at 506 Bloor St. West in Toronto, is photographed on April 22, 2024. (Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)
bigger picture
Hot Docs 2024: Behind the super-producing powers of Canada’s documentary titan Ina Fichman
Johanna Schneller
off duty
Chef Sash Simpson on the journey from being born hungry to feeding people for a living
Sash Simpson
film
On eve of Hot Docs 2024, president Marie Nelson addresses beleaguered state of the film festival
Hot Docs president Marie Nelson is pictured at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto on March 7, 2024 (Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail)
film
Hot Docs 2024: Born Hungry follows Sash Simpson’s rise from hardship to haute-cuisine
Born Hungry 2_credit Lucia Remedios Chef Sash Simpson
film
Six must-watch films at Hot Docs 2024
Red_Fever_2 Hot Docs 2024
film
Hot Docs 2024: Everything you need to know to attend the festival in Toronto
A documentary about the impact of Indigenous people on western culture is among the films headed to this year's Hot Docs festival in Toronto. Women are shown in the film "Red Fever" in an undated still image handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Hot Docs, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
arts
Which Canadian star is making their Broadway debut this spring? Take our arts and culture quiz
FILE - This Jan. 19, 2012 file photo shows a Broadway street sign in New York. Fans of show tunes are getting another place to get their fix now that iHeartRadio has launched a Broadway channel and digital hub. iHeartRadio Broadway on Monday started offering streaming music from Broadway shows and a companion website will offer news, videos, interviews and podcasts. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)
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Hot Docs announces 2024 lineup amid staffing upheaval
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema -- interior view. Courtesy of Hot Docs
film
Hot Docs artistic director steps down, programmers exit en masse from this year’s festival
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema -- interior view. Courtesy of Hot Docs
arts
Films about Indigenous influences, declawing cats among Hot Docs world premieres
A documentary about the impact of Indigenous people on western culture is among the films headed to this year's Hot Docs festival in Toronto. Women are shown in the film "Red Fever" in an undated still image handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Hot Docs, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
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Hot Docs ‘running out of time’ as organization sounds alarm over film festival’s future
Hot Docs president Marie Nelson is pictured at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto on March 7, 2024 (Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail)
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Hot Docs, hotter challenges: Outgoing president Chris McDonald on 25 years of documentary drama
Chris McDonald, Hot Docs co-president.
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Hot Docs 2023: Festival opener Twice Colonized offers a deeply intimate, powerful portrait of an Indigenous hero
Twice Colonized (Documentary). Renowned Inuit lawyer Aaju Peter who has led a lifelong fight for the rights of her people. When her youngest son unexpectedly passes away, Aaju embarks on a personal journey to bring her colonizers in both Canada and Denmark to justice. Courtesy of Eye Steel Film / Red Marrow Media
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What to watch and how to watch it at Hot Docs 2023
Praying for Armageddon (Documentary). The United States of America is more in need of freedom from religion than it has cause to worry about freedom of religion, as powerful Evangelicals push to manifest the Apocalypse by infiltrating the political machinery of the US government. They exercise their substantial influence to hasten the biblical prophecy of Armageddon, which threatens not only the country’s democratic processes but also its foreign policy in the Middle East and world peace. Praying for Armageddon connects disparate dots and builds a persuasive argument for how Evangelical “charities” support settler colonialism in Israel, and how Donald Trump's installation of a permanent US military base and his relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem all factor into this plan. Courtesy of Hot Docs
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At Hot Docs 2023, the Lac-Mégantic tragedy is explored from every angle imaginable
Lac-Mégantic – This Is Not an Accident (Documentary). The night of July 6, 2013, changed the small, picturesque town of Lac-Mégantic in Quebec’s Eastern Townships in unfathomable and horrifying ways. In a matter of minutes, 47 people were killed instantly, and more than 2,000 were displaced when an unattended train derailed nearby. What exactly transpired that night? Now a decade later, director Philippe Falardeau revisits the event, offering viewers a detailed post-mortem of the events leading to one of Canada’s worst rail disasters. Through interviews with the families of those who died, former and current town officials and the men held responsible, this riveting and carefully crafted four-part series details the shocking sequence of decisions that ultimately led to a spill of more than 7.7 million litres of crude oil, irreversibly changing the lives of everyone in town. Courtesy of Hot Docs
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Hot Docs 2023: Former Supreme Court judge Rosalie Abella claims another precedent with new film
WITHOUT PRECEDENT: THE SUPREME LIFE OF ROSALIE ABELLA (Documentary). Rosalie Abella strides down the hallways of the Supreme Court of Canada during her final days on the bench. Courtesy of Melbar Entertainment Group
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Hot Docs 2022: In wake of Heather Conway’s exit, Canadian film fest looks to ‘catch our breath’
Barry Hertz
Barry Hertz
film
Hot Docs 2022: Your 10 best fest bets, from an inside look at Disney to the real story of Putin’s No. 1 enemy
arts
Hot Docs to feature films on competitive pigeon racing, political protest
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Hot Docs 2021: Your 10 best bets, from a Canadian cryptocurrency mystery to a long-lost summer of soul
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‘Hot Docs is spring in Toronto’: Inside the ‘heartbreaking’ decision to postpone North America’s largest documentary film festival
Barry Hertz
Barry Hertz
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An oral history of Hot Docs: How the festival went from humble beginnings to industry dominance