Hot Docs’ European Program Explores Bodily Autonomy, Rise of Right-Wing, Labor Conditions in EU

AURORA has added two extra shows in Dublin and Edinburgh to her upcoming UK and European tour – see all the dates below. The Norwegian alt-pop singer is preparing to release her new album ‘What Happened To The Heart?’ in June, after which she will be playing a string of shows around the continent in September and October.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Elaine Epstein says that winning Hot Docs Forum’s top First Look prize of Can $20,000 cash for her film “Arrest the Midwife” is a “game changer.” The project, which has been on a close to year-long hiatus, will now finally be able to resume due to the award. “The last money we raised was 10 months ago,” Epstein said. “So it’s been a while.

Jennie Punter Nishta Jain’s “Farming the Revolution” has won Hot Docs’ Best International Feature Documentary Award, it was announced Friday at the festival’s awards ceremony, held in Toronto at the Centre for Social Innovation–Annex. Produced by Jain (Raintree Films) and Valérie Montmartin (Little Big Story) and co-directed by cinematographer Akash Basumatari, the film follows the massive year-long gathering of Indian farmers protesting unjust new farm laws that they felt would impact their markets. The jury said, “‘Farming the Revolution’ spotlights the power of ordinary people with an enduring cinematic sophistication and an indomitable lyrical presence.” The award comes with a Cnd.

The Robin Wright (House of Cards)-led The Girlfriend has been ordered to series at Prime Video with Olivia Cooke (House of the Dragon), Laurie Davidson (Mary and George), and Waleed Zuaiter (Gangs of London) also set to star. The series, to be directed by Wright, is based on Michelle Frances’ novel of the same name.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Amazon Prime Video has ordered a series adaptation of the Michelle Frances novel “The Girlfriend” with Robin Wright set to star and direct, Variety has learned. In addition, Olivia Cooke (“House of the Dragon,” “Sound of Metal”), Laurie Davidson (“Mary and George”), and Waleed Zuaiter (“Gangs of London”) will star alongside Wright. The official description of the series states: “Laura (Wright) wants for nothing.

Jennie Punter Spain’s push to position itself as a premier player in the world’s film and TV industries extends to the documentary zone, as both audiences and industry delegates discovered in the impressive display of the country’s finished and work-in-progress films and co-production know-how at Toronto’s Hot Docs Festival this week. According to the European Audiovisual Observatory’s Yearbook 2023/2024, Spain is the European leader in documentary production, with 153 films in 2022 (Italy was second with 137, Switzerland third with 83)—a sign that Spain’s €1.6 billion public investment in the strategic sector, intended to spur production growth for the 2021-2025 period, has taken root in the doc space.

Addie Morfoot Contributor The Hot Docs Forum, the festival’s industry centerpiece, wrapped Wednesday with its most lively awards announcements in recent memory—complete with flamenco guitar, song and dance courtesy of Spain, this year’s country in focus—as hundreds of industry delegates assembled under the sun in the courtyard of Toronto’s Hart House. Elaine Epstein’s “Arrest the Midwife”—one of 20 projects presented to key funders and decision-makers as well as filmmakers, producers and other observers at the two-day Forum pitch event—won the First Look first prize of Can $20,000 cash.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Producer Ina Fichman, Oscar nominated for “Fire of Love,” was at the 25th edition of Hot Docs Forum on Tuesday to pitch her latest project “Ba’s Book.” Directed by Canadian filmmaker Ashley Da-Le Duong, the hybrid docu focuses on Duong’s father and his experiences living through both the Vietnam War and the Iranian Revolution. “Let me take you somewhere for a moment,” Duong told the Forum audience and participating distributors including Arte, A24 and Al Jazeera. “It’s 1968 and a young man stands in the middle of a rice paddy field and looks up and sees a helicopter.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor European Film Promotion has revealed the participants for its Producers on the Move program, which runs before and during the Cannes Film Festival. The promotion and networking program, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, brings together 20 of Europe’s most promising producers.

Holly Jones Buenos Aires-based boutique sales outfit Compañía de Cine has acquired international rights to Mauro Colombo’s contemplative second feature, “Wild Gleaming Space,” (“Luminoso Espacio Salvaje”) ahead of its global bow on Wednesday at Toronto’s Hot Docs, which runs April 25 to May 5. Shot in Panama, Chile, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium, the film weaves together intimate and resounding first-person accounts from its subjects and dynamic natural backdrops in an ambitious attempt to reach out and document the abstract confluence of life and death.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Hot Docs is to honor Canadian writer-producer-director Alison Duke with the Don Haig Award, which recognizes “creative vision and entrepreneurship,” as reflected in her work, as well as a track record of mentoring emerging Canadian filmmakers. The award is presented to a Canadian independent producer with a feature-length film at the festival, with the recipient being selected by a jury of filmmakers.

