-
OCT 11, 2010 03:37AM
FFW Festival Editor writes:
Ten awards and over $72,000 in cash prizes were presented at the 2010 Hot Docs Awards Presentation
Best International Feature Award
A FILM UNFINISHED (D: Yael Hersonski; P: Noemi Schory, Itay Ken Tor; Israel)
The award includes a $10,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.
The Special Jury Prize - International Feature
THE OATH (D: Laura Poitras; P: Laura Poitras, Nasser Arrabyee, Aliza Kaplan, Jonathan Oppenheim; USA, Yemen)
Sponsored by the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the award includes a $5,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.
Best Canadian Feature Award
IN THE NAME OF THE FAMILY (D: Shelley Saywell, P: Shelley Saywell, Deborah Parks, Habiba Nosheen; Canada)
Sponsored by the Documentary Organization of Canada, the award includes a $15,000 prize courtesy of the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation.
Special Jury Prize - Canadian Feature
LEAVE THEM LAUGHING (D: John Zaritsky, P: Montana Berg, Canada/USA)
Sponsored by the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation, the award features a $10,000 prize courtesy of the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation.
Best Mid-Length Documentary Award
I SHOT MY LOVE (D: Tomer Heymann; P: Barak Heymann, Tomer Heymann, Carl Ludwig Rettinger; Israel, Germany)
Sponsored by Canada Council for the Arts, the award includes a $3,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.
Best Short Documentary Award
TUSSILAGO (D: Jonas Odell; Sweden)
Sponsored by Playback, the award includes a $3,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.
HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award
Jeff Malmberg for MARWENCOL
The Emerging Artist Award is sponsored by HBO Documentary Films.
2010 Hot Docs Outstanding Achievement Award
Presented to Kim Longinotto by Hot Docs Board of Directors
documentary's Don Haig Award
Presented to Toronto's Philip Lyall and Vancouver's Nimisha Mukerji (65_REDROSES - Official Selection 2009)
Awarded by the Don Haig Foundation, the prize includes a $20,000 cash prize generously sponsored by documentary.
The Lindalee Tracey Award
Ayanie Mohamed (Toronto)
Includes a $6,000 cash prize and $3,000 in film stock donated by Kodak Canada.
Hot Docs Audience Award Winner was THUNDER SOUL (D: Mark Landsman, USA), chronicling the reunion of the Kashmere High School Band – 35 years after their initial success – in honour of their mentor, Conrad "Prof" Johnson.
-
OCT 01, 2009 12:16AM
FFW Festival Editor writes:
Best Canadian Feature Documentary
INVISIBLE CITY
Director: Hubert Davis
Producers: Mehernaz Lentin, Gerry Flahive
Executive Producer: Silva Basmajian (NFB)
Sponsored by the Documentary Organization of Canada and the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation
$15,000 prize courtesy of the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation
Special Jury Prize - Canadian Feature
WATERLIFE
Director: Kevin McMahon
Producers: Michael McMahon, Kristina McLaughlin, Gerry Flahive
Executive Producers: Mark Achbar, Betsy Carson, Michael McMahon, Silva Basmajian (NFB)
Sponsored by the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation
$10,000 prize courtesy of the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation
Best International Feature Documentary
THE ONE MAN VILLAGE
Director/Producer: Simon El Habre
Producers: Jad Abi-Khalil, Irit Neidhardt
Sponsored by A&E
$10,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs
Special Jury Prize - International Feature
COOKING HISTORY
Director/Producer: Peter Kerekes
Producers: Georg Misch, Pavel Strnad
Executive Producer: Ralph Wieser
Sponsored by the OMDC
$5,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs
Best Mid-Length Documentary
RABBIT À LA BERLIN
Director: Bartek Konopka
