HOT DOCS WRAPS RECORD-BREAKING FESTIVAL WITH 25% LEAP IN ATTENDANCE
AUDIENCE AND CIDA AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Toronto, April 28, 2008 – Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival wrapped up its most successful event ever this Sunday with a record-breaking attendance of 85,000, a 25% increase over last year. Over the 11-day festival, 172 films representing 36 countries were featured in 240+ screenings. Hot Docs hosted over 200 filmmakers and subjects who attended screenings to participate in lively and informative post-screening Q&As with festival audiences. Featured guests included: Isabella Rossellini (GREEN PORNO), Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. James Orbinski (TRIAGE), women’s rights activist Dr. Mohini Giri (THE FORGOTTEN WOMAN), Norwegian BASE jumper Karina Hollekim (20 SECONDS OF JOY), Project Runway winner Jay McCarroll (ELEVEN MINUTES), National Chairperson for the Council of Canadians Maude Barlow (FLOW), Canadian heavy metal icons Anvil (ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL) and others.
“The success of this year’s Festival is a testament to our audiences,” says Executive Director Chris McDonald. “Their passion for docs and investment in the Festival is inspiring. Filmmakers love screening their work in this city.”
Docs for Schools, Hot Docs’ educational initiative that offers free in-school and in-theatre screenings of festival films for students and educators in Toronto and the surrounding area, also saw remarkable growth with 22,000 students participating, up from 15,000 in 2007.
Also North America’s largest documentary conference and market, Hot Docs welcomed 2210 industry delegates, accredited media and sponsors, including official delegations from Catalan, South Korea, Brazil, Italy and the Nordic region, who all took part in a wealth of professional sessions and market events. The Toronto Documentary Forum, Hot Docs’ renowned market event, also had a banner event with 550 delegates, including 190 broadcasters and distributors.
In addition to the awards announced at the Hot Docs Awards Presentation on Friday, April 25, the Hot Docs Audience Award and the CIDA Award were named at the close of the Festival.
TAKING ROOT: THE VISION OF WANGARI MAATHAI (D: Lisa Merton, Alan Dater; USA), the inspiring story of the Nobel laureate whose simple act of planting trees inspired Kenya’s environmental movement, protected the human rights of its people and defended the nation’s democracy, won the Hot Docs Audience Award. Sponsored by History Television, the award is decided by audience ballot.
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Prize for best Canadian documentary on international development was awarded to SHOCK WAVES (D: Pierre Mignault, Hélène Magny) for its courageous portrayal of a country and its people. The documentary shows the powerful impact that community-based radio has in affecting significant change throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The CIDA Jury commended the filmmakers for sharing the risks taken by the Radio Okapi journalists on the ground and for bringing a fresh perspective to this under-reported story. The CIDA Award comes with a $5000 cash prize.
Additionally, the Doc It! Award, decided by a special jury, was given to ALZHEIMERS: A FAMILY’S JOURNEY (D: Ayesha Khalid, Katie Rastrick), with TINY’S FOOTPRINT (D: Natalie Linton, Inthuja Selveratnam, Alisha Sunderji) receiving second place. Doc It! is a showcase for short films by youth aged 14 -18 that screens during the Festival.
The 2008 Hot Docs top 10, as determined by audience ballot, are:
- TAKING ROOT: THE VISION OF WANGARI MAATHAI (D: Lisa Merton, Alan Dater; USA)
- PLANET B-BOY (D: Benson Lee; USA)
- DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER (D: Kurt Kuenne; USA)
- THE ENGLISH SURGEON (D: Geoffrey Smith; UK)
- TRIAGE: DR. JAMES ORBINSKI’S HUMANITARIAN DILEMMA (D: Patrick Reed; Canada)
- ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL (D: Sacha Gervasi; USA)
- THE BEETLE (D: Yishai Orian; Israel)
- DADDY TRAN: A LIFE IN 3-D (D: Siu Ta; Canada)
- STRANDED, I’VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS (D: Gonzalo Arijon; France)
- ALL TOGETHER NOW (D: Adrian Wills; Canada)
The Hot Docs’ 2009 edition will take place April 30 – May 10.
Hot Docs is proud to include Rogers, History Television, Telefilm Canada and Documentary as its Presenting Partners.
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