Hot Docs has announced the Canadian and international films that will screen in competition this year. Although the selections for the Canadian Spectrum and International Spectrum were announced previously in the release of the full slate, Hot Docs has confirmed additional juried awards that will be awarded at the festival. Canadian feature docs in competition will also be eligible for the Hot Docs Earl A. Glick Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award where applicable.
Also returning is the Bill Nemtin Award for Social Impact Documentary. The prize honours the memory of the late producer and recognizes producers whose film “find and tell compelling stories that inspire social or political change, and encourage their audiences to change their attitudes or behaviours or strive for policy change.” Previous winners of the recently established award include Standing Above the Clouds and Someone Lives Here. Some awards, however, are not returning in the slimmer festival, including Land | Sea | Sky award for environmental film established last year.
Members of the Canadian features jury are Mads K. Mikkelsen, CPH:DOX’s Head of Programme; DOXA Documentary Film Festival Artistic director Sarah Ouazzani; and Independent Lens Principal Content Consultant/Co-Curator Noland Walker. Meanwhile, the international features jury will be comprised of Union director Brett Story, DocsMX executive director Inti Cordera, and TVO Docs Programmer and former Hot Docs artistic director Shane Smith. On the jury for the mid-length docs and the Bill Nemtin Award, ARTE Commissioning Editor Sabine Lange will join filmmakers Alison Duke (A Mother Apart) and Ali Weinstein (Your Tomorrow). Finally, the shorts jury is composed of filmmaker Aeyliya Husain (An Unfinished Journey), New York Times Op-Docs Series Producer Yvonne Ashley Kouadjo, and filmmaker/programmer/curator Ruth Somalo.
The Hot Docs competition breakdowns are as follows:
Canadian Features in Competition:
These films are part of the Canadian Spectrum Competition Program and are eligible for the Hot Docs Best Canadian Feature Documentary award, supported by Telefilm Canada, and the Hot Docs DGC Special Jury Prize-Canadian Feature Documentary, supported by DGC National and DGC Ontario. Some titles are also eligible for the Hot Docs Earl A. Glick Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award.
AGATHA’S ALMANAC
D: Amalie Atkins | P: Amalie Akins | Canada | 2025 | 86 min | North American Premiere
CASAS MUERTAS
D: Rosana Matecki | P: Rosana Matecki, Mariana Andrade, Patricio Andrade | Canada, Venezuela, Ecuador | 2025 | 83 min | World Premiere
ENDLESS COOKIE
D: Seth Scriver, Peter Scriver | P: Daniel Bekerman, Chris Yurkovich, Alex Ordanis, Jason Ryle, Seth Scriver | Canada | 2024 | 97 min | Canadian Premiere
GHOSTS OF THE SEA
D: Virginia Tangvald | P: Isabelle Couture, Élaine Hébert, Nathalie Cloutier, Frédéric Corvez, Maéva Savinien | Canada, France | 2024 | 97 min | Ontario Premiere
PAUL
D: Denis Côté | P: Karine Bélanger, Hany Ouichou | Canada | 2025 | 87 min | Canadian Premiere
SHAMED
D: Matt Gallagher | P: Cornelia Principe | Canada | 2025 | 90 min | World Premiere
SHIFTING BASELINES
D: Julien Elie | P: Andreas Mendritzki, Aonan Yang, Julien Elie | Canada | 2025 | 100 min | North American Premiere
SIKSIKAKOWAN: THE BLACKFOOT MAN
D: Sinakson Trevor Solway | P: Coty Savard | Canada | 2025 | 77 min | World Premiere
#SKODEN
D: Damien Eagle Bear | P: Damien Eagle Bear | Canada | 2025 | 75 min | World Premiere
THE TRACK
D: Ryan Sidhoo | P: Ryan Sidhoo | Canada | 2025 | 90 min | Canadian Premiere
International Features in Competition:
These films are part of the International Spectrum Competition Program and are eligible for Hot Docs Best International Feature Documentary award and the Hot Docs Joan VanDuzer Special Jury Prize-International Feature Documentary, supported by MakeWay Foundation-Harbinger Fund in memory of Joan VanDuzer. Some titles are also eligible for the Hot Docs Emerging International Filmmaker Award supported by Donner Canadian Foundation.
