Selected Projects

Each year, projects find the financing they need at Hot Docs industry market.

The 2026 Hot Docs Festival will see the return of the renowned Hot Docs Forum. A total of 15 projects from nine countries, along with a "wild card" project that will be selected live at the event, will pitch to attending industry representatives. These projects, along with 16 more from eight countries will pitch in curated one-on-one Hot Docs Deal Maker meetings.

This year will bring a more focused, tailored boutique approach to Hot Docs Forum and Deal Maker, designed to facilitate meaningful connections that build relationships and open doors to collaboration, funding and distribution opportunities for these 31 projects.  

2026 Hot Docs Forum Projects

The Hot Docs Forum is a live event where pre-selected projects are pitched to a room of attending industry representatives. These projects will also participate in Hot Docs Deal Maker.

The Hot Docs Forum is generously supported by Presenting Forum Partner the Canada Media Fund.

ExCoded 
Director: Javier Lovera 
Producers: Hannah Donegan (Producer), Marc Serpa Francoeur (Producer), Ina Fichman (Executive Producer)
Production companies: Airplane Mode Productions Inc. (Canada), Better Together Films Inc. (Canada)

Amidst the steady creep of facial recognition technology into policing, immigration and even schools, people harmed by AI—aka the “excoded”—are taking on a system that’s rapidly rewriting the rules of public life. 

Hiding in My Cells
Director: Ali Naqi  
Producers: Christina Saliba (Producer), Ali Naqi (Producer), Ariel Nasr (Executive Producer), Sergeo Kirby (Executive Producer) 
Production companies: Misfit Films (Canada), Spicy Alii Inc. (Canada) 

In rural Belgaum, India, a sanctuary shelters HIV-positive children abandoned by their families. Led by Kasturi, also HIV positive, it defies stigma and teaches India’s most vulnerable the meaning of family. 

The Instrument 
Director: Zac Manuel 
Producers: Darcy McKinnon (Producer), Holly Stanton (Executive Producer), Carlos Lopez Estrada (Executive Producer) 
Production companies: Gusto Moving Pictures (USA), Antigravity Academy (USA) 

As a celebrated jazz singer confronts the decline of his voice, his filmmaker son attempts to resurrect their late patriarch through artificial intelligence—unfolding a story that bridges the birth of recorded sound, the erasure of Black voices, and the precarious frontier of technological resurrection. 

Izhichigewin  
Director: Darlene Naponse, Sage Petahtegoose 
Producers: Darlene Naponse (Producer), Jennifer Weiss (Producer) 
Production companies: Baswewe Films Inc. (Canada) 

An elevated intimate connection, Izhichigewin is recalling, creating and imagining a life well lived through Anishnawbek Traditional Knowledge & Food Sustainability. 

Mid Wif
Director: Mia Harvey 
Producers: Natasha Dack Ojumu (Producer), Mia Harvey (Producer) 
Production companies: Tigerlily Productions (UK), Past Life Films (UK) 

In Atlanta, two Black midwives work underground to provide safe homebirths. Mid Wif explores the rich legacy of Black midwifery in the US, whilst following an urgent political fight to legalize a profession rooted in ancestral care. 

North Korea's Joy Division 
Director: Noa Im
Producers: Ann Shin (Producer / Executive Producer), Sally Blake (Producer / Executive Producer), Erica Leendertse (Producer) 
Production companies: Fathom Film Group Ltd. (Canada), Films á Cinq (France) 

Four women break decades of silence to expose North Korea’s secret pleasure squad, “Joy Division,” revealing how sex and performance were weaponized to serve three generations of dictatorship. 

The Ruin of the Earth
Director: Yannick Jamey
Producers: Ophelia Spinosa (Producer)
Production companies: Stella Maris Films (Canada) 

On a remote island off the coast of Ireland, 80-year-old Peadar Mór is the last inhabitant to hold on to a forgotten worldview on the edge of extinction. 

