#HOTDOCS: 2021 HOT DOCS CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL LINEUP ANNOUNCED

The 2021 HOT DOCS FILM FESTIVAL lineup takes place April 29 through May 9, 2021 this year adapting to an online format amidst the pandemic. The Festival is comprised of a total 219 films from 66 countries in 12 programs, with 50 per cent of the Directors in the Festival program being women.

Scotia Wealth Management are back with their Big Ideas series and among the in-depth discussions to take place this year are those with: Australian Underwater Photographer and Conservationist Valerie Taylor (Playing with Sharks); the Filmmaking Team behind Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street; Singer, Songwriter and International Recording Artist Jully Black, author and Professor Cheryl Thompson and Director Jennifer Holness discussing the cultural shift in beauty standards that now embrace Black aesthetics, and how this impacts our understanding of race, power and the construction of beauty (Subjects of Desire); and Filmmaker Jed Rothstein, along with subject and Wall Street Journal reporter Maureen Farrell and subject and former WeWork employee Megan Mallow, sharing in a provocative discussion about what was going on behind the scenes of WeWork (WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn).

Special Presentations this year presented by Crave, also includes the international premieres of: 7 Years of Lukas Graham, an inspiring profile of Danish Vocalist and Multi-Instrumentalist Lukas Forchhammer, lead singer of the pop group Lukas Graham; With Drawn Arms, which takes audiences back to the 1968 Summer Olympics, when two track stars raised their black-gloved fists on the podium, and the impact of that gesture 50 years later; Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, which explores the legacy of white supremacy and our collective responsibility to overcome it, anchored by ACLU lawyer Jeff Robinson’s groundbreaking 2018 talk; Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, which takes us inside the minds and hearts of the creators, artists, writers and educators of the enduring children’s program, Sesame Street; and Hysterical, a backstage pass into the lives of popular female comics, including Margaret Cho, Fortune Feimster, Marina Franklin, Nikki Glaser, Jessica Kirson, Sherri Shepherd, Iliza Shlesinger, and more, who are taking the male-dominated world of stand-up comedy by storm.

Timely presentations which display the Festival’s finger on the pulse, include world premieres of: Wuhan Wuhan, in which award-winning Filmmaker Yung Chang teams up with a group of intrepid Videographers as they capture life in the Chinese city during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic; The Death of My Two Fathers, an unforgettable contemplation of race, death and the importance of family inspired by videos the filmmaker watches that were recorded by his terminally ill father; The Taste of Desire, a philosophical and poetic trip around the world that uses oysters as a metaphor to explore humanity’s relationship with nature and desire; Dirty Tricks, a thrilling dive into the cutthroat world of competitive bridge playing, and the ensuing scandal that erupts after the world’s top player is accused of cheating; Come Back Anytime, a delectable Doc about self-taught Japanese ramen master, Masamoto Ueda, and his legendary Tokyo ramen shop, Bizentei; and Viral, which shows us COVID-19’s impact on today’s youth through the social media posts of seven young people.

Other Programs at the Festival include the Canadian Spectrum (which includes Hell or Clean Water, the fascinating story of a Newfoundland diver who dedicates himself to cleaning up the province’s polluted shores by himself);  International Spectrum, World Showcase, Made in Colombia, Artscapes, Nightvision, Persisters, Markers, Systems Down, Changing Face of Europe and Deep Drive Programs, giving Festival Goers an eclectic mix to choose from.

More here on tickets and Films.

(Photo credit: Hot Docs)