HERITAGE
D: Mir Mohammad Najafi | P: Mohsen Ostad Ali | Iran | 2025 | 73 min | World Premiere
HOLLOWAY
D: Sophie Compton, Daisy-May Hudson | P: Alice Hughes, Polly Creed, Sophie Compton, Tarquin Ramsay | UK | 2024 | 87 min | International Premiere
I DREAMED HIS NAME
D: Angela Carabalí | P: Sandra Tabares Duque, Angela Carabalí | Colombia | 2025 | 86 min | World Premiere
I, POPPY
D: Vivek Chaudhary | P: Vivek Chaudhary, Xavier Rocher | India | 2024 | 81 min | World Premiere
KING MATT THE FIRST
D: Jaśmina Wójcik | P: Marta Dużbabel, Agnieszka Rostropowicz | Poland | 2025 | 75 min | World Premiere
NESHOMA
D: Sandra Beerends | P: Floor Onrust | Netherlands | 2024 | 85 min | International Premiere
RIVER OF GRASS
D: Sasha Wortzel | P: Danielle Varga, Sasha Wortzel | USA | 2025 | 83 min | International Premiere
THE SECRET LIVES OF MY THREE MEN
D: Letícia Simões | P: João Vieira Jr., Nara Aragão, Letícia Simões | Brazil | 2025 | 75 min | International Premiere
UNWELCOMED
D: Amilcar Infante, Sebastian Gonzalez Mendez | P: Sebastian Gonzalez Mendez | Chile | 2025 | 68 min | World Premiere
WALLS – AKINNI INUK
D: Sofie Rørdam, Nina Paninnguaq Skydsbjerg | P: Emile Hertling Péronard | Greenland, Denmark | 2025 | 84 min | International Premiere
Films Eligible to Receive the Hot Docs Bill Nemtin Award for Best Social Impact Documentary:
These films are screening in various programs across the festival and are eligible to receive the Hot Docs Bill Nemtin Award for Best Social Impact Documentary, sponsored by the Bill Nemtin Legacy Fund, awarded to producers who find and tell compelling stories that inspire social or political change, and encourage their audiences to change their attitudes or behaviours or strive for policy change.
HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY
D: Sam Feder | P: Amy Scholder, Sam Feder, Paola Mendoza | USA | 2025 | 85 min | Canadian Premiere
KHARTOUM
D: Phil Cox, Ibrahim Ahmed, Anas Saeed, Timeea Ahmed, Rawia Alhag | P: Talal Afifi, Giovanna Stopponi | UK, Germany | 2025 | 80 min | Canadian Premiere
LIFE AFTER
D: Reid Davenport | P: Colleen Cassingham | USA | 2025 | 99 min | International Premiere
MUNDURUKUYÜ – THE FOREST OF THE FISH WOMEN
D: Aldira Akay, Beka Munduruku, Rilcélia Akay | P: Estêvão Ciavatta | Brazil | 2025 | 72 min | International Premiere
PARADE: QUEER ACTS OF LOVE & RESISTANCE
D: Noam Gonick | P: Justine Pimlott | Canada | 2025 | 96 min | World Premiere
WRITING HAWA
D: Najiba Noori, Rasul Noori (co-director) | P: Christian Popp, Hasse van Nunen, Renko Douze | France, Netherlands, Qatar, Afghanistan | 2024 | 85 min | Canadian Premiere
Mid-Length Films in Competition:
These films are screening in various programs across the festival and are eligible to receive the award for Hot Docs Best Mid-Length Documentary, sponsored by MUBI.
AISHA’S STORY
D: Elizabeth Vibert, Chen Wang (co-director) | P: Elizabeth Vibert, Salam Barakat Guenette | Canada | 2025 | 62 min | World Premiere
CLIMATE IN THERAPY
D: Nathan Grossman | P: Cecilia Nessen | Sweden, Norway | 2025 | 64 min | North American Premiere
GARANTI 100% KRÉOL
D: Laurent Pantaléon | P: Kristel Séraphin | Réunion | 2024 | 63 min | North American Premiere
LICHENS ARE THE WAY
D: Ondřej Vavrečka | P: Vít Janeček | Czech Republic, Slovakia | 2024 | 43 min | North American Premiere
NIGHT WATCHES US
D: Stefan Verna | P: Kat Baulu, Ariel Nasr | Canada | 2024 | 43 min | World Premiere
VOYAGE ALONG THE WAR
D: Antonin Peretjatko | P: Nicolas Anthomé | France | 2024 | 62 min | North American Premiere
Canadian Shorts in Competition:
These films are screening in various programs across the festival and are eligible to receive the Hot Docs Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary, supported by John and Betty Youson.
BALANCE
D: Luiza Cocora | Canada | 21 min
BLOODY MESS
D: Megan Wennberg | Canada | 10 min
DELTA DAWN
D: Asia Youngman | Canada | 26 min
KING’S COURT
D: Serville Poblete | Canada | 20 min
LA MAYORDOMÍA
D: Martin Edralin | Canada | 23 min
MY MEMORY-WALLS
D: Axel Robin | Canada | 12 min
THE SNIP
D: Alain Delannoy | Canada | 10 min
A VIEW FROM HOME
D: Mingzhe Zhou | Canada | 16 min
International Shorts in Competition:
These films are screening in various programs across the festival and are eligible to receive the award for Hot Docs Best International Short Documentary, sponsored by TVO Docs.
ALICE
D: Gabriel Novis | Brazil | 17 min
THE BLACK STAIN
D: Yareni Velázquez Mendoza | Mexico | 5 min
THE CONSCIENCE FILES
D: Brian Bolster | USA | 14 min
I WANTED TO HEAR YOUR VOICE
D: James Pellerito | USA | 12 min
INTO THE DARK
D: Fiona Otway | USA | 18 min
IT’S DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS
D: Billie JD Porter | USA | 39 min
LIFE INVISIBLE
D: Bettina Perut, Iván Osnovikoff | UK, Chile, Sweden | 20 min
PLONGEURS
D: Hector Aponysus | UK, France | 12 min
Hot Docs runs April 24 to May 4.
