How It Works
Selected projects participate in a series of 20-minute pitch meetings with the decision makers with whom they have matched.
Selected participants request meetings with participating decision makers. Decision makers review requests and accept those that are appropriate for their mandates. The Hot Docs industry team also provide some curated matchmaking.
History
During the 2025 edition of Hot Docs Deal Maker, 52 projects representing 45 countries pitched in 650 + pre-arranged meetings with over 90 decision makers — all within just three days: two in person and one online. During the in-person Industry days, an average of 15 meetings were happening simultaneously at all times. Among the selection, 14 projects represent Canada, while 21 boast BIPOC directors, and 32 are helmed or co-helmed by women. Notably, 14 projects mark the directorial debut of promising talents.
Since its inception, 744 projects and 740+ filmmakers have pitched in almost 5700 Deal Maker meetings.