Hot Docs film festival kicks off in Toronto

by Jarrett Martineau | April 16, 2008 at 12:52 pm

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The popularity of documentary films seems only to be getting bigger and the quality of doc films being made seems only to be getting better. So what's not to love about Hot Docs?

Canada's annual, big ticket doc flick festival kicks off this Thursday with another excellent line-up of Canadian and international films. Expect a wide range of programming and lots of hot-button issues to be explored.

Filmmakers, documentary fans and industry delegates from around the world have descended on Toronto for the 15th annual Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
Officially kicking off on Thursday, festival organizers will screen 173 films during the 11-day event.

This year's opening film is Anvil! The Story of Anvil, a U.S.-made profile of the aging heavy metal rockers from Toronto as they embark on a new tour and record a new album.

The opening Canadian entry is Air India 182, in which acclaimed filmmaker Sturla Gunnarsson reconstructs how the deadly attack took place, weaving in stark interviews with the families of the victims, RCMP officers, rescue workers and, remarkably, the airline workers who loaded the suitcase carrying the bomb onto the doomed flight.

Standard Operating Procedure, award-winning U.S. filmmaker Errol Morris' examination of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, is among the notable films on the Hot Docs bill. The titles are broken into a handful of different programs, such as special presentations, Canadian spectrum, international spectrum and world showcase.

Aside from the film screenings, Hot Docs also comprises an industry component. Organizers will present a range of related programs and services for the more than 1,700 industry delegates expected at this year's event.