Producer: Anna Wydra
Sponsored by Canada Council for the Arts
$3,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs
Best Short Documentary
THE DELIAN MODE
Director/Producer: Kara Blake
Producer: Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre
Sponsored by Playback
$3,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs
documentary’s Don Haig Award
Brett Gaylor
Tracey Deer
Awarded by the Don Haig Award Committee - $20,000 cash prize generously sponsored by documentary
The Lindalee Tracey Award
Laura Bari
Will Inrig
$6,000 cash prize and film stock donated by Kodak Canada and valued at $3,000
HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award
Chung-ryoul Lee
OLD PARTNER
Sponsored by HBO Documentary Films
Hot Docs Audience Award - Determined by audience ballot:
The winner is THE COVE (D: Louie Psihoyos; USA), a passionate, powerful and gripping intervention to end the dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. The top ten audience favourites as determined by audience vote are:
THE COVE (D: Louie Psihoyos; USA)
65_REDROSES (D: Philip Lyall, Nimisha Mukerji; Canada)
INSIDE HANA’S SUITCASE (D: Larry Weinstein; Canada, Czech Republic)
BEST WORST MOVIE (D: Michael Paul Stephenson; USA)
A HARD NAME (D: Alan Zweig; Canada)
OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY (now known by new title THE HORSE BOY) (D: Michel Orion Scott; USA)
WINNEBAGO MAN (D: Ben Steinbauer; USA)
BURMA VJ (D: Anders Høgsbro Østergaard; Denmark)
ROUGH AUNTIES (D: Kim Longinotto; UK)
PROM NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI (D: Paul Saltzman; Canada)
-
APR 28, 2008 04:47PM
FFW Festival Editor writes:
Winners of the International Documentary Challenge, a timed filmmaking competition co-presented by Hot Docs, were announced on Saturday, April 26, at a special screening premiering the entries.
The winners of this year's Challenge are:
Best Film of the 2008 International Documentary Challege ($1,000 cash award) CLICK WHOOSH
Team: Reel Grrrls
City/Country: Seattle, WA, USA
Genre: Historical
Team Leader: Reid Kuennen
American Documentary | P.O.V. Short Film Award ($1,000 Cash Award & featured on POV Website)
ARS MAGNA
Team: Juicebox
City/Country: Seattle, WA, USA
Genre: Biography/Character Study
Team Leader: Sean Roach
Doc Challenge Original Vision Award BEHOLDER
Team: Boss and Coder 34
City/Country: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Genre: First Person
Team Leader: Eric Daniel Metzgar
Best Directing
STICK AND POUND
Team: It Donned On Me
City/Country: Foster City, CA, USA
Genre: Art
Directed by: http://www.ItDonnedOnMe.com
Best Editing
I=ME2
Team: Year of the Rooster
City/Country: Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
Genre: Experimental
Edited by: Kevin Thomas
Best Cinematography
STICK AND POUND
Team: It Donned On Me
City/Country: Foster City, CA, USA
Genre: Art
Cinematography by: http://www.ItDonnedOnMe.com
Best Writing
BEHOLDER
Team: Boss and Coder 34
City/Country: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Genre: First Person
Written by: Eric Daniel Metzgar
Best Soundtrack
THE MIXTRESS
Team: Wideshot Studios
City/Country: Portland, OR, USA
Genre: Biography/Character Study
Arranged by: The Mixtress: Jules Bennett
Best Original Score
JETTY
Team: Fly On The Wall
City/Country: Portland, OR, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political
Original Score by Bell Plaines & Arlen Kallunki
Best Use of "Change" Theme
PENNYWISE: THE CHANGING FACE OF CHANGE
Team: Lucky Shot
City/Country: Silver Spring, MD, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political
Best Use of Date Stamp
RED LIGHT BLUES
Team: Abrahami-Netz Productions
City/Country: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Genre: Social Issue/Political
BEST USE OF GENRE AWARDS
Best Use of Art Genre
GHOST BIKE
Team: Go!
