culture
Welcome to Hot Docs 2012
It just got real: Torontoist's annual Hot Docs hub is here.
Looking for Hot Docs reviews? Visit our festival hub for verdicts on Inocente and dozens of other selections. Image courtesy of Hot Docs.
Hot Docs
Multiple venues (Festival Venue Guide)
April 26 to May 6
Single tickets $5–$14.50, festival pass $255
A glance at Toronto’s 14-day weather trend reveals a distinct pattern of rising temperatures between April 26 and May 6. While you might be inclined to put that down to a seasonable spell of spring warmth, cinema-savvy locals know the truth: the docs are upon us.
It’s not by chance that the trend coincides with the 19th edition of the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, North America’s largest celebration of non-fiction films. This year’s lineup boasts 189 features and shorts from 51 countries—the broadest slate of international selections since Hot Docs’ founding in 1993.
Venue-wise, this year’s festival also reaches far and wide. In addition to Hot Docs’ swanky new digs at Bathurst and Bloor, and a traditional cluster of Yorkville venues, organizers have once again teamed with rep houses in the north (The Regent), east (The Fox), and west (The Revue), as well as the TIFF Bell Lightbox at King and John. And, in a new venture this year, two docs will screen at Cineplex cinemas across Canada via Hot Docs Live!
The films selected to participate in the coast-to-coast simulcasts are China Heavyweight and Indie Game: The Movie, and, as it happens, we’re pretty keen on both. In fact, you can find reviews of each—along with all of our other Hot Docs 2012 reviews—at our Hot Docs hub. We’ve already screened many of of the festival’s Special Presentations and Canadian Spectrum offerings, and will continue to update the hub as opening night approaches. And once the festival begins, you can expect daily round-ups, filmmaker interviews, and plenty more of our astute critiques.
If you’ve yet to purchase tickets—and we don’t blame you for waiting on our recommendations—head on over to the Hot Docs box office (783 Bathurst Street), or make your selections online. As always, daytime screenings are free to students (with valid ID) and seniors (60+), while night owls will want to consider Hot Docs’ “All-You-Can-Eat” late-night pass. Though the pass itself isn’t edible, at just $10 for access to all nine post-11 p.m. screenings, you’ll have plenty of funds left over for popcorn.