Tallawah
Director: Laurie Townshend 
Producers: Amar Lohana (Producer), Habiba Nosheen (Executive Producer)
Production companies: Akelo Media Corp (Canada) 

On a weathered court in Kingston, Jamaica, three young women chase improbable hoop dreams, daring to reimagine their futures in women's basketball and beyond. 

Thermocene 
Director: Giorgio Ferrero   
Producers: Giovanni Pompili (Lead Producer), Rodolfo Mongitore (Producer)
Production companies: Kino Produzioni s.r.l. (Italy), Mybosswas s.r.l. (Italy) 

While visionary minds imagine new ways of inhabiting the planet, two composers, isolated in the Alps, compose a symphony recording human traces in the air, revealing that zero impact doesn’t exist.

Unlocked 
Director: Luke Terrell
Producers: Lauren “Lo” Heimer (Producer), Alex Schmider (Producer), Annie Marr (Producer), Alexander Mok (Consulting Producer), Lilly Wachowski (Executive Producer), Lawrence Mattis (Executive Producer), John Leguizamo (Executive Producer) 
Production companies: Restless Productions (USA), Hello Friend Media (USA), Anarchists United (USA), Kartemquin Films (USA)  

Best friends in Missouri’s death row prison build a tech company on the inside. When they’re unexpectedly released after 25 years, they find that freedom could destabilize everything they’ve built. 

Vuka (Rise Up) 
Director: Matthew Robinson
Producers: Rehad Desai (Lead Producer), Shannon Walsh (Executive Producer), Matthew Robinson (Producer) 
Production companies: Trevendy Films (Pty) Ltd (South Africa), Uhuru Productions (Pty) Ltd (South Africa) 

Amidst the challenges of township life on the outskirts of Cape Town, an inspirational choir conductor uses the language of music to help students find purpose and harmony in an unforgiving world. 

Widows of Living Husbands 
Director: Diego Kelmann, Jussara Costa do Macuco (co-director) 
Producers: Diego Kelmann (Lead Producer), Clelia Bessa (Lead Producer), Renata Lobo (Executive Producer), Jussara Costa do Macuco (Associate Producer) 
Production companies: UZ Produções, Eventos & Criação Ltda, UZ Z CORP (USA), Raccord Produções Artísticas e Cinematográficas Ltda (Brazil), Aquilombei Produções (Brazil) 

In Brazil’s rural Jequitinhonha Valley, parents spend 11 months working far away, leaving a single month with their family. Generations of forced migration have etched lasting scars into the community. 

With Time   
Director: Brit Fryer and Noah Schamus 
Producers: Jesse Miller (Producer), Jess Devaney (Executive Producer), Carrie Lozano ( Executive Producer), Jun Stinson Yamagishi (Supervising Producer), Jess Zeidman ( Executive Producer) 
Production companies: In Time Productions LLC (Producer, USA), Multitude Films (USA), ITVS ( USA), Alina Pictures (USA) 

With Time follows a group of trans people over 50 as they gather in a storytelling workshop, bringing to life moments of euphoria, connection and mutual recognition. 

What You Remember 
Director: Pauline Blanchet 
Producers: Ljubomir Stefanov (Producer), Pauline Blanchet (Producer) 
Production companies: Apolo Creative Solutions (North Macedonia), Aral Sea Productions LTD. (UK) 

How do we remember the past when our history has been faked? One man’s idea to rebuild a capital erased collective memory, casting a dark shadow over Skopje's future identity. 

Untitled Mexican Project  
Director: [Undisclosed]  
Producers: Santiago Esteinou (Producer) 
Production companies: [Undisclosed] 

Following the eruption of violence in her community’s sacred forest, a filmmaker returns home to honour the victims and document her people’s struggle to protect the land that sustains and defines them. 

2026 Deal Maker

Hot Docs Deal Maker is a curated one-on-one pitch meeting program where producers connect with attending industry representatives.

Deal Maker is generously supported by Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates and the City of Toronto. 
 

