Grammy winning singer Kenny Loggins is among the guests coming to Toronto for Hot Docs. The musician joins previously announced guest Carole Pope among the rockumentary headliners of this year’s festival. Loggins and Pope share their life stories in the docs Kenny Loggins: Convictions of the Heart and Hot Docs’ opening night selection Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions. Both films have their world premieres at the festival.
Also joining Loggins on the guest list released today by Hot Docs – a notably slimmed down roster for the festival – are MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe and artist and disability rights advocate April Hubbard. They’ll join audiences for Q&As following the screenings of MySpace and The Last Days of April, respectively. The former film chronicles DeWolfe’s early social networking hub while the latter observes Hubbard’s journey navigating the process of Medical Assistance in Dying and the right to end her life with dignity.
DeWolfe appears as part of this year’s Big Ideas Series inviting audiences to join filmmakers and participants for extended Q&As. Also attending is previously announced guest Amy Goodman. The veteran journalist appears for the Canadian debut of Steal This Story, Please! alongside Oscar nominated director Tia Lessin. The star power for this year’s festival admittedly lacks the high calibre names of recent years, as last year’s Hot Docs included Oscar winner Marlee Matlin among the Big Ideas participants, while recent editions of the festival drew the likes of actress Lucy Lawless and three-time Academy Award winner Thelma Schoonmaker.
The festival nevertheless has many notable filmmakers joining audiences for the show. Attending Hot Docs this year include Oscar nominees Sara Dosa (Fire of Love) and Kim Nguyen (War Witch). They’ll be on hand to engage audiences following the Canadian premiere of Time and Water and the world premiere of Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom, respectively. Also on hand will be festival regular Dawn Porter for the Canadian premiere of When a Witness Recants, along with Poh Si Teng for the Canadian premiere of American Doctor and Jeffrey McHale for the Canadian premiere of It’s Dorothy!. Local talents attending the festival include Black Zombie director Maya Annik Bedward, This Above All: The Theatrical Life of Antoni Cimolino director Barry Avrich, The Ballad of Judas Priest co-director Sam Dunn, and Antidiva director Michelle Mama. They’ll join many other filmmakers and doc participants from around the world to speak with audiences following screenings throughout the festival.
Hot Docs kicks off its 2026 edition on April 23.
