Could the 31st Edition of Hot Docs Be the Last for the Ailing Toronto Fest? Organizers Warn It Might Be
variety.comAddie Morfoot Contributor The 31st edition of Canada’s influential Hot Docs Film Festival, which gets underway Thursday, could very well be the last.
For the past month, the Toronto festival, one of North America’s largest dedicated to documentaries, has been roiled by staff and funding turmoil.
On March 25, artistic director Hussain Currimbhoy and 10 of the fest’s programmers abruptly exited their posts. That was followed by Hot Docs president Marie Nelson issuing an “urgent appeal” for more funding.
But the Canadian government declined to provide funding for the doc fest in the federal budget unveiled April 16. The budget added more $88 million in funding for the screen sector, including $17 million over three years for the larger Toronto International Film Festival.
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