City/Country: Toronto, ON, Canada
Best Use of Character Study Genre
ARS MAGNA
Team Juicebox
City/Country: Seattle, WA, USA
Best Use of Experimental Genre
I=ME2
Team: Year of the Rooster
City/Country: Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
Best Use of First Person Genre
BEHOLDER
Team: Boss and Coder 34
City/Country: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Best Use of Historical Genre
CLICK WHOOSH
Team: Reel Grrrls
City/Country: Seattle, WA, USA
Best Use of Music Genre
OLD SOUL
Team: Reel Hard Workin Dogs
City/Country: Washington, DC, USA
Best Use of Nature Genre
FARM TO TABLE
Team: Smoke In Mirror Productions
City/Country: Rutland, VT, USA
Best Use of Social Issue/Political Genre
MEET THE FREEGANS
Team: Shields Films
City/Country: Portland, OR, USA
Best Use of Sports Genre
THE ART OF BALANCE
Team: Surge Media
City/Country: New York, NY, USA
SPECIAL JUDGES AWARDS
Best Use of Archival Footage
PENNYWISE: THE CHANGING FACE OF CHANGE
Team: Lucky Shot
City/Country: Silver Spring, MD, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political
Best Social Commentary
FIERCELY INDEPENDENT
Team: Higher Rock & Downward Spiral Productions
City/Country: Moab, UT, USA
-
APR 28, 2008 04:45PM
FFW Festival Editor writes:
In addition to the awards announced at the Hot Docs Awards Presentation on Friday, April 25, the Hot Docs Audience Award and the CIDA Award were named at the close of the Festival.
TAKING ROOT: THE VISION OF WANGARI MAATHAI (Director: Lisa Merton, Alan Dater; USA), the inspiring story of the Nobel laureate whose simple act of planting trees inspired Kenya’s environmental movement, protected the human rights of its people and defended the nation’s democracy, won the Hot Docs Audience Award. Sponsored by History Television, the award is decided by audience ballot.
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Prize for best Canadian documentary on international development was awarded to SHOCK WAVES (Director: Pierre Mignault, Hélène Magny) for its courageous portrayal of a country and its people. The documentary shows the powerful impact that community-based radio has in affecting significant change throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The CIDA Jury commended the filmmakers for sharing the risks taken by the Radio Okapi journalists on the ground and for bringing a fresh perspective to this under-reported story. The CIDA Award comes with a $5000 cash prize.
The 2008 Hot Docs top 10, as determined by audience ballot, are:
1. TAKING ROOT: THE VISION OF WANGARI MAATHAI (Director: Lisa Merton, Alan Dater; USA)
2. PLANET B-BOY (Director: Benson Lee; USA)
3. DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER (Director: Kurt Kuenne; USA)
4. THE ENGLISH SURGEON (Director: Geoffrey Smith; UK)
5. TRIAGE: DR. JAMES ORBINSKI’S HUMANITARIAN DILEMMA (Director: Patrick Reed; Canada)
6. ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL (Director: Sacha Gervasi; USA)
7. THE BEETLE (Director: Yishai Orian; Israel)
8. DADDY TRAN: A LIFE IN 3-D (Director: Siu Ta; Canada)
9. STRANDED, I’VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS (Director: Gonzalo Arijon; France)
10. ALL TOGETHER NOW (Director: Adrian Wills; Canada)
-
MAR 11, 2008 01:54PM
FFW Festival Editor writes:
Each year Hot Docs is pleased to host a number of official delegations at the Festival. The delegations, each a total of 10 - 20 established producers and broadcasters working in social, cultural and political documentary genres, will partake in the wealth of networking opportunities, market events and conference sessions offered, including the Toronto Documentary Forum, Hot Docs' renowned international co-financing market event.
The following have confirmed International Delegations:
Italy led by Doc It! and the Italian Trade Commission
Brazil led by the Brazilian TV Producers Association
Catalan led by Catalan Films & TV
Nordic region led by the Norwegian Film Institute, Finnish Film Foundation, Danish Film Institute, Icelandic Film Centre and Swedish Film Institute
South Korea led by the Korean Film Council
Visit www.hotdocs.ca for more information.
