With $50,000+ up for grabs in prize money, the 20 projects selected for Hot Docs Forum 2021 represent 16 countries as far afield as Canada, Serbia, Japan and South Africa. The event runs live May 4-5 and will be subsequently published on the industry conference online platform for All-Access passholders.
“The projects selected for this year’s Forum reflect Hot Docs’ unwavering commitment to uplifting emerging filmmakers who, due to industry-wide financial constraints, combined with a lack of access to festivals as meeting places to approach bubbles of resources such as collective support and funding, have been the most affected by the events of this past year,” said Dorota Lech, Hot Docs Forum producer.
“We are tremendously inspired by artists who persisted in finding creative approaches to filmmaking, persevered in shaping and sharing stories from around the globe, and who managed to break through countless barriers to submit inspired applications,” she added.
Commented Lisa Valencia-Svensson, acting industry programs director for Hot Docs: “The 2021 edition of the Hot Docs Forum is a bold and powerful mix of cinematic artistry and journalism, with 10 BIPOC and 20 women represented out of the 25 filmmakers…The slate of projects gives us hope about the future of non-fiction filmmaking in its many forms, and excites us about films that are just over the horizon and will soon reach cinema audiences around the world.”
Pitch teams will present their project live online to top decision makers, who will then provide their comments and feedback. Afterwards, the recorded pitches and feedback will be posted on the Doc Shop for All-Access Online Industry pass holders to view.
Participating decision makers confirmed to date include A&E Networks, A24, Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, Al Jazeera English, American Documentary POV, ARD-NDR, ARD – SWR, ARD – WDR, ARTE France, ARTE G.E.I.E, Bell Media, BBC Storyville, CBC, Catapult, Chicken & Egg, CNN Films, Discovery Channel, Doc Society, EBS Korea, ESPN, Field of Vision, Ford Foundation, Fork Films, France Télévisions, The Guardian, Hulu, iQIYI, Impact Partners, ITVS, Knowledge Network, National Geographic, NBC Universal, Netflix, The New York Times – Op Docs, NHK, Participant Media, RAI, SBS, SVT, Sundance Film Institute, TVO, Vice Studios, YLE and ZDF/ARTE.
Participants in this year’s Hot Docs ‘first look’ program, which offers curated access for philanthropic supporters of and investors in documentary film, will again fund and award the first look Pitch Prize. Now in its fifth year, the prize provides cash awards to the top Forum pitches as determined by ‘first look’ participants.
For the 13th consecutive year, the Canadian Forum Pitch Prize presented in partnership with DGC National and DGC Ontario, will be awarded to the best Canadian pitch, as decided on by a committee of international (non-Canadian) commissioning editors in attendance. Winners will be announced during the online industry market.
Selected projects will also participate in Hot Docs Deal Maker, a curated one-on-one pitch meeting program. An additional 35 projects also selected for Hot Docs Deal Maker will be announced on April 14.
The following projects will be presented at this year’s Hot Docs Forum:
AFRICAN MOOT
Production Companies: Undercurrent Film and Television CC (South Africa), Social Transformation and Empowerment Projects (South Africa)
Director: Shameela Seedat
Producers: Francois Verste, Shameela Seedat
AGAINST THE TIDE
Production Companies: Snooker Club Films Pvt Ltd (India), A Little Anarky Films (India)
Director: Sarvnik Kaur
Producers: Koval Bhatia, Sarvnik Kaur
THE AGE OF LONELINESS
Production Companies: Studio112 INC (Canada), Izi Films, LLC (USA)
Director: Jenni Morello
Producers: Leslie Norville, Bennett Elliott, Jenni Morello
BLACK MOTHERS
Production Companies: Dandara Productions LLC (USA), Topeka Pictures, LLC (USA)
Director: Débora Souza Silva
Producers: David Felix Sutcliffe, Débora Souza Silva
BLIX
Production Companies: Pink Productions, s.r.o. (Czech Republic), Sisyfos Film Production AB (Sweden)
Director: Greta Stocklassa
Producers: Radovan Síbrt, Alžběta Karásková
BREAKING THE BRICK
Production Company: La Ventana Cine (Chile)
Director: Carola Fuentes
Producer: Rafael Valdeavellano
BRIGIDY BRAM: THE KENDAL HANNA STORY
Production Companies: Daydream Reels, LLC (USA), Best Yet Entertainment Ltd (The Bahamas), Metamension CC (South Africa)
Directors: Kareem Mortimer, Laura Gamse
Producers: Laura Gamse, Kareem Mortimer, Bernard Myburgh
FIRE OF LOVE
Production Company: Fire of Love Productions Inc. (Canada / USA)
Director: Sara Dosa
Producers: Shane Boris, Ina Fichman, Sara Dosa
A HAWK AS BIG AS A HORSE
Production Company: Les Steppes Productions SARL (France)
Director: Sasha Kulak
Producer: Louis Beaudemont
THE LAST NOMADS
Production Companies: Wake Up d.o.o. (Serbia), Cut-Up d.o.o. (Montenegro), Kinematograf d.o.o (Croatia)
Directors: Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić
Producers: Biljana Tutorov, Veliša Popović, Dijana Mladjenović
LIGHT OF THE SETTING SUN
Production Companies: Walking Productions, LLC (USA), Setting Sun Productions, LLC (USA)
Director: Vicky Du
Producers: Danielle Varga, Vicky Du
MADE IN ETHIOPIA
Production Companies: Made in Ethiopia, LLC (USA), Gobez Media Inc. (Canada)
Director: Xinyan Yu, Max Duncan
Producers: Tamara Dawit, Xinyan Yu, Max Duncan
MOTHER VERA
Production Company: She Makes Productions Ltd. (UK)
Director: Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson
Producer: Laura Shacham
POSSESSING EINSTEIN
Production Company: Frequent Flyer Films Inc. (Canada)
Director: Michelle Shephard
Producers: Bryn Hughes, Carolyn Abraham
PROJECT X
Production Companies: Project X, LLC (Japan), Hanashi Films, LTD (UK), Cineric Creative, LLC (USA)
Director: Shiori Ito
Producers: Hanna Aqvilin, Eric Nyari, Shiori Ito
SWAN SONG
Production Companies: Visitor Media (Canada), Mercury Films Inc. (Canada)
Director: Chelsea McMullan
Producers: Chelsea McMullan, Sean O’Neill, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier
UNTITLED MARJOLAINE GRAPPE FILM
Production Companies: Memento SAS (France), Sweet Work Films, LLC (USA)
Director: Marjolaine Grappe
Producers: Thierry Marro, Dana Nachman
VARADO: THE CURSE OF GOLD
Production Companies: YUZU Productions SAS (France), Compass Films (Iceland)
Directors: Nicos Argillet, Stéphane Correa
Producers: Christian Popp, Heather Millard
WILFRED BUCK
Production Companies: Door Number 3 Productions (Canada), National Film Board of Canada (Canada)
Director: Lisa Jackson
Producers: Lisa Jackson, Alicia Smith
YOGA VILLAGE
Production Companies: Shanghai Jiemian Cailian Press Technologies Co., Ltd. (China)
Director: Rongfei Guo
Producers: Wenxin Zhong
