Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom and House of Hope lead the winners of this year’s jury prizes at Hot Docs. Directed by Kim Nguyen, Saigon Story won the Hot Docs Best Canadian Feature Documentary award supported by Telefilm Canada. The doc, produced by Nabil Mehchi, Robert Vroom, and Ariel Nasr for Noble Films and the NFB, connects two families united by Eddie Adams’ iconic and controversial Saigon Execution photo. The doc wins a cash prize of $10,000, courtesy of Telefilm.
The Hot Docs jury praised the film’s “illuminating look at the story behind an iconic image and the city where it was captured, its compelling analysis of the lasting effects of a conflict from more than a half century ago, and its deep dive into the complex historical, political, and emotional aspects that expand well beyond the frame.”
On the international front, House of Hope, directed by Marjolein Busstra and produced by Ruby Deelen, Olivia Sophie van Leeuwen, May Jabareen, and Ossama Bawardi, won Hot Docs Best International Feature Documentary. A Dutch-Palestinian co-production, House of Hope observes a Palestinian couple that shares teaching duties at a Waldorf school where they try to keep students’ spirits high while living under occupation. The win carries a cash prize of $10,000, courtesy of Donner Canadian Foundation. House of Hope is now eligible in the Oscar race for Best Documentary Feature as a result of the win.
The runner-up equivalents, the Hot Docs DGC Special Jury Prize-Canadian Feature Documentary and Hot Docs Joan VanDuzer Special Jury Prize-International Feature Documentary awards, went to Ceremony and The 49th Year, respectively. Ceremony, directed and produced by Banchi Hanuse, observes members of the Nuxalk Nation as they investigate the depleted ooligan fish supply and connect the loss to their people’s resilience in colonial history. The 49th Year, an Austrian-German-Japanese co-production directed and produced by Heidrun Holzfeind, shares a political prisoner’s letters that he penned across decades in confinement. The films each receive a cash prize of $5,000, sponsored by DGC National and DGC Ontario and Hot Docs in memory of long-time festival supporter Joan VanDuzer, respectively.
On the shorts front, My Body Goes to Work, directed by Fernanda Molina, who produced with Daria Lavrova, and Replikka, directed by Piratá Waurá and Heloisa Passos and produced by Passos, Mark Slagle, Yula Rocha, won the Hot Docs Awards for Canadian and international short doc, respectively. Both films receive a $3,000 prize and now qualify in the Oscar race for Best Documentary Short.
Meanwhile, two emerging Canadian filmmakers received honours during the ceremony. The Hot Docs Earl A. Glick Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award went to Sébastien Trahan for Code of Misconduct, an investigative dive into the trial of five hockey players charged with sexual assault. He receives a cash prize of $3,000. The Lindalee Tracey Award went to Özgün Gündüz in memory of the late filmmaker with a singular point of view, sense of humour, and activist eye. Gündüz, who previously produced Liz Marshall’s s-yéwyáw Awaken, receives a $5,000 cash prize from the Lindalee Tracey Fund, $5,000 in-kind voucher from the Picture Shop, and a glass-blown sculpture by Andrew Kuntz.
Dawood Hilmandi, meanwhile, won the Hot Docs Emerging International Filmmaker Award for Paikar, which observes the filmmaker’s reflections on family in times of war and COVID. He receives a $3,000 prize from the R&M Lang Foundation.
Other winners included The Seoul Guardians, which scored the Hot Docs Bill Nemtin Award for Best Social Impact Documentary, and a $10,000 prize sponsored by the Bill Nemtin Legacy Fund. The Seoul Guardians, directed by Chul Young Cho, Shin Wan Kim, Jong Woo Kim, and produced by Sona Jo and Shin Wan Kim, observes Koreans on the streets in the fight for democracy.
The $5,000 Docs for School Award went to Nekai Walks, directed by Rico King and produced by David Mcilvride. The film observes a young Torontonian’s rehabilitation after he survives a random shooting.
As previously announced, Hot Docs honoured producer Jennifer Holness with the Don Haig Award, while the ceremony also included news of a new prize. Applications are now open for the Hot Docs-CISF Connect Audience Engagement Grant to help filmmakers connect with audiences beyond the festival circuit.
Hot Docs will announce the Audience Award winners following the festival. As of press time, A Fox Under a Pink Moon leads the rankings, while Ceremony sits atop the Canadian titles for the Rogers Audience Award.
