Hot Docs lineup opens with Tig, features films about Rehtaeh Parsons, Danny Williams
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival runs April 23 to May 3
Films about bullied teen Rehtaeh Parsons and former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Danny Williams are among the high-profile titles heading to this year's Hot Docs film festival in Toronto.
In addition to the headline-grabbing projects, organizers announced a slate heavy with music and comedy titles, including opening night film Tig, about comic Tig Notaro's defiant spirit and humour in the face of a cancer diagnosis.
Hot Docs president Chris McDonald says a record 40 per cent of the directors this year are women.
That includes Rama Rau's No Place to Hide, about Parsons's heartbreaking case.
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The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival runs April 23 to May 3.
Other highlights announced Tuesday include Danny, which showcases the charismatic Williams; Deep Web, from former Bill & Ted star-turned-director Alex Winter; an account of Haiti's 2010 presidential election in Sweet Micky for President featuring ex-Fugee Pras Michel; and the sports film Out to Win, featuring Olympic gold medal-winning hockey player Charline Labonte, former major league baseball player Billy Bean and U.S. college football player Conner Mertens.
Previously announced films include portraits of music legends Nina Simone and Mavis Staples, and Being Canadian, from The Big Bang Theory scribe Rob Cohen, who interviews Mike Myers, Seth Rogen and the Trailer Park Boys in his search for our national identity.
McDonald says female filmmakers have always been prominent at the festival, but this year is particularly strong.
"Technology has allowed documentary to be much cheaper, faster and easier to make films and I think maybe because there are fewer gatekeepers greenlighting films — gatekeepers who may be male in some cases, probably in most cases — it's a much more democratic process," McDonald said.
"So talent rises to the surface and there's nobody there to determine based on gender or other issues, who gets past the goal posts."