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Competition line-up comprises 64 titles, featuring 47 world premieres, 9 international premieres and 6 European premieres. 58% of the titles (or 37 films) are directed by one or more women (66% when including films co-directed by female and male directors). Fest runs April 21 – May 2.

Agnieszka Holland, Pedro Almodovar, Stephen Daldry and Peter Gabriel among artists adding their support in demanding the release of Pussy Riot’s Masha Alekhin and Lucy Shtein whose house arrest is anticipated to be extended for up to 18 months.

Lagoons. A Battle for Paradise by Serhiy Lysenko received the East Doc Platform Award 2021 as well as the Current Time TV Director’s Award. 72 Hours by Anna Savchenko won the Czech TV Co-production Award and Kix - A Story of a Street Kid by Balint Révész & Dávid Mikulán picked up the HBO Development Award.

Bloomberg and other news outlets report that local Chinese media have been ordered to cancel live broadcasts of upcoming Oscars ceremony following the nomination of Norwegian Anders Hammer’s Hong Kong pro-democracy film in the Short Documentary category.

Special Presentations features a high-profile collection of world and international premieres, award winners from the recent international festival circuit and works by master filmmakers or featuring star subjects for streaming on Hot Docs at Home VOD platform April 29 - May 9.

Bakony’s film is a compassionate and generous story of a transgender adolescent taking their new steps along life’s journey, at the same time a gentle rallying call for family love.

Letter penned by fellow Pussy Riot member Nadya Tolokonnikova, calling on the Russian government to halt the two women’s impending prosecution, is co-signed by prominent international film figures including Whoopi Goldberg, Gillian Anderson and Spike Jonze, plus receives support of European Film Academy.

Academy Award nominations announced in the categories of Documentary Feature and Documentary Short Subject. Ceremony to take place April 25.

“This year, Inter:Active will not be a physical exhibition. Instead we explore how digital art, extended reality and documentary can merge into a brand new interactive and digital live format,” says CPH:DOX CEO Tine Fischer. The thirteen new pieces chosen for the festival’s Inter:Active exhibition will be accessible globally April 21 - May 2.

This week the Thessaloniki Doc Fest ran a 3-day podcast workshop that embraced content and narrative techniques, examined the importance of sound and analyzed the format from a legal standpoint, focusing on copyright issues.