Hot Docs Deal Maker Selects 36 Projects to Pitch to More Than 90 Decision Makers
Hot Docs, one of the world’s top documentary feature film festivals, has selected 36 projects from 18 countries to take part in Hot Docs Deal Maker, a curated one-on-one pitch meeting program for producers seeking financing from the international marketplace.
Since the program’s launch in 2013, the number of decision makers taking part has more than doubled and will reach almost 100 this year. In total, 433 projects and 516 filmmakers have pitched in 4,000 Deal Maker meetings, with millions of dollars raised.
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Notable projects that have pitched at Hot Docs Deal Maker in previous years include the 2020 Hot Docs Festival opening night film “Softie,” 2020’s “Downstream to Kinshasa,” 2019’s “Smog Town and The Forum,” 2018’s “Love, Gilda,” and 2017’s “My Enemy, My Brother,” directed by Ann Shin, whose film “A.rtificial I.mmortality” will open this year’s festival.
Featuring a diverse selection of projects showcasing varied perspectives, stories and styles from established and emerging filmmakers from all over the world, the selection this year includes 20 BIPOC directors, 23 projects directed or co-directed by women, and seven projects directed by first-time filmmakers.
Deal Maker projects will be pitched to more than 90 international decision makers during virtual meetings held online from May 6 to 19.
“Hot Docs Deal Maker is a unique program that enables filmmakers working in all documentary genres and formats to present their vision to a tailored set of buyers,” said Lisa Valencia-Svensson, acting industry programs director for Hot Docs. “We’re so pleased to see the breadth and depth of our international documentary community represented so prominently with this year’s group of filmmakers.”
“We are as inspired as ever by all of our selected filmmakers who, like so many in our industry, have faced immense barriers to getting their films developed, shot, pitched and financed this past year,” said Madelaine Russo, industry programmer, Hot Docs Deal Maker. “Their continued motivation to pitch their films and share their art with audiences around the world has reinforced the fact that without their work, our industry would falter.”
Deal Maker projects are selected by a jury of expert producers, funders and broadcasters. This year’s jury included Margje De Koning, artistic director, Movies that Matter, Netherlands; Jess Kwan, chief operations officer, Fork Films, U.S.; Jason Ryle, consultant and producer, Canada; Dorota Lech, Forum producer, Hot Docs, Canada; and Madelaine Russo, industry programmer of Deal Maker, Hot Docs, Canada.
The projects pitching in the 2021 Hot Docs Deal Maker program are:
ANOTHER BODY
Production Company: Willa Productions (U.S.)
Directors: Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn
Producer: Elizabeth Woodward
BAM BAM: THE STORY OF SISTER NANCY
Production Company: Oya Media Group Inc. (Canada)
Director: Alison Duke
Producers: Alison Duke, Ngardy Conteh George
Executive Producer: Moss Raxlen
COEXISTENCE MY ASS!
Production Companies: SocDoc Studios (U.S.), Homegrown Docs (Israel)
Director: Amber Fares
Producers: Amber Fares, Rachel Leah Jones
CREDIBLE FEAR
Production Company: Sad Donut Films LLC (U.S.)
Director: Gabrielle Ewing
DRIVING INTO THE STORM
Production Companies: Temjin Co., Ltd. (Japan), Pictures Dept, Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Director: Tenji Takakura
Producer: Yuko Shiomaki
Executive Producer: Takahito Kanegawa
THE EYES OF DANTE
Production Companies: Doc Art srl (Italy), Leonardo Film (Germany)
Director: Adolfo Conti
Producers: Amalia Carandini, Ilaria Sbarigia, Elmar Bartlmae
FIVE FOOTBALL DREAMS
Production Company: Bayt Al Shawareb (Jordan)
Directors: Bassel Ghandour, Yasmina Karajah
Producer & Executive Producer: Hashem Sabbagh
Producers: Sawsan Asfari. Iyad Zawaideh, Alaa Khasawneh
FRAGMENTS OF ICE
Production Company: Tabor Ltd (Ukraine)
Director: Maria Stoianova
Producers: Alina Gorlova, Maksym Nakonechnyi
GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS
Production Companies: Patchwork Productions (U.K.), Zulutango (U.K.)
Director: Sankha Guha
Producer: Christine Hartland
GIVE IT A SHOT
Production Company: Coast to Coast Films LLC (U.S.)
Director: Vaishali Sinha
Producers: Vaishali Sinha, Hemang Chheda, Sanjana Gaind
HOME IS SOMEWHERE ELSE
Production Company: Brinca Animation Studio (Mexico)
Directors: Carlos Hagerman, Jorge Villalobos
Producer: Carlos Hagerman
Executive Producers: Martha Sosa, Carolina Coppel, Andrew Houchens
I, POPPY
Production Companies: Unek Films (India), La Fabrica Nocturna Cinema (France)
Director: Vivek Chaudhary
Producers: Vivek Chaudhary, Xavier Rocher
IN THE WAKE
Production Companies: Lantern Films Inc. (Canada), Experimental Forest Films Inc. (Canada)
Director: Lyana Patrick
Producers: Jessica Hallenbeck, Tyler Hagan
LA MINA
Production Company: HitPlay Productions Inc. (Canada)
Directors: Nadine Pequeneza, Carla Molina
Producer: Nadine Pequeneza
Executive Producer: Ricardo Acosta, Nadine Pequeneza
LET THE WORLD SLIP
Production Companies: Sorauren Pictures (Canada), Mantaray Film AB (Sweden)
Director: Edmund Stenson
Producers: Felicity Justrabo, Stina Gardell
LIFE IS ABOUT LOSING EVERYTHING
Production Company: Schalten und Walten GbR (Germany)
Directors: Stefan Ramírez Pérez, Benjamin Ramírez Pérez
Producers: Miriam Gossing, Lina Sieckmann
MKO: WAITING FOR MR. PRESIDENT
Production Company: O2A Media (U.S.)