-
MAR 11, 2008 01:53PM
FFW Festival Editor writes:
Hot Docs is pleased to announce the following group of esteemed filmmakers, industry professionals and journalists who will form the 2008 Hot Docs Festival Jury. Together they will determine the best of this year's festival selections in the International Spectrum, Canadian Spectrum and Shorts to Mid-length categories:
Massoud Bahkshi, Filmmaker, Documentary & Experimental Film Center (DEFC), Iran
Elena Fortes Acosta, Festival Director, Ambulante Documentary Film Festival (Documental Ambulante A.C), Mexico
Elvis Mitchell, Film Critic/Radio Talk Show Host, KCRW ("The Treatment"), USA
Rada Sesic, Programmer, IDFA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Iikka Vehkalahti, Commissioning Editor, YLE TV 2 Documentaries, Finland
Arturo Perez Torres, Filmmaker/Producer, Open City Works, Canada
Johanna Schneller, Freelance Journalist, The Globe and Mail, Canada
Michael Burns, Producer, Manifest Communications, Canada
Molly Dineen, Filmmaker/Producer, UK
-
SEP 25, 2007 02:09PM
FFW Festival Editor writes:
Michaelle McLean, Director of Hot Docs' Toronto Documentary Forum, will be sharing her expertise in a presentation at the Conferencia Internacional Coproducción de Documentales, September 26 & 27, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Aimed at documentary producers in South America, the conference will be examining the current international documentary market and exploring systems of co-production in other countries with a view to encouraging these partnerships in the region. McLean is also looking forward to meeting producers and other members of the South American documentary industry and can be reached through the conference's email below. The conference is organized by planoLATINO, the first Latin American distributor exclusively devoted to the distribution of documentaries.
For more information please visit http://planolatinoconferencias.blogspot.com/ or email conferencia@planolatino.com.a
-
MAY 01, 2007 03:18PM
FFW Films Editor writes:
Hosted by filmmaker and journalist Avi Lewis, the 2007 Hot Docs Awards Presentation saw twelve awards and more than $50,000 in cash and prizes awarded.
A jury of filmmakers, industry professionals and journalists decided the following awards for films in official competition:
Best Canadian Feature Documentary: “The Bodybuilder And I”
D: Bryan Friedman
P: Julia Rosenberg, Anita Lee
Generously sponsored by the Documentary Channel and DOC. Awarded by the Documentary Channel: $5000.
Special Jury Prize Canadian Feature Documentary: “Driven By Dreams”
D: Serge Giguere
P: Nicole Hubert, Colette Loumede
Generously sponsored by the NFB. Awarded by the NFB: $5000 FAP prize.
Best International Feature Documentary: “Losers And Winners”
D: Ulrike Franke, Michael Loeken
P: Filmproduktion Loekenfranke
Generously sponsored by CBC International Sales. Awarded by Hot Docs: $5000.
Special Jury Prize International Feature Documentary: “Without The King”
D: Michael Skolnik
P: Paola Mendoza, Michael Skolnik
Generously sponsored by A&E Television and OMDC.
Best Mid-Length Documentary: “Forgiveness: Stories For Our Time”
D: Johanna Lunn
P: Johanna Lunn, Kent Martin
Generously sponsored by Playback and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Best Short Documentary: “Man Up”
D/P: Arturo Cabanas
The Don Haig Award
Recipient: Hubert Davis
Awarded by the Don Haig Committtee: $10,000
The Lindalee Tracey Award
Recipient: Trevor Anderson
Awarded by the Lindalee Tracey Award organizers: $5000
Hot Docs Outstanding Achievement Award
Recipient: Heddy Honigmann
The Audience Award, determined by audience ballot, was awarded to Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine's “War/Dance”

Enter Your Post6
4
Best International Feature Award
A FILM UNFINISHED (D: Yael Hersonski; P: Noemi Schory, Itay Ken Tor; Israel)
The award includes a $10,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.
The Special Jury Prize - International Feature
THE OATH (D: Laura Poitras; P: Laura Poitras, Nasser Arrabyee, Aliza Kaplan, Jonathan Oppenheim; USA, Yemen)
Sponsored by the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the award includes a $5,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.
Best Canadian Feature Award
IN THE NAME OF THE FAMILY (D: Shelley Saywell, P: Shelley Saywell, Deborah Parks, Habiba Nosheen; Canada)
Sponsored by the Documentary Organization of Canada, the award includes a $15,000 prize courtesy of the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation.
Special Jury Prize - Canadian Feature
LEAVE THEM LAUGHING (D: John Zaritsky, P: Montana Berg, Canada/USA)
Sponsored by the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation, the award features a $10,000 prize courtesy of the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation.
