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Awards Ceremony Closes Record-Breaking 10th Anniversary Hot Docs Festival
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After a roller-coaster 10 days, the Hot Docs Canadian International
Documentary Festival capped off its 10th annual festival with the Closing
Night Awards Presentation and reception, on Sunday, May 4. After Toronto’s
documentary fans came out in record numbers to see 122 films, the expanded
slate of 12 awards was handed out at the University of Toronto’s Walter
Hall.
Cameron Bailey, one of Canada’s leading film critics, hosted the Awards
Presentation, attended by documentary heavyweights from across Canada and
around the world.
Capturing the award for Best Canadian Documentary, Feature Length was
Toronto director John Kastner’s Rage Against the Darkness, a moving portrait
of women beginning life again as seniors. Along with the award, Kastner was
presented with a cash prize of $5000, provided courtesy of The Documentary
Channel.
A Special Jury Prize for this category was given to Joseph Blasioli’s The
Last Round, a loving look back at the day in 1966 when George Chuvalo, a
scrappy boxer from working class Toronto, took on Muhammad Ali.
Montreal-based documentarian Ève Lamont was honoured with the Best Direction
Award -- Feature for Squat!, an inside look at a politicized squat during
Montreal’s acute housing crisis in the summer of 2001. In conjunction with
the award, Lamont received a camera package valued at $10,000, courtesy of
CBC Television.
Squat! also won the Humanitarian Award, given to the Canadian documentary
that best explores humanitarian issues.
In the Best Canadian Documentary Short to Mid-Length category, the award
went to Carole Laganière’s The Moon and the Violin, a charming portrait of
senior citizens who live at the Chez-Nous des artistes in Montreal.
Honourable mention was given to John Walker’s Men of the Deeps, about an
inspiring choir of Cape Breton coal miners.
American director Paul Devlin picked up the award for Best International
Documentary Feature, with his film Power Trip, an examination of an
American power company that tries to keep the lights on in the former Soviet
Republic of Georgia.
A Special Jury Prize was awarded to the US production State of Denial,
Elaine Epstein’s unflinching look at how the citizens of South Africa are
living with the AIDS epidemic, given the climate of confusion and neglect
perpetuated by President Thabo Mbeki’s administration.
Best International Documentary Short to Mid-Length was given to Hidden, an
interview with a 12 year-old illegal immigrant by Swedish directors Hanna
Heilborn and Mats Johansson.
Honourable Mention was given to And Along Came a Spider, an Iranian film by
director Maziar Bahari about the serial murder of 16 prostitutes in the
Republic of Iran.
The Best First Documentary Award went to The Other Final, director Johan
Kramer’s look at the match between the lowest-ranked soccer countries in the
world that managed to obtain coverage by newspapers and TV from over 50
nations.
Devouring Buddha, Korbett Matthews’ haunting return to the Cambodian killing
fields, took the award for Best Direction Short to Mid-Length, given for
exceptional direction in the Canadian Spectrum programme
In the National Spotlight programme, the Best Documentary Award was given to
Kim Longinotto’s The Day I Will Never Forget, an exploration of the cultural
beliefs behind the ritual of female genital mutilation, and the African
women who bravely fight to end this tradition.
The 2003 National Spotlight focused on films from the UK, and Honourable
Mention was made for Ou Dede and His Daughters, Qinze Wang’s intimate
documentary about the clash between traditional culture and modern political
concerns in a remote village in China.
The 2003 Audience Favourite Award went to Canadian director Raymonde
Provencher for War Babies, an exploration of thousands of women who have
suffered wartime rape and who have given birth to babies fathered by the
enemy.
2nd Audience Favourite Award went to Carole Laganière’s The Moon and the
Violin and 3rd Audience Favourite Award went to John Walker's Men of the
Deeps.
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In a separate category, Hot Docs’ Board of Directors presented the annual
Outstanding Achievement Award to veteran British documentarian Nick
Broomfield. For years, maverick documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield
(Chicken Ranch, Biggie and Tupac) has taken us to the bleak, often
dangerous, sometimes hilarious, limits of celebrity and popular culture. His
films have brought him notoriety and international acclaim. Broomfield was
in attendance to receive his award.
