Film Fund Portfolio
Hot Docs' $13M film fund portfolio has supported more than 360 Canadian and international projects over the past 14 years, and it continues to support filmmakers at a time when they need it most.
The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund disbursed $85K to five Canadian feature documentaries this year. Recent recipients include Framing Agnes, which was selected for Sundance and Hot Docs; Hunting in Packs, which was in the Hot Docs audience top 10 favourites; and Rojek, which won the DGC Special Jury Prize for Canadian Feature Documentary at Hot Docs.
The Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund, which supports African filmmakers living and working on that continent, awarded $150K in grants to nine projects. Included in this year’s alumni successes, The Colonel’s Stray Dogs and The Last Shelter screened at Durban International Film Festival, and African Moot premiered at Hot Docs 2022..
The CrossCurrents Doc Funds promote inclusion in the documentary space by fostering storytelling from within groups whose perspectives have been historically underrepresented. CrossCurrents Canada Doc Fund, generously supported by Netflix, awarded $245,000 to 10 projects. Recent successes include Hot Docs 2022 official selection And Still I Sing, Rotterdam Film Festival official selection Damascus Dreams, Roxbury International Film Festival official selection Becoming a Queen, and Telefilm Theatrical Documentary Fund recipient Aki.
The CrossCurrents International Doc Fund - Theatrical Strand, supported by the Panicaro Foundation, awarded $80,000 to four projects. In a first for the Fund, grantee Children of the Mist won the Best Director prize at IDFA 2021 and was also selected for exhibition in MoMA’s New Directors/New Films Showcase in spring 2022. The CrossCurrents International Doc Fund - Short/Experimental/Interactive Strand, courtesy of the R&M Lang Foundation, awarded $15,000 to two projects.
The Hot Docs-Slaight Family Fund awarded $145,000 to five projects in its second round of funding. The Fund supports engaging stories of musicians and Canadian music's role in the world, as well as international music stories told through the lenses of Canadian filmmakers. Notable recipients include Untitled Rock n' Roll Revival Documentary, which received Telefilm support, and Beautiful Scars, which was a top five audience favourite at the 2022 Hot Docs Festival.
Films co-financed through Hot Docs Partners, a $2.6M equity fund in association with Blue Ice Docs, also distinguished themselves. Loudmouth (D: Josh Alexander), about activist and spiritual leader Al Sharpton, was the closing night selection at Tribeca Film Festival, and Midwives (D: Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing) won the Sundance World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award Excellence in Verite Filmmaking and was acquired by PBS for POV.
Following on the success of the Hot Docs Canadian Storytellers Project, Hot Docs and Netflix joined forces again on the It's Funny Because It's True short documentary initiative. Five filmmaking teams were selected to receive $20,000 USD, along with mentorship and career development opportunities. Their completed comedic short docs will premiere globally on Netflix’s social media channels.
