Michelle Latimer is a Canadian actress, director, writer, and filmmaker. She initially rose to prominence for her role as Trish Simkin on the television series Paradise Falls, shown nationally in Canada on Showcase Television (2001–2004). Since the early 2010s, she has directed several documentaries, including her feature film directorial debut, Alias (2013), and the Viceland series, Rise, which focuses on the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests; the latter won a Canadian Screen Award at the 6th annual ceremony in 2018.
The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June 2020. In addition to the annual festival, Hot Docs owns and operates the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, administers multiple production funds, and runs year-round screening programs including Doc Soup and Hot Docs Showcase.
The Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film is an annual juried film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to a film judged to be the best Canadian feature film.
The Prison in Twelve Landscapes is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Brett Story and released in 2016. Consisting of twelve short vignettes, the film explores the social impact of the prison–industrial complex in the United States through various angles, including a former industrial town in Kentucky which is now dependent on a federal penitentiary for local employment, a community park which was constructed solely to prevent registered sex offenders from being able to move into the local halfway house, and a man who runs a business selling items to family members of prisoners for inclusion in care packages.
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World is a 2017 Canadian documentary film directed by Catherine Bainbridge and co-directed by Alfonso Maiorana. The film profiles the impact of Indigenous musicians in Canada and the US on the development of rock music. Artists profiled include Charley Patton, Mildred Bailey, Link Wray, Jesse Ed Davis, Stevie Salas, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Robbie Robertson, Randy Castillo, Jimi Hendrix, Taboo and others. The title of the film is a reference to the pioneering instrumental "Rumble", released in 1958 by the American group Link Wray & His Ray Men. The instrumental piece was very influential on many artists.
Drag Kids is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Megan Wennberg and released in 2019. The film centres on Queen Lactatia, Laddy GaGa, Suzan Bee Anthony and Bracken Hanke, four young children from Canada, the United States and Europe who perform as drag entertainers, and performed together for the first time at Fierté Montréal in 2018.
nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Tasha Hubbard and released in 2019. The film centres on the 2016 death of Colten Boushie, and depicts his family's struggle to attain justice after the controversial acquittal of Boushie's killer. Narrated by Hubbard, the film also includes a number of animated segments which contextualize the broader history of indigenous peoples of Canada.
Hot Docs at Home is a Canadian television programming block, which premiered April 16, 2020 on CBC Television. Introduced as a special series during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the series aired several feature documentary films that had been scheduled to premiere at the 2020 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival before its postponement. The films aired on CBC Television at 8 p.m. EST on Thursdays and on the CBC's Documentary Channel later the same evening, and were made available for streaming on the CBC Gem platform.
The Walrus and the Whistleblower is a 2020 Canadian documentary film directed by Nathalie Bibeau. The film profiles Phil Demers, a former employee of Marineland who attempted to blow the whistle on allegedly inhumane treatment of animals at the institution.
9/11 Kids is a 2020 Canadian documentary film, directed by Elizabeth St. Philip. The film profiles the ongoing effects of the September 11 attacks on the United States through the stories of the now young adults who were in the classroom where President George W. Bush was reading the grade-school level reading exercise "The Pet Goat" when he was interrupted and informed of the attacks.
Prayer for a Lost Mitten is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Jean-François Lesage and released in 2020. The film centres on the lost and found office of the Montreal Metro system.
Joyce Wong is a Canadian film director and screenwriter from Toronto, Ontario, known for her work in film and television. She is most noted for her debut feature film Wexford Plaza, which was a shortlisted finalist for the John Dunning Discovery Award at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards, and for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award from the Toronto Film Critics Association.
First We Eat is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Suzanne Crocker and released in 2020. The film documents the attempts of Crocker and her family, after a landslide temporarily blocked highway access to their hometown of Dawson City, Yukon, to spend a full year exclusively consuming food that had been hunted, fished, gathered, grown or raised locally, while carefully considering the environmental and social impacts of modern commercial transport of food. The documentary film premiered on May 28, 2020 on Hot Docs.
The Forbidden Reel is a 2019 Canadian documentary film, directed by Ariel Nasr. The film profiles the cinema of Afghanistan through a history of the Afghan Film Organization.
Meat the Future is a 2020 Canadian documentary film, directed by Liz Marshall. The film profiles various scientists who are working on the development of cultured meat.
The Hot Docs Audience Awards are annual film awards, presented by the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival to the most popular films as voted by festival audiences. There are currently two awards presented: the Hot Docs Audience Award, presented since 2001 to the most popular film overall regardless of nationality, and the Rogers Audience Award, presented since 2017 to the most popular Canadian film.
Lulu Wei is a Canadian cinematographer and film director, most noted for their 2020 documentary film There's No Place Like This Place, Anyplace. Wei received two Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021, for Best Direction in a Documentary Program or Series and Best Writing in a Documentary Program or Series.
Brett Story is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, most noted for her 2016 film The Prison in Twelve Landscapes.
Ali Weinstein is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, most noted for her 2024 film Your Tomorrow.
