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Hot Docs Festival 2023 will pay tribute to Canadian film producer, researcher and clearance specialist Elizabeth Klinck with the annual Focus On program, featuring the work of Canadian filmmakers and craftspeople who have made a significant contribution to the documentary landscape.

"Elizabeth Klinck is nothing short of an icon of Canadian documentary Cinema," said Shane Smith, Hot Docs artistic director." Her remarkable work as a visual and archival researcher can be seen in an astounding number of our most important docs. Elizabeth’s expertise and passion for her craft make her one of the most sought-after collaborators for producers and directors from Canada and around the world, and we are delighted to celebrate her at this year’s Festival."

Elizabeth Klinck has worked as a producer, researcher and clearance specialist on hundreds of international documentary films that have garnered BAFTA, Emmy, FOCAL, Canadian Screen Awards, Peabody, and Oscar awards. A graduate of Queen’s University, she has presented hundreds of masterclasses and workshops at numerous international festivals, markets, universities, and film schools. Elizabeth was nominated for an Emmy in the Craft of Research in 2006 for her work on HBO's Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She (2005) and has received three nominations for Best Footage Researcher at the FOCAL UK Awards.

She has been the recipient of six Best Visual Research Awards at the Canadian Screen Awards, and Gemeaux and Gemini Awards, and in 2008 she was the first Canadian to be awarded the FOCAL International Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014 she was awarded the inaugural DOC Star Award by the Documentary Organization of Canada in recognition of her mentoring and leadership in the Canadian documentary community. The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television gave Elizabeth the prestigious Board of Director’s Tribute in 2019 for her body of work and volunteerism in the Canadian and international documentary film communities. Elizabeth has served on the board of WIFT (Women In Film & Television), Canada’s Audio Visual Trust, World Congress of Historymakers, and is the founding chairperson of the Visual Researchers’ Society of Canada. She presently serves on the Executive Committee for FOCAL International (UK) and is a member of DOC Toronto and WIFT.

Past Focus On honourees include Raymonde Provencher (2022), Julia Ivanova (2019), John Walker (2018), Maya Gallus (2017), Rosie Dransfeld (2016), Carole Laganière (2015), John Zaritsky (2014), Peter Mettler (2013), John Kastner (2012), Alan Zweig (2011), Tahani Rached (2010), Ron Mann (2009), Jennifer Baichwal (2008), Kevin McMahon (2007), Serge Giguère (2006), Larry Weinstein (2005), Nettie Wild (2004), Shelley Saywell (2003) and Zacharias Kunuk (2002).