Canadian festival Hot Docs has unveiled the 27 projects set to be presented during this year’s Hot Docs Forum, the event’s annual pitching extravaganza.

The event, formerly known as the Toronto Documentary Forum