This is just some tips and advice as somebody who has attended the Hot Docs Film Festival for multiple years now. Not quite as extensive as the TIFF advice I’ve given in a previous post, but still worth mentioning all the same.
What do I watch?
A lot of people will have questions about what to watch at Hot Docs, especially those who do not follow documentaries and won’t know what’s out there. I often like to use any curated lists of what’s playing at Hot Docs for the year, for example such as the lists on the official Letterboxd Hot Docs account or this one by Paolo Kagaoan. Paolo’s lists sorts each film by their respective program, so I have a slight preference for those lists, but the films are all there in both lists. Letterboxd has some great built-in features that allows you to sort the films on a list by highest rating, popularity, etc. so you can make judgments for yourself. And sometimes the popularity or rating of a given film may factor into whether or not something is worth your time.
If that fails however, go based on any subject matter that looks interesting to you. Maybe look up the director’s previous work and see if they’ve done anything interesting or noteworthy in the past. I personally tend to avoid documentaries about particular celebrities. Unless they are a celebrity you’re a fan of or someone you actively follow, those films may not be worth the time. These are just general pointers – ultimately you will have to figure it out for yourself based on the information and an understanding of what your preferences might be.
How far in advance should I buy tickets?
Generally screenings do not sell out that quickly that far in advance once the ticket sale opens. About a week prior to a screening you may see some sold-out showings for the most popular documentaries so it’s worth locking in your selections by that point.
Remember to vote for your favorite film!
This may be a bit of a weird one to talk about in this post, but the amount of times I often forget to do so due to the way the voting process is designed makes this worth highlighting.
Unlike TIFF where you can vote on your favourite movies you’ve seen anytime after your screening to right when they announce the award winners, Hot Docs only gives you a 1 hour window after the screening, AND you have to access the specific web-page where you can vote by scanning the QR code that comes up on the screen after the film is done. If you exit the theatre and do not scan that QR code, there is no way to vote for the film – that’s it. So remember to do this! It’s important, for the purposes of the filmmakers who worked hard to make their film and get it out there to the festival and to audiences. Given the prizes – which include $50000 CAD for the Rogers Audience Award winner, your vote could make a huge difference. Perhaps even a $50000 one.