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An 18-member Blue Ribbon Jury selected the 2003 award winners in all
categories except the Audience Award, which was given to the documentary
that received the highest rating in the festival’s audience poll, and the
Outstanding Achievement Award, which was bestowed by the Hot Docs Board. The
2003 Blue Ribbon Jurors were:
Best Canadian Documentary, Feature Length:
Arsinée Khanjian, Brenda Longfellow, Steven Silver
Best Canadian Documentary, Short to Mid-Length:
Richard Fung, Michele Landsberg, Diane Weyermann
Best International Documentary, Feature Length:
Frances Hendron, Marco Williams, Peter Wintonick
Best International Documentary, Short to Mid-Length:
Barri Cohen, Kevin McMahon, Ken Wiwa
Best First Documentary:
Patricio Henriquez, Daniel Iron, Debbie Nightingale
National Spotlight:
Olivia Chow, Magnus Isacsson, Alanis Obomsawin
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Also presented at the Closing Night Awards Presentation was the CyberPitch
award.
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Decided by CyberPitch jury members Sara Diamond, Paul Hoffert, Fee Plumley
and Peter Wintonick, the 2003 CyberPitch winner was Alex Shuper’s
edgecodes.com, an articulate and unique interactive documentary about the
history and craft of film editing with an appealing and popular interactive
learning environment that will be accessible to casual as well as
entry-level media makers. The CyberPitch winner received $5,000 in
development funding from the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund,
complimentary registration for the next CyberPitch venue, post-festival
mentorship from the Banff New Media Institute at The Banff Centre and the
opportunity to attend the Banff New Media Institute's Interactive Screen
programme.
Hot Docs Closing Night Awards Presentation is sponsored by the National Film
Board of Canada. Additional support is provided British Columbia Film,
Deluxe Laboratories (Toronto), IATSE 667, Nabet 700 and Goodman’s LLP.
The Best Canadian Documentary Feature award was sponsored by DOC and The
Documentary Channel. The Best Canadian Documentary - Short to Mid-Length
award was sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts. Best Direction
Award Feature was sponsored by CBC Television, CBC Newsworld. Best
Direction Award - Short to Mid-Length was sponsored by the Directors Guild
of Canada. The CyberPitch Award was sponsored by the Bell Broadcast and New
Media Fund. The Best International Documentary Feature was sponsored by A
& E. The award for Best International Documentary - Short to Mid-Length was
sponsored by Playback. The Best First Documentary Award was sponsored by the
National Film Board of Canada and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
The Audience Award was sponsored by Alliance Atlantis, History Television.
Hot Docs is proud to include CTV, Telefilm Canada, Rogers Documentary Fund,
History Television and Alliance Atlantis as its Presenting Sponsors.
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Hot Docs 2003 Award Winners:
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Best Canadian Documentary (Feature Length)
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Title: Rage Against the Darkness
Director: John Kastner’s
Special Jury Prize
Title: The Last Round
Director: Joseph Blasioli
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Best Direction Award (Feature Length)
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Title: Squat!
Director: Ève Lamont
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Humanitarian Award
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Title: Squat!
Director: Ève Lamont
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Best Canadian Documentary (Short to Mid-Length)
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Title: The Moon and the Violin
Director: Carole Laganière
Honourable Mention
Title: Men of the Deeps
Director: John Walker
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Best International Documentary (Feature)
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Title: Power Trip
Directors: Paul Devlin
Special Jury Prize
Title: State of Denial
Director: Elaine Epstein
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Best International Documentary (Short to Mid-Length)
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Title: Hidden
Director: Hanna Heilborn and Mats Johansson
Honourable Mention:
Title: And Along Came a Spider
Director: Maziar Bahari
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Best First Documentary (Feature)
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Title: The Other Final
Director: Johan Kramer
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Best Direction Documentary (Short to Mid-Length)
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Title: Devouring Buddha
Director: Korbett Matthews
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Best Documentary in the National Spotlight
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Title: The Day I Will Never Forget
Director: Kim Longinotto
Honourable Mention:
Title: Ou Dede and His Daughters
Director: Qinze Wang
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Audience Favourite Award (Feature)
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Title: War Babies
Director: Raymonde Provencher
2nd Place Audience Favourite Award
Title: The Moon and the Violin
Director: Carole Laganière
3rd Place Audience Favourite Award
Title: Men of the Deeps
Director: John Walker
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Outstanding Achievement Award
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Nick Broomfield
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