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30 Years of Hot Docs: Jury Award Winners

Each year, esteemed juries made up of fellow filmmakers and industry experts award the best and boldest documentaries at Hot Docs Festival. These coveted awards come with cash prizes and, for some categories, qualification for Academy Awards. Enjoy this curated selection of films with the Hot Docs jury stamp of approval. 

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Series runs Until June 29

a house with clothes all over it

306 Hollywood

Emerging International Filmmaker, Hot Docs 2018 

When siblings Elan and Jonathan Bogarín undertake an archaeological excavation of their late grandmother's house, they embark on a magical-realist journey in search of what remains in the objects we leave behind. This compelling tale transforms the dusty fragments of an unassuming life into a metaphor for the nature of memory, time and history.  

  • D: Elan Bogarín & Jonathan Bogarín
  • USA
  • 2018
  • 94 min
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two men in suits and reporters

Hogtown: The Politics of Policing

Best Canadian Feature Documentary, Hot Docs 2005

Following the appointment of new progressive members to the Toronto Police Services Board, the politically divided group must address internal corruption and rising community concerns of racial profiling. Director Min Sook Lee unflinchingly captures policing in city politics.

  • D: Min Sook Lee
  • Canada
  • 2005
  • 97 min
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a girl speaking into a microphone

Unarmed Verses

Best Canadian Feature Documentary, Hot Docs 2017

Presenting a thoughtful and vivid portrait of a Toronto community facing imposed relocation, the centre of this story is an astute and luminous 12-year-old Black girl whose observations about life, soul and the power of art give voice to those rarely heard in society. 

  • D: Charles Officer
  • Canada
  • 2017
  • 85 min
  • Closed Captions
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a woman standing in front of a group of men

What Walaa Wants

Special Jury Prize Canadian Feature Documentary, Hot Docs 2018 

Walaa dreams of becoming a policewoman in the Palestinian Security Forces. Following Walaa from age 15 to 21, this doc features a defiant young girl navigating formidable obstacles and disproving the negative predictions in her surroundings.

In Arabic with English subtitles.

  • D: Christy Garland
  • Canada & Denmark
  • 2018
  • 83 min
  • Closed Captions
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