Best Mid-Length Documentary Award
I SHOT MY LOVE (D: Tomer Heymann; P: Barak Heymann, Tomer Heymann, Carl Ludwig Rettinger; Israel, Germany)
Sponsored by Canada Council for the Arts, the award includes a $3,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.
Best Short Documentary Award
TUSSILAGO (D: Jonas Odell; Sweden)
Sponsored by Playback, the award includes a $3,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs.
HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award
Jeff Malmberg for MARWENCOL
The Emerging Artist Award is sponsored by HBO Documentary Films.
2010 Hot Docs Outstanding Achievement Award
Presented to Kim Longinotto by Hot Docs Board of Directors
documentary's Don Haig Award
Presented to Toronto's Philip Lyall and Vancouver's Nimisha Mukerji (65_REDROSES - Official Selection 2009)
Awarded by the Don Haig Foundation, the prize includes a $20,000 cash prize generously sponsored by documentary.
The Lindalee Tracey Award
Ayanie Mohamed (Toronto)
Includes a $6,000 cash prize and $3,000 in film stock donated by Kodak Canada.
Hot Docs Audience Award Winner was THUNDER SOUL (D: Mark Landsman, USA), chronicling the reunion of the Kashmere High School Band – 35 years after their initial success – in honour of their mentor, Conrad "Prof" Johnson.
INVISIBLE CITY
Director: Hubert Davis
Producers: Mehernaz Lentin, Gerry Flahive
Executive Producer: Silva Basmajian (NFB)
Sponsored by the Documentary Organization of Canada and the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation
$15,000 prize courtesy of the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation
Special Jury Prize - Canadian Feature
WATERLIFE
Director: Kevin McMahon
Producers: Michael McMahon, Kristina McLaughlin, Gerry Flahive
Executive Producers: Mark Achbar, Betsy Carson, Michael McMahon, Silva Basmajian (NFB)
Sponsored by the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation
$10,000 prize courtesy of the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation
Best International Feature Documentary
THE ONE MAN VILLAGE
Director/Producer: Simon El Habre
Producers: Jad Abi-Khalil, Irit Neidhardt
Sponsored by A&E
$10,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs
Special Jury Prize - International Feature
COOKING HISTORY
Director/Producer: Peter Kerekes
Producers: Georg Misch, Pavel Strnad
Executive Producer: Ralph Wieser
Sponsored by the OMDC
$5,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs
Best Mid-Length Documentary
RABBIT À LA BERLIN
Director: Bartek Konopka
Producer: Anna Wydra
Sponsored by Canada Council for the Arts
$3,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs
Best Short Documentary
THE DELIAN MODE
Director/Producer: Kara Blake
Producer: Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre
Sponsored by Playback
$3,000 prize courtesy of Hot Docs
documentary’s Don Haig Award
Brett Gaylor
Tracey Deer
Awarded by the Don Haig Award Committee - $20,000 cash prize generously sponsored by documentary
The Lindalee Tracey Award
Laura Bari
Will Inrig
$6,000 cash prize and film stock donated by Kodak Canada and valued at $3,000
HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award
Chung-ryoul Lee
OLD PARTNER
Sponsored by HBO Documentary Films
Hot Docs Audience Award - Determined by audience ballot:
The winner is THE COVE (D: Louie Psihoyos; USA), a passionate, powerful and gripping intervention to end the dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. The top ten audience favourites as determined by audience vote are:
THE COVE (D: Louie Psihoyos; USA)
65_REDROSES (D: Philip Lyall, Nimisha Mukerji; Canada)
INSIDE HANA’S SUITCASE (D: Larry Weinstein; Canada, Czech Republic)
BEST WORST MOVIE (D: Michael Paul Stephenson; USA)
A HARD NAME (D: Alan Zweig; Canada)
OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY (now known by new title THE HORSE BOY) (D: Michel Orion Scott; USA)