Be Free 
Director: Silvana Costa 
Producers: Federico Schiavi (Producer) 
Production companies: Nacne srl (Italy)  

Before the Sun Sets 
Director: Kanwal Ahmed
Producers: Javiera Quintana (Lead Producer), Stuart Henderson (Executive Producer), Fabrice Esteve (Producer) 
Production companies: 90th Parallel Productions Ltd (Canada), Yuzu Productions (France)  

Feminist City 
Director: Alison Duke 
Producers: Alison Duke (Producer / Executive Producer), Ngardy Conteh George (Producer / Executive Producer), Nina Beveridge (Development Producer), Sally Browning (Producer), Keaton Stewart (Producer), Monica O'Brien (Executive Producer) 
Production companies: Oya Media Group Inc. (Canada), Emerald Films Pty Ltd. (Australia), Stewart Brothers Pty Ltd 

The Food Barons 
Director: Sara Manisera  
Producers: Fabio Saitto (Producer), Marine Vaillant (Co-Producer)  
Production companies: Point Nemo SRL (Italy), Special Touch Studios SAS (France) 

New Spring – Nûbihar 
Director: Benedetta Argentieri 
Producers: Eleonora Savi (Executive producer), Domenico Procacci (Producer), Laura Paolucci (Producer), Benedetta Argentieri (Producer) 
Production companies: Fandango SPA (Italy), Possibile Film (Italy) 

Never Move Backwards 
Director: Alexandra Tahereh Kaucher  
Producers: Michael LaPointe (Producer), James Jenkins (Producer), Jonathan Olson (Producer) 
Production companies: Never Move Backwards Film LLC (USA), Hiss.tv, LLC. (USA), Pointe Media, LLC. (USA), Yesteryear, Inc. (USA)

NOW: No Ordinary World 
Co-directors: Anna Kuelken, Patrick Lundeen 
Producers: Patrick Lundeen (Producer), Edmon Rotea (Executive Producer) 
Production companies: Twisted Timber Productions (Canada) 

Pure Madness 
Director: Inès Arsi 
Producers: Sarra Ben Hassen (Producer), Kaouthar Hadidi (Producer) 
Production companies: Instinct Bleu (Tunisia), 3ème Genre Production (France) 

The Scientist’s Guide 
Director: Caitlin Durlak, Sean Stiller, Emilie Martel 
Producers: Bryn Hughes (Producer), Nicholas de Pencier (Producer), Kevin Feiyang Li (Showrunner / Producer), Jonathan Qu (Showrunner / Producer) 
Production companies: Curiosity Films (Canada), Frequent Flyer Films (Canada) 

The Simulation / La Simulation  
Director: Justine Harbonnier 
Producers: Line Sander Egede (Producer), Carine Chichkowsky (Co-Producer) 
Production companies: TAK films Inc. (Canada), Survivance (France)  

Ski the Wong Way 
Director: Danny Berish 
Producers: Leah Mallen (Executive Producer / Producer), Ryan Mah (Producer), Joanna Wong (Producer) 
Production companies: Black Rhino Creative Inc. (Canada) 

Solas  
Director: Lila Penagos 
Producers: Lila Penagos (Producer), Juliana Khalifé (Creative Producer) 
Production companies: Killa Producciones S.A.S (Ecuador), Lunar producción y comunicación audiovisual S.A.S (Ecuador) 

Sons of the River 
Director: Katyayani Kumar 
Producers: Eric Cook (Producer), Sanjay Sharma (Executive Producer), Milan Chakraborty (Executive Producer) 
Production companies: Shastra Productions (USA), Eric B Cook Productions LLC (USA), Marginal MediaWorks, Inc. (USA) 

Sugo! 
Director: Alfio Foti  
Producers: Emilija Davidovic (Producer) 
Production companies: Faustalgia Pictures (Canada) 

Up in the Clouds, Down in the Valley 
Director: Carmen Pollard 
Producers: Jenny Rustemeyer (Producer), Carmen Pollard (Producer), Sarah Jane Flynn (Executive Producer for Knowledge Network) 
Production companies: Diving Bell Films Inc. (Canada), Silvapark Films Inc. (Canada) 

Weathering Architect 
Director: Sunhyeon Kwon 
Producers: Duhyun Ko (Producer) 
Production companies: Keumyoil Film (South Korea)