Director: Ose Oyamendan
Producers: Veronique Bernard, Ose Oyamendan
Executive Producer: Mark Jonathan Harris
MY CHILDHOOD, MY COUNTRY – TWENTY YEARS IN AFGHANISTAN
Production Company: Seventh Art Productions (U.K.)
Director: Phil Grabsky, Shoaib Sharifi
Producers: Phil Grabsky, Amanda Wilkie, Shoaib Sharifi
MY GENIE
Production Company: Hiharbor Pictures (Korea)
Director: Hyuckjee Park
Producer: Hyuckjee Park
NO MERCY – THE FEMALE GAZE
Production Company: Tondowski Films GbR (Germany)
Director: Isa Willinger
Producers: Alex Tondowski, Ira Tondowski
OLE MI COÑO – THE RIPOSTE TO DIGITAL VIOLENCE
Production Companies: Gadea Films (Spain), Ringo Media (Spain)
Director: Patricia Franquesa
Producers: Patricia Franquesa, Mireia Graell
RESIDENT ORCA
Production Company: Everyday Films Inc. (Canada)
Directors: Sarah Sharkey Pearce, Simon Schneider
Executive Producers: Sarah Sharkey Pearce, Simon Schneider, Lynne Kirby
RIVER OF GRASS
Production Company: River of Grass, LLC (U.S.)
Director: Sasha Wortzel
Producer: Danielle Varga
SCIENCE FICTION
Production Companies: Primo International Content S.L. (Spain), Nanouk Films S.L. (Spain), Exile Concepts LLC (U.S.)
Directors: Francisco Forbes, Ferran Romeu, Matthew Barton
Producers: Inés Massa, Salvador Sunyer
Executive Producers: Inés Massa, Salvador Sunyer, Miguel Tamayo, Arturo Sampson, Sergi Cameron, Ventura Durall
SEEDS
Production Companies: Brittany Shyne Interior Films LLC (U.S.), Walking Productions LLC (U.S.), Vespertine Films, Inc. (U.S.)
Director: Brittany Shyne
Producer: Danielle Varga
Executive Producer: Sabrina Schmidt Gordon
A SHORT HISTORY OF DECAY
Production Companies: New Decade TV Ltd. (Ireland), Hawkeye Pictures Inc. (Canada), Corrib Entertainment Inc. (Canada)
Director: Sarah Share
Producers: Nuala Cunningham, Aeschylus Poulos, John Galway
Executive Producer: Sonya Di Rienzo, Ciaran O’Connor
SINGING BACK THE BUFFALO
Production Companies: Downstream Documentary Productions Inc. (Canada)
Director: Tasha Hubbard
Producers: Tasha Hubbard, Jason Ryle, George Hupka
Executive Producer: Bonnie Thompson
STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS
Production Companies: Breaktide Productions LLC (U.S.), Multitude Films (U.S.)
Director: Jalena Keane-Lee
Producers: Amber Espinosa-Jones, Jalena Keane-Lee
Executive Producers: Jess Devaney, Anya Rous
STAR CA$H
Production Companies: Iceberg Film LLC. (U.S.), Submarine Deluxe LLC. (U.S.)
Director: Hayley Garrigus
Producer: Maya E. Rudolph
Executive Producer: Ben Braun
STOLEN TIME
Production Companies: Intuitive Pictures Inc. (Canada), National Film Board of Canada (Canada)
Director: Helene Klodawsky
Producers: Ina Fichman, Ariel Nasr
THEFT OF FIRE
Production Companies: Intuitive Pictures Inc. (Canada), Made in Palestine (Palestine/Jordan)
Director: Amer Shomali
Producers: Ina Fichman, Rashid Abdelhamid
THE UNTITLED 19th NEWS FILM
Production Company: Four Pillars Films LLC (U.S.)
Directors: Heather Courtney, Chelsea Hernandez
Producers: Heather Courtney, Chelsea Hernandez, Diane Quon
Executive Producers: Keith Maitland, Sarah Wilson, Jacqueline Olive
UNTITLED SAM PROJECT
Production Company: I Know Film LLC (U.S.)
Director: Nadav Kurtz
Producers: Diane Quon, Nadav Kurtz
Executive Producer: Jeremy Yaches, Jeremiah Zagar, Abby Lynn Kang Davis
WE WANT TO NEGOTIATE
Production Company: Capital K Pictures LLC (U.S.)
Director: Sofian Khan
Producers: Sofian Khan, Jessie Motts, Joel Simon
WHEN I WAS A TERRORIST
Production Companies: Polar Star Films, S.L. (Spain), The Big Story Films, S.L. (Spain)
Directors: Mayte Carrasco, Marcel Mettelsiefen
Producers: Carles Brugueras, Marieke van den Bersselaar, Mayte Carrasco
YINTAH
Production Company: Yintah Films Ltd. (Wet’suwet’en Territory)
Director: Michael Toledano
Producers: Jen Wickham, Franklin López
Executive Producers: Bob Moore, Sam Vinal
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