Hot Docs Festival’s Future Appears More Dire Than Ever After President Marie Nelson Exits
variety.comAddie Morfoot Contributor The future of Hot Docs Film Festival, one of North America’s largest dedicated to documentaries, is not looking bright.
Less than two months after the Toronto-based festival temporarily closed its flagship theater and laid off a portion of the organization’s staff due to “urgent financial challenges,” just the latest in a series of economic distress signals from the organization this year, Hot Docs has revealed that president Marie Nelson has resigned.
Her exit comes one year after the former exec at ABC News and PBS joined the festival. On Tuesday, July 9, Hot Docs issued a forward-looking statement about her contributions without providing any reason for the exit.
Interim executive director Janice Dawe and managing director Heidi Tao Yang will now lead the struggling organization. “We are proud of the work Hot Docs has accomplished with Marie at the helm and are confident that the groundwork she has laid during her tenure will assist us in realizing our full potential,” Hot Docs board of directors said in the statement.
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