Hot Docs Forum Lineup Celebrates ‘Breadth and Dynamism of Documentary Film’

variety.com:

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.

The 2022 pitch presentations and decision-maker feedback are packaged and made available to registered delegates to stream on demand for the duration of the festival.Hot Docs industry programs director Elizabeth Radshaw calls this year’s Forum projects “a celebration of the breadth and dynamism of documentary film styles (and of) the cultural bounty of storytellers and story perspectives.”“A massive thank you to this year’s selection committee—comprised of Meghan Monsour, Jannet Nuñez and Rupeshi Shah—for an incredible program,” said Radshaw, also thanking Madelaine Russo, curator of the Deal Maker program, through which an additional 35 projects will pitch to decision-makers in pre-arranged one-on-one meetings during Hot Docs.The 2022 Deal Makers projects will be announced April 13.“Last year, the Hot Docs Forum participants pitched to more than 50 key commissioning editors and funders and over Can. $122,000 in cash prizes was awarded,” added industry programmer and Forum producer Dorota.