Hot Docs Forum handed out over CAD 47,000 (approx. €32,000) in prizes May 1 at the close of its 25thedition. The Hot Docs Forum is supported by the Canada Media Fund. The First Look pitch prizes are awarded directly to the filmmakers. “The prizes take them one step closer to completing their film and creating lasting social impact for the causes associated with their work,” organisers underline.
The First Prize of CAD 20,000 went to Arrest the Midwife (WT) (D: Elaine Epstein | P: Elaine Epstein, Robin Hessman, Ruth Ann Harnisch | Underdog Films, Inc. (USA)), in which the arrest of three midwives serving Amish and Mennonite communities spurs an unlikely group of activists to join the fight for reproductive rights.
The Second Prize of CAD 10,000 was awarded to Autumn of the Patriarch (D: Anna Bogoliubova | P: Torstein Grude Ruwê Yuxinawá, Oddleiv Vik, Raphael Pëlissou, Valérie Montmartin, Iikka Vehkalahti, Sinisa Juricic | Piraya Film AS (Norway), Little Big Story (France), IV Films (Finland), Nukleus Film (Croatia)). The film is described as “a documentary dystopia that explores the survival strategies of people who live inside the modern Russian dictatorship which itself has become a formidable force of mass murder.”
The Third Prize of CAD 5,000 went to Under the Flags, the Sun (D: Juanjo Pereira | P: Paula Zyngierman, Ivana Urízar, Gabriela Sabaté, Leandro Listorti, Juanjo Pereira | Cine Mio / Ivana Urízar (Paraguay), MaravillaCine S.R.L. (Argentina), Sabaté Films S.R.L. (Paraguay), Juanjo Pereira (Paraguay)). The film reconstructs Paraguay’s untold history using film material found around the world, delving into Alfredo Stroessner’s dictatorship—among Latin America’s longest—with traces still felt today. Statement from first look participants: “Every project that pitched had incredible merit. All the prizes honour bravery in a time of fear.”
The CMF-Hot Docs Forum Canadian Pitch Prize, presented in partnership with the Canada Media Fund, is a CAD 10,000 cash prize that is awarded to the best Canadian pitch and is intended to go towards the production and completion of the winning project. The 2024 CMF-Hot Docs Forum Canadian Pitch Prize was awarded to This Land of Ours (D: Ngardy Conteh George | P: Ngardy Conteh George, Alison Duke | Oya Media Group Inc. (Canada)).
The Cuban Hat Award, which offers “real cash, no strings attached” support for powerful and unique projects, was awarded to the best pitch as decided by Forum attendees. The 2024 Award went to Anatomy of a Life(D: Emma Francis-Snyder | P: Tiffany Fisher Love | Anatomy of a Life LLC (USA)), a hybrid film that explores the end of life, as imagined by the dying and as experienced by the ones they are leaving behind. Established in 2009 in an impromptu display of collegial support, the Cuban Hat Award is decided by ballots collected from Hot Docs Forum observers, and the cash prize is raised by passing the hat. This year’s collection brought in CAD 746.15, USD 192.12, € 15.95, 15 Colombian Pesos, 2,000 Hungarian Forint, 2,000 South Korean Won, 200 Ukrainian Hryvnia, 7,000 Indonesian Rupiah, 100 Danish Krone, and 30 Nicaraguan Cordoba.
Hot Docs will match the total cash prizes, bringing the total amount to CAD 2,140. The prize also included two All-Access Passes to Hot Docs 2025, one pass to IDFA, two passes to the Camden International Film Festival, a two-night stay in Brooklyn, a fundraising or distribution consultation and a one-year subscription to Women Make Movies, a virtual consultation session with BBC Content’s Lucie Kon, a $100 IOU and feedback call with Chicken & Egg Pictures’ Elaisha Stokes, and other exciting gifts.
Cuban Hat Project, represented by Makila’s Axel Laroche and François Rihouay, awarded the Best Decision Maker Award to Rasha Salti from ARTE France – La Lucarne.
At this year’s Hot Docs Forum, 20 projects—represented by 22 filmmakers, 11 of whom are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) and 16 of whom are women—representing 18 countries, were presented to a gathering of essential key funders and decision makers as well as filmmakers, producers, and other observers. A total of 58 projects pitched in more than 900 pre-arranged meetings to more than 100 decision makers during Deal Maker, the Festival’s one-on-one curated pitch event.
“This year, Hot Docs offered a robust industry program, with four days of Hot Docs Industry knowledge sessions, networking events and programs that included the Hot Docs Forum, Hot Docs Deal Maker and additional industry content,” write organisers, with over 1400 registered delegates, including more than 200 decision makers from 69 countries participated in this year’s live industry programs at Hot Docs.
