‘Lac-Mégantic,’ About Canadian Rail Disaster, Takes Hot Docs’ Top Audience Award
variety.comJennie Punter Hot Docs has wrapped its 30th anniversary edition, handing out its top cash prize and announcing the audience top picks after an 11-day festival, which presented 214 films from 72 countries at 308 live screenings at venues across Toronto.
Philippe Falardeau’s “Lac-Mégantic—This Is Not an Accident” topped the overall audience poll to win the 2023 Hot Docs Audience Award.
The four-part series from the Oscar-nominated director explores the causes of one of Canada’s worst rail disasters and what’s needed to prevent such accidents in the future. “Someone Lives Here,” by Zack Russell, won the Rogers Audience Awards for Best Canadian Documentary, which comes with Cdn. $50,000 cash, and also claimed the second-highest spot in the overall audience poll.
The film also won the inaugural Bill Nemtin Award for Best Social Impact Documentary, a jury-chosen prize, at the main awards ceremony held Saturday. “Someone” tells the story of Toronto carpenter Khaleel Seivwright, who quits his job to dedicate himself to building insulated “tiny shelters,” as he calls them, for unhoused people during the pandemic and faces opposition from local government.
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