James 'Arg' Argent finally seems to have found his groove when it comes to staying healthy, and has hinted that we could see him running the London Marathon will best pal Mark Wright.The 36 year old is looking better than ever after shedding an incredible 13 stone, with the help of a lifestyle overhaul and a gastric band that was fitted in 2021. Speaking exclusively to OK!, the reality star and singer says he feels "strong and fit" and is determined never to return to his old ways. He revealed he couldn't even tie his own shoelaces when he was at his heaviest - a shocking 27 stone - and has previously said that doctor's told him he was on "death row" due to his size.

Naman Ramachandran Eminent Indian documentarian Nishtha Jain’s latest effort is an account of the epic, year-long farmers’ protest that took place in India in 2020-21. “Farming the Revolution,” which world premieres at Hot Docs, follows the millions of Indian farmers who gathered during the height of COVID-19 lockdown at the borders of the country’s capital, Delhi, to protest against newly enacted farm laws. The farmers believed that if implemented, these laws would negatively impact the government-protected farmers’ markets, leaving them to the vagaries of the free market.

Addie Morfoot Contributor In “The Strike,” directors Joebill Munoz and Lucas Guilkey chronicle a 2013 prison hunger strike that changed imprisonment policies across the U.S. The doc tells the story of America’s supermax prison Pelican Bay, which opened in 1989 and was designed specifically for mass-scale solitary confinement. For decades, the California prison held mostly Black and Brown men alone in tiny cells without windows for years or sometimes decades based on questionable evidence.

Addie Morfoot Contributor The 31st edition of Canada’s influential Hot Docs Film Festival, which gets underway Thursday, could very well be the last. For the past month, the Toronto festival, one of North America’s largest dedicated to documentaries, has been roiled by staff and funding turmoil. On March 25, artistic director Hussain Currimbhoy and 10 of the fest’s programmers abruptly exited their posts.

Kygo has announced details of a huge world tour, taking in North America, Europe and the UK later this year – see the full list below, as well as ticket information.The Norwegian house DJ and producer will play a total of 26 dates, his first such extensive tour since 2018.The tour kicks off at Denver’s Dicks Sporting Goods Park on September 7, and takes in Columbia, New York, Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Austin, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver, before wrapping the North American leg in Los Angeles on October 17.Time to bring the music to you!!! Part One of my World Tour starts this fall with my friends and special guests @zaralarsson, @sofitukker, @gryffinofficial, @SamFeldtMusic, @haylasings, @Vandeluxmusic, Victoria Nadine and @Klangkarussell

#OpTransRights2 breach is here!We've breached Real America's Voice, a news platform spreading LGBTQ+ misinformation! time for a bit of lulz~User data leaked, AWS S3 buckets deleted, and user data wiped :3 https://t.co/dOLrkHkOrG pic.twitter.com/4yrP5SjEI7— SiegedSec (@SiegedSecurity) April 15, 2024SiegedSec also bragged about its actions on its X account, saying the hack was the second iteration of #OpTransRights, “a broader offensive against transphobia and the organizations that perpetrate it.”According to The Daily Dot, the data reportedly wiped from the Amazon server included personal user information related to the network’s top shows, including those hosted by right-wing mouthpieces, including Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, former advisor to President Trump Steve Bannon, and musician Ted Nugent.It’s unclear whether the hack caused any permanent damage.The #OpTransRights campaign started last year after the group targeted government websites in five states over their policies limiting access to gender-affirming care.The campaign was revived on April 1 when SiegedSec hacked the website of the River Valley Church in Burnsville, Minnesota, over anti-transgender remarks made by its pastor, Rob Ketterling.The hack of the River Valley Church website resulted in the leak of about 15,000 user accounts from the ministry’s website, as well as private prayer requests.The group followed that action by doxing Ketterling, making his email and personal phone number public, and encouraging pro-transgender advocates to send him texts criticizing his anti-trans rhetoric.SiegedSec addressed criticism of the group that the online attacks reflect negatively on the LGBTQ community as a whole.“Throughout our attacks on

Lise Pedersen “The Landscape and the Fury” by Switzerland’s Nicole Vögele took the Grand Jury Prize in the International Feature Film Competition at Swiss doc festival Visions du Réel on Friday. Shot on the Bosnian-Croatian border, which is also the European Union border, the film unveils the struggle of refugees being chased away by police and navigating a terrain still contaminated with mines from the Bosnian War.

Usually when it comes to skincare the rule is patience is a virtue, and we’re more than used to having to wait to see the results of whichever new product we’re using. However, Paula’s Choice has just relaunched one of its best-loved products, and it promises to give you almost instant results.

EXCLUSIVE: London-based Dogwoof has locked a series of international deals on Eternal You, a documentary about AI startups set to screen at this month’s Hot Docs Fest following a debut bow at Sundance.