Come See Me in the Good Light Keeps Lead in Hot Docs Audience Award Race

Come See Me in the Good Light continues to hold its lead in the Hot Docs Audience Award rankings. The documentary directed by Ryan White maintained the top spot for the third day in a row. Come See Me in the Good Light has enjoyed a healthy lead this festival for its incredibly moving and warmly funny portrait of poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley as they embrace their time together in the wake of Gibson’s terminal cancer diagnosis.

The film has its encore screenings during the second weekend of Hot Docs, which means the race could flip at the last second like many ridings did on election night.

Hot Docs audiences got out the vote, too, as 9-Month Contract debuted in the runner-up spot. The documentary directed by Ketevan Vashagashvili offers a portrait of a young Georgian woman who rents her womb as a surrogate. The film had its North American premiere at Hot Docs yesterday and screens again on Thursday. Fourth place contender Antidote has no more screenings, while fifth place doc 2000 Meters to Andriivka screens again today.

On the Canadian front, the race for the Rogers Audience Award remains a mixed mystery. In third place overall and leading the Canadian field is a redacted title. However, taking the runner-up Canadian slot and sixth overall is Patrick Shannon’s Saints and Warriors, which had its first Hot Docs screening last night. Another redacted Canadian title comes in at number eight overall. Prior to masking some titles, Endless Cookie and The Gardener and the Dictator were presumably leading the Canadian field based on what screened during the calendar. Neither film has screened since then and have presumably held their leads. New Canadian docs that premiered last night were Casas Muertas and Shamed.

The Hot Docs Audience Award rankings for April 29 are:

1. Come See Me in the Good Light
2. 9-Month Contract
3. [Canadian feature in competition for Rogers Audience Award]
4. 2000 Meters to Andriivka
5. Antidote
6. Saints and Warriors – Eligible for the Rogers Audience Award
7. Nobody Against Putin
8. [Canadian feature in competition for Rogers Audience Award]
9. The Last Ambassador
10. Aisha’s Story
11. Coexistence, My Ass!
12. Widow Champion
13. Agatha’s Almanac – Eligible for the Rogers Audience Award
14. The Nest – Eligible for the Rogers Audience Award
15. Always
16. Spreadsheet Champions
17. Life After
18. The Track – Eligible for the Rogers Audience Award
19. Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
20. Ai Weiwei’s Turandot