WINNEBAGO MAN (D: Ben Steinbauer; USA)
BURMA VJ (D: Anders Høgsbro Østergaard; Denmark)
ROUGH AUNTIES (D: Kim Longinotto; UK)
PROM NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI (D: Paul Saltzman; Canada)
The winners of this year's Challenge are:
Best Film of the 2008 International Documentary Challege ($1,000 cash award) CLICK WHOOSH
Team: Reel Grrrls
City/Country: Seattle, WA, USA
Genre: Historical
Team Leader: Reid Kuennen
American Documentary | P.O.V. Short Film Award ($1,000 Cash Award & featured on POV Website)
ARS MAGNA
Team: Juicebox
City/Country: Seattle, WA, USA
Genre: Biography/Character Study
Team Leader: Sean Roach
Doc Challenge Original Vision Award BEHOLDER
Team: Boss and Coder 34
City/Country: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Genre: First Person
Team Leader: Eric Daniel Metzgar
Best Directing
STICK AND POUND
Team: It Donned On Me
City/Country: Foster City, CA, USA
Genre: Art
Directed by: http://www.ItDonnedOnMe.com
Best Editing
I=ME2
Team: Year of the Rooster
City/Country: Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
Genre: Experimental
Edited by: Kevin Thomas
Best Cinematography
STICK AND POUND
Team: It Donned On Me
City/Country: Foster City, CA, USA
Genre: Art
Cinematography by: http://www.ItDonnedOnMe.com
Best Writing
BEHOLDER
Team: Boss and Coder 34
City/Country: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Genre: First Person
Written by: Eric Daniel Metzgar
Best Soundtrack
THE MIXTRESS
Team: Wideshot Studios
City/Country: Portland, OR, USA
Genre: Biography/Character Study
Arranged by: The Mixtress: Jules Bennett
Best Original Score
JETTY
Team: Fly On The Wall
City/Country: Portland, OR, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political
Original Score by Bell Plaines & Arlen Kallunki
Best Use of "Change" Theme
PENNYWISE: THE CHANGING FACE OF CHANGE
Team: Lucky Shot
City/Country: Silver Spring, MD, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political
Best Use of Date Stamp
RED LIGHT BLUES
Team: Abrahami-Netz Productions
City/Country: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Genre: Social Issue/Political
BEST USE OF GENRE AWARDS
Best Use of Art Genre
GHOST BIKE
Team: Go!
City/Country: Toronto, ON, Canada
Best Use of Character Study Genre
ARS MAGNA
Team Juicebox
City/Country: Seattle, WA, USA
Best Use of Experimental Genre
I=ME2
Team: Year of the Rooster
City/Country: Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
Best Use of First Person Genre
BEHOLDER
Team: Boss and Coder 34
City/Country: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Best Use of Historical Genre
CLICK WHOOSH
Team: Reel Grrrls
City/Country: Seattle, WA, USA
Best Use of Music Genre
OLD SOUL
Team: Reel Hard Workin Dogs
City/Country: Washington, DC, USA
Best Use of Nature Genre
FARM TO TABLE
Team: Smoke In Mirror Productions
City/Country: Rutland, VT, USA
Best Use of Social Issue/Political Genre
MEET THE FREEGANS
Team: Shields Films
City/Country: Portland, OR, USA
Best Use of Sports Genre
THE ART OF BALANCE
Team: Surge Media
City/Country: New York, NY, USA
SPECIAL JUDGES AWARDS
Best Use of Archival Footage
PENNYWISE: THE CHANGING FACE OF CHANGE
Team: Lucky Shot
City/Country: Silver Spring, MD, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political
Best Social Commentary
FIERCELY INDEPENDENT
Team: Higher Rock & Downward Spiral Productions
City/Country: Moab, UT, USA
TAKING ROOT: THE VISION OF WANGARI MAATHAI (Director: Lisa Merton, Alan Dater; USA), the inspiring story of the Nobel laureate whose simple act of planting trees inspired Kenya’s environmental movement, protected the human rights of its people and defended the nation’s democracy, won the Hot Docs Audience Award. Sponsored by History Television, the award is decided by audience ballot.
