Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival + Conference and Market
April 26 - May 6, 2012
Toronto / Canada
With its mind-blowing scope capturing over 30 years in the life of a Czech family, Private Universe by Helena Třeštíková earned a spot among this year's Special Presentations. A debate is also scheduled to explore the specifics of the longitudinal genre. Screenings: Fri, Apr 27 @ 6PM / Sun, Apr 29 @ 1PM.
Visit IDF on Vimeo to watch an interview with Helena Třeštíková.
Save for Estonia's Breath by Kullar Viimne that is part of the East Silver catalogue, the International Spectrum is regrettably thin on East European docs this year but there are some familiar titles in the main competition that features 32 films, including The Reluctant Revolutionary - premiered at Berlinale - by Sean McAllister who was among the guest tutors at our East Doc Platform in March. A handful of other notable films make their North American or Canadian premiere, e.g., Life in Stills (dir. Tamar Tal, Israel 2011, included in East Silver 2012), Canned Dreams, Planet of Snail, The Law in These Parts or Bedtime Stories from the Axis of Evil.
The World Showcase boasts 37 docs, including Polish Illusions by Jakob Dammas and Helge Renner who developed the project at the 2006 Ex Oriente Film and attended the 2010 Doc Launch and the 2011 Ex Oriente Film EditLab. Another IDF-bred film is The Field of Magic by Lithuanian director Mindaugas Survila that also went from the 2009 Ex Oriente Film and the East European Forum to the 2011 East Silver. Finally, The Tundra Book. A Tale of Vukvukai, the Little Rock by Aleksei Vakhrushev is one of the highlights in the 2012 East Silver catalogue.
12 documentaries are included in the Hot Docs Spotlight dedicated to films from and about Southeast Europe. Here you'll find one of the gems touring international festivals in the East Silver Caravan - Strong - A Recovery Story by Hungarian director András Kollmann - and also Mama Illegal by Ed Moschitz (East Silver 2012), My Mate Manchester United by Stefan Valdobrev, Yugo, A Short Autobiography by Mina Dukic (both East Silver 2011), and the world premiere of Dragan Wende - West Berlin by Lena von Muller and Dragan Petrovic that attended the Ex Oriente Film and East European Forum back in 2009.
We recommend you explore the above and also all of the remaining Hot Docs programmes that present stories of great personal courage and engagement, films featuring ventriloquists and ballroom passion, retrospectives, docs made of twisted loops, meta elements and films on films, portraits of misfits and serial killers, and nightmarish home videos: Canadian Spectrum / Next / Doc Talks / Rise Against / Outstanding Achievement Award Retrospective / Documentary Plays Itself / Nightvision / Focus on John Kastner.
The Hot Docs Forum takes place May 2-3, more details in the industry schedule that includes Hot Hacks, Co-production Sessions and Micro Meetings. Early-bird industry registration deadline March 22, Doc Shop submission deadline March 30. Hackathon applications accepted until April 2.
Hot Docs runs April 26 - May 6, 2012 with over 170 documentaries and an array of industry events.