Hot Docs, running April 30 to May 6 in Toronto, has a bundle of new components this year.

New additions include Cutting Truths, a day-long conference that will touch on new media’s relationship to documentary making; Kickstart, a series of sessions designed for emergent filmmakers; and Producer Seminars, a series of moderated discussions looking at the business of doc making.

This year will also see new awards including an audience award. The lineup includes gold and silver awards for best Canadian documentaries and best international docs, a prize for best doc in the National Spotlight program, an award for best first doc, best direction and a humanitarian award.

The Symposium this year will veer away from the panel-moderator model of old and instead feature speakers and lengthy onstage interviews. Symposium producer Gaylene Gould says, ‘We really wanted [the Symposium] to be about inspiration and broader ideas, broader concerns – things that underpin the creative practice. Lots of documentary makers are feeling quite stifled. The commercial drive often creates formulaic storytelling that leads away from the impassioned storytelling that Hot Docs is about.’

One component of the festival that will not differ from last year’s is the Toronto Documentary Forum. ‘We haven’t changed it a lot simply because it was successful – $1.5 million was raised in two days,’ says Hot Docs executive director Chris McDonald. Modeled on the Amsterdam Forum, the TDF, which puts doc producers in front of an international crew of commissioning editors, debuted in 2000 and has, organizers say, resulted in additional funding for 55% of participants. Organizers report a 20% increase in submissions for slots and a 24% increase in requests for observer’s seats.

This year’s surge in international films (28 of the 72 films programmed are Canadian, compared to last year’s 50-50 split) is part of McDonald’s strategy to entice greater attendance from the public.

‘What we’re trying to do is give the public audience a focus on premieres, at least Toronto premiers, and there were fewer films that were Toronto premieres. We’re looking for mostly premieres and that narrows the field. I think we’re improving the quality of Canadian programming. I think we’ve raised the bar.’ *

-www.hotdocs.ca