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Prize for best Canadian documentary on international development was awarded to SHOCK WAVES (Director: Pierre Mignault, Hélène Magny) for its courageous portrayal of a country and its people. The documentary shows the powerful impact that community-based radio has in affecting significant change throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The CIDA Jury commended the filmmakers for sharing the risks taken by the Radio Okapi journalists on the ground and for bringing a fresh perspective to this under-reported story. The CIDA Award comes with a $5000 cash prize.
The 2008 Hot Docs top 10, as determined by audience ballot, are:
1. TAKING ROOT: THE VISION OF WANGARI MAATHAI (Director: Lisa Merton, Alan Dater; USA)
2. PLANET B-BOY (Director: Benson Lee; USA)
3. DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER (Director: Kurt Kuenne; USA)
4. THE ENGLISH SURGEON (Director: Geoffrey Smith; UK)
5. TRIAGE: DR. JAMES ORBINSKI’S HUMANITARIAN DILEMMA (Director: Patrick Reed; Canada)
6. ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL (Director: Sacha Gervasi; USA)
7. THE BEETLE (Director: Yishai Orian; Israel)
8. DADDY TRAN: A LIFE IN 3-D (Director: Siu Ta; Canada)
9. STRANDED, I’VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS (Director: Gonzalo Arijon; France)
10. ALL TOGETHER NOW (Director: Adrian Wills; Canada)
The following have confirmed International Delegations:
Italy led by Doc It! and the Italian Trade Commission
Brazil led by the Brazilian TV Producers Association
Catalan led by Catalan Films & TV
Nordic region led by the Norwegian Film Institute, Finnish Film Foundation, Danish Film Institute, Icelandic Film Centre and Swedish Film Institute
South Korea led by the Korean Film Council
Visit www.hotdocs.ca for more information.
Massoud Bahkshi, Filmmaker, Documentary & Experimental Film Center (DEFC), Iran
Elena Fortes Acosta, Festival Director, Ambulante Documentary Film Festival (Documental Ambulante A.C), Mexico
Elvis Mitchell, Film Critic/Radio Talk Show Host, KCRW ("The Treatment"), USA
Rada Sesic, Programmer, IDFA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Iikka Vehkalahti, Commissioning Editor, YLE TV 2 Documentaries, Finland
Arturo Perez Torres, Filmmaker/Producer, Open City Works, Canada
Johanna Schneller, Freelance Journalist, The Globe and Mail, Canada
Michael Burns, Producer, Manifest Communications, Canada
Molly Dineen, Filmmaker/Producer, UK
For more information please visit http://planolatinoconferencias.blogspot.com/ or email conferencia@planolatino.com.a
A jury of filmmakers, industry professionals and journalists decided the following awards for films in official competition:
Best Canadian Feature Documentary: “The Bodybuilder And I”
D: Bryan Friedman
P: Julia Rosenberg, Anita Lee
Generously sponsored by the Documentary Channel and DOC. Awarded by the Documentary Channel: $5000.
Special Jury Prize Canadian Feature Documentary: “Driven By Dreams”
D: Serge Giguere
P: Nicole Hubert, Colette Loumede
Generously sponsored by the NFB. Awarded by the NFB: $5000 FAP prize.
Best International Feature Documentary: “Losers And Winners”
D: Ulrike Franke, Michael Loeken
P: Filmproduktion Loekenfranke
Generously sponsored by CBC International Sales. Awarded by Hot Docs: $5000.
Special Jury Prize International Feature Documentary: “Without The King”
D: Michael Skolnik
P: Paola Mendoza, Michael Skolnik
Generously sponsored by A&E Television and OMDC.
Best Mid-Length Documentary: “Forgiveness: Stories For Our Time”
D: Johanna Lunn
P: Johanna Lunn, Kent Martin
Generously sponsored by Playback and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Best Short Documentary: “Man Up”
D/P: Arturo Cabanas
The Don Haig Award
Recipient: Hubert Davis
Awarded by the Don Haig Committtee: $10,000
The Lindalee Tracey Award
Recipient: Trevor Anderson
Awarded by the Lindalee Tracey Award organizers: $5000
Hot Docs Outstanding Achievement Award
Recipient: Heddy Honigmann
The Audience Award, determined by audience ballot, was awarded to Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine's “War/Dance”