Festival Announcements The 32nd edition of Hot Docs Festival will take place in cinemas across Toronto, April 24 to May 4, 2025.The full line-up is announced! Watch Hot Docs Festival trailer: Single tickets are now available. See more and save with a 12- or 20-Ticket Package or 6-Ticket Bundle. BUY TICKET PACKAGES Are you an industry representative? Register for our Industry Conference at hotdocs.ca/register. Back to Hot Docs Festival 2025 Special Presentations Featuring high-profile subjects, award-winning films and filmmakers, and masterful perspectives on current events and pressing issues. 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA D: Mstyslav Chernov | P: Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson-Rath | Ukraine | 2025 | 106 min | Canadian Premiere From the Academy Award–winning director of 20 Days in Mariupol comes an immersive and harrowing look at a Ukrainian platoon on the front lines of the war as they traverse a heavily fortified forest to liberate the strategic village of Andriivka. ANTIDOTE D: James Jones | P: James Jones | United Kingdom, | 2024 | 90 min | Canadian Premiere How does it feel to be on Putin’s most-wanted list? Christo Grozev, an investigative journalist and co-founder of Bellingcat, is on the run, while Vladimir Kara-Murza, a political activist, stands trial for treason. A riveting doc-thriller about those resisting and confronting the blood-chilling Russian regime. APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS D: Petra Costa | P: Petra Costa, Alessandra Orofino | Brazil, USA, Denmark | 2024 | 110 min | Canadian Premiere In Oscar-nominated filmmaker Petra Costa’s latest excursion into the state of democracy she turns her attention to Brazil’s most prominent televangelist, Silas Malafaia, delving into the rise of religious fundamentalism in politics and its close ties to the far-right nationalist movement. ASSEMBLY D: Rashaad Newsome, Johnny Symons | P: Rashaad Newsome, Johnny Symons | USA | 2025 | 99 min | Canadian Premiere Interdisciplinary artist Rashaad Newsome adds “documentarian” to his extensive CV with this dazzling record of his titular 2022 exhibition, a multisensory extravaganza that summons a cast of global performers to transform a historic military facility into a queer, Afro-futurist utopia. COEXISTENCE, MY ASS! D: Amber Fares | P: Rachel Leah Jones, Amber Fares, Valérie Montmartin | USA, France | 2025 | 95 min | Canadian Premiere Mixing the personal with the political, comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi boldly confronts the Israel-Palestine conflict in her one-woman show. Skillfully navigating massive social and political divides with wit and humour, she challenges audiences with hard truths that are no laughing matter. COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT D: Ryan White | P: Jessica Hargrave, Ryan White, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen | USA | 2025 | 104 min | International Premiere After receiving an incurable cancer diagnosis, spoken word artist and poet laureate of Colorado Andrea Gibson, alongside their partner and fellow poet Megan Falley, embarks on a poignant journey filled with humour and love that culminates in a final career-defining performance. DEAF PRESIDENT NOW! D: Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim | P: Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim, Amanda Rohlke, Jonathan King, Michael Harte | USA | 2024 | 100 min | International Premiere When Gallaudet University’s board selected a hearing president over two deaf candidates in 1988, the almost entirely Deaf and hard-of-hearing student body pushed back, sparking a revolution that influenced the future of disability rights. LIFE AFTER D: Reid Davenport | P: Colleen Cassingham | USA | 2025 | 99 min | International Premiere Disability cinema auteur Reid Davenport takes on assisted suicide, exploring how a practice intended to empower end-of-life decision-making has exposed the long-standing devaluation of disabled life. MARLEE MATLIN: NOT ALONE ANYMORE D: Shoshannah Stern | P: Robyn Kopp, Justine Nagan, Bonni Cohen, Shoshannah Stern | USA | 2025 | 97 min | Canadian Premiere Pioneering Deaf performer Marlee Matlin candidly opens up about her life and career. Her meteoric and tumultuous rise to fame with her Oscar-winning performance in Children of a Lesser God is just one chapter of an iconic legacy that continues to resonate. THE DATING GAME D: Violet Du Feng | P: Violet Du Feng, Joanna Natasegara, James Costa, Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas | USA, UK, Norway | 2025 | 86 min | Canadian Premiere In China, where men vastly outnumber women, three desperate bachelors join a controversial dating boot camp promising romantic success through deception. Their journey exposes the harsh realities of modern dating in a post-one-child-policy world. THE NEST D: Chase Joynt, Julietta Singh | P: Alicia Smith, Justine Pimlott | Canada, | 2025 | 89 min | World Premiere At the end of her mother’s life, director Julietta Singh returns to her childhood home, where centuries of forgotten matriarchs emerge to reveal stories of resistance and resilience. Indigenous, Deaf, Japanese and South Asian histories intertwine, buried in a house full of secrets. HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY D: Sam Feder | P: Amy Scholder, Sam Feder, Paola Mendoza | USA | 2025 | 85 min | Canadian Premiere As assaults on trans rights sweep across America, ACLU attorney Chase Strangio must fight legal battles and public opinion pitched against his community as he prepares to be the first openly trans person to argue in front of the Supreme Court. SAINTS AND WARRIORS D: Patrick Shannon | P: Michael Grand | Canada | 2024 | 97 min | Canadian Premiere For over sixty years, teams have gathered on the Pacific west coast for the All Native Basketball Tournament. As the defending champions, the Skidegate Saints, battle to keep their title, it’s clear the event has become a symbol of resilience, community and culture. SELENA Y LOS DINOS D: Isabel Castro | P: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, David Blackman, Simran Singh | USA | 2025 | 106 min | International Premiere Dubbed the “Queen of Tejano Music,” Selena Quintanilla was an iconic superstar whose voice continues to resonate across generations. Exquisite family archives and intimate testimonies chart the rise of this vocal powerhouse who broke down barriers for women in the genre. SPREADSHEET CHAMPIONS D: Kristina Kraskov | P: Anna Charalambous, Charlotte Wheaton, Nick Batzias | Australia | 2025 | 86 min | Canadian Premiere Six students from around the world show off their impressive spreadsheet skills as they excel in the hyper-competitive Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship—the most challenging and prestigious Excel competition—where a win could change their life.
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