Hot Docs Forum Lineup Celebrates ‘Breadth and Dynamism of Documentary Film’
Jennie Punter Twenty projects from 19 countries have been selected for the 23rd edition of the Hot Docs Forum, the marquee feature financing event of the annual documentary festival, which runs in hybrid format from April 28 to May 8 in Toronto.Of the projects’ 26 filmmakers, 14 are women, and 15 are BIPOC. Projects include stories around space rocks, solar power and crusading mushrooms, and process docs that follow characters in their homelands, schools and warzones over several years.Over two days in advance of the festival, Forum project teams present their seven-minute pre-recorded pitches to a “round table” of decision-makers and financiers, from whom they then receive eight minutes of live feedback, which is also recorded.