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Hot Docs and Netflix are supporting the next generation of filmmakers through their funniest non-fiction tales.

In 2021/22, this short documentary initiative gave five filmmakers the chance to bring to film their funniest real-life stories. Netflix is supporting each creator with $20,000 USD and providing mentorship and career development support by their documentary team. The five selected It's Funny Because It's True projects will premiere globally on Netflix's social channels later this year.

Selected Projects


  • Lonia & Bronia
     (D: Julia Pelka & Paulina Skibinska | Poland)

    Lonia and Bronia are identical twin sisters. They are like lovebirds. After 50 years of separation, they finally have time to hang out together, starting with a crazy Warsaw city tour set to a musical rhythm.
  • My Partner Lives in My Phone
    D: Lily Ahree Siegel & Hugh Clegg | UK

    A filmmaker investigates her sexuality and lack of intimacy while in a long-distance relationship.
  • The Nugget King
    D: Darcy Waite | Canada

    A simple tweet turned Cody Bondarchuck into the person now known to the world as the Robin Hood of Chicken Nuggets. His meme has been translated into different languages, and even caught the interest of Elon Musk and Tom Hanks.
  • Paradise of Cats
    D: Carolina Fusilier | Mexico

    After piecing together a surrealist jigsaw puzzle of Remedios Varo’s image of a paradise of cats, a couple begins to encounter mysterious cats being born in their front yard. 
  • Prom Night Flex
    D: Leon Lozano | USA

    A teen ends his senior prom night by recording the most embarrassing video of his life, only to have it accidentally played for the entire class the next day.
     


It’s Funny Because It’s True is a new initiative between Hot Docs and Netflix, who previously joined forces in 2018 to launch the Hot Docs Canadian Storytellers Project. This five-year initiative invests in core funding and professional development programs for Canadian filmmakers and was awarded the 2021 Business / Arts Community Impact Award.

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