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The full selection of Festival films will be announced on March 26 at 10:00AM EST—​tune into a live stream of the announcement on this page.



The 31st edition of Hot Docs Festival will take place in cinemas across Toronto from April 25 to May 5, 2024. Ticket packages are now on sale online. Ticket package redemption and single ticket sales for Hot Docs members are available starting March 26. Single ticket and 6-Ticket Bundle sales open to the public on April 2.

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Are you an industry representative? Register for our industry conference at hotdocs.ca/register.


We've announced the electrifying films that will screen in our new Festival Favourites program, as well as the 14 films to screen in the 2024 Special Presentations program!

Festival Favourites
A specially curated selection of feature-length documentaries that have made their mark on the festival circuit.
A BAND OF DREAMERS AND A JUDGE
D: Hesam Eslami | P: Etienne De Ricaud, Hesam Eslami | Iran, France | 2023 | 80 min | Canadian Premiere
According to legend, the mountains of northern Iran are full of buried treasure. Gangs of prospectors scale and drill their treacherous slopes in the hopes of discovering ancient gold and pottery, while a local judge is determined to end their illegal looting.  
 
DAUGHTER OF GENGHIS
D: Kristoffer Juel Poulsen, Christian Als | P: Andreas Dalsgaard | Denmark, Sweden, France | 2023 | 85 min | International Premiere
A violent, Mongolian, female nationalist fights for her motherland, conducting sting operations and brothel raids, but in her fight for idealism, she has neglected her son. Can she find redemption by embracing motherhood?
 
DAUGHTERS
D: Angela Patton, Natalie Rae | P: Lisa Mazzotta, Natalie Rae, Justin Benoliel, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft, James Cunningham | USA | 2023 | 106 min | International Premiere
Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy-Daughter Dance in a Washington, DC prison. Cameras capture the first physical touch these girls will have with their incarcerated fathers as part of a groundbreaking program in this Sundance Audience Award–winning film.
 
EVERY LITTLE THING
D: Sally Aitken | P: Bettina Dalton, Anna Godas, Oli Harbottle | Australia | 2024 | 93 min | Canadian Premiere
A woman finds herself on a transformative journey as she nurtures wounded hummingbirds, unravelling a captivating and magical tale of love, fragility and healing amidst the sprawl of Los Angeles.
 
INTERCEPTED
D: Oksana Karpovych | P: Rocío B. Fuentes, Giacomo Nudi, Pauline Tran Van Lieu, Lucie Rego, Darya Bassel, Olha Beskhmelnytsina | Canada, France, Ukraine | 2024 | 93 min | Canadian Premiere
Layered over the visible evidence of their destruction, covertly recorded conversations between Russian soldiers provide a shocking and revealing soundtrack of those who destroy amidst the futility and inhumanity of a prolonged war in Ukraine.
WINNER – CMF-Hot Docs Forum Canadian Pitch Prize 2023
 
SON OF THE MULLAH
D: Nahid Persson Sarvestani | P: Setareh Lundgren, Monica Hernandez Rejon | Sweden, France | 2023 | 100 min | North American Premiere
Journalist Ruhollah Zam, like many of his colleagues, reports on Iran from abroad. Relying on tips from unreliable and potentially compromised insiders, he risks life and limb to expose the Islamic Regime’s corruption, hypocrisy and money laundering in this all-too-real spy thriller.
 
THIS IS GOING TO BE BIG  
D: Thomas Charles Hyland | P: Josie Mason Campbell, Jim Wright, Catherine Bradbury | Australia | 2023 | 101 min | North American Premiere
Dreams and desires are confronted as a cast of neurodivergent teens prepare to come of age in their school’s time-travelling, John Farnham–themed musical. A funny and heart-warming peek behind the curtain with some banger songs.
Special Presentations
Featuring intriguing subjects, visionary filmmakers, and riveting storytelling that offers a critical lens on current issues.
AMERICAN CATS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE CUDDLY
D: Todd Bieber | P: Grace Leeson | USA | 2024 | 88 min | World Premiere
Ontario is the only province in Canada without a ban on cat declawing. Amy Hoggart, the hilarious correspondent from Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, cracks jokes, cuddles kittens and attacks this controversial practice using satire to expose a heart-wrenching catspiracy.


BLACK BOX DIARIES
D: Shiori Ito | P: Eric Nyari, Hanna Aqvilin | Japan, UK, USA | 2024 | 104 min | Canadian Premiere
Journalist Shiori Ito takes on one of the most powerful institutions in Japan to prosecute her high-profile sexual assailant in a landmark legal case. Using personal footage and hidden cameras, Ito puts it all on the line for justice.

BORN HUNGRY
D: Barry Avrich | P: Jay Hennick, Mark Selby, Barry Avrich | Canada | 2024 | 77 min | Canadian Premiere
The true rags to riches tale of Sash Simpson, a runaway child from the streets of India, who was adopted into a Toronto family with 31 siblings before becoming a world-renowned chef.

FLY
D: Shaul Schwarz, Christina Clusiau | P: Christina Clusiau, Shaul Schwarz | USA | 2023 | 106 min | International Premiere
To stand on the edge of a cliff and throw your body into the wind, one has to be willing to lose everything. That could mean the love of your life, or it could be the life you love. Over seven years, FLY follows three couples entwined in the world of BASE jumping, risking everything for the rush of feeling truly alive.

LE MANS 55: THE UNAUTHORIZED INVESTIGATION
D: Emmanuel Reyé | P: Isabelle Dagnac | France | 2023 | 90 min | World Premiere
The Le Mans race in 1955 made history through tragedy when more than 80 spectators were killed. Uncover the story of the crash that took the lives of so many and, to this day, looms over the world of motorsports.

LOOK INTO MY EYES
D: Lana Wilson | P: Kyle Martin, Lana Wilson | USA | 2023 | 105 min | Canadian Premiere 
In this unique journey into the human desire for connection, acclaimed filmmaker Lana Wilson follows an eclectic group of New York City psychics whose intimate readings reveal a kaleidoscopic view of loneliness, connection and healing with humour and intrigue.

LOST IN THE SHUFFLE
D: Jon Ornoy | P: Jon Ornoy, Ana Carrizales | Canada | 2024 | 100 min | World Premiere
Pick a card, any card! World champion magician Shawn Farquhar delves into a medieval murder cold case among Jacks, Queens and Kings as he devises a new trick inspired by the world’s best sleight-of-hand artists.

MADE IN ENGLAND: THE FILMS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER
D: David Hinton | P: Matthew Wells, Nick Varley | UK | 2024 | 131 min | Canadian Premiere
Martin Scorsese tells of his lifelong love affair with the movies of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and their “subversive commercial movies.” Drawing on a rich array of archival material, Scorsese explores their collaboration that thrived in the adversity of WWII.

MICHEL GONDRY, DO IT YOURSELF
D: François Nemeta | P: Olivier de Bannes, Robin Accard, Philippe Savine | France | 2023 | 80 min | North American Premiere
French filmmaker Michel Gondry re-invented the music video and challenged Hollywood with his distinctive handmade visual style. Intimately documented, Gondry’s career and playful creative process receive an overdue review, from his earliest music videos to his latest feature film at Cannes.

NEVER LOOK AWAY
D: Lucy Lawless | P: | New Zealand | 2024 | 85 min | Canadian Premiere
CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth was facing down war’s inhumanity when one bullet changed everything but her resolve. Debut filmmaker Lucy Lawless turns the camera’s gaze on this groundbreaking woman and her legacy.

POWER
D: Yance Ford | P: Sweta Vohra, Jess Devaney, Yance Ford, Netsanet Negussie | USA | 2024 | 87 min | Canadian Premiere
Today, America’s public police system can be described by one word: power. Masterfully edited and researched, this film examines the history, scale and social effects policing has had on the United States and its culture.

RED FEVER
D: Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge | P: Lisa M. Roth, Rebecca Lessard | Canada | 2024 | 104 min | World Premiere
Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond travels to the four corners of Turtle Island and across Europe to explore the world’s fascination with Native Americans, recognizing the profound impact Indigenous people have had in shaping modern Western culture.

THE RIDE AHEAD
D: Samuel Habib, Dan Habib | P: Dan Habib, Erica Lupinacci | USA | 2024 | 97 min | World Premiere
An expansion of his short film My Disability Roadmap, Samuel Habib is a typical 21-year-old, itching to move out, start a career and find love. But “no one tells you how to be an adult, let alone an adult with a disability.”

UNION
D: Brett Story, Stephen Maing | P: Samantha Curley, Mars Verrone, Martin DiCiccio | USA | 2024 | 104 min | Canadian Premiere 
The Amazon Labor Union (ALU)—a group of current and former Amazon workers on New York City’s Staten Island—takes on one of the world’s largest and most powerful companies in the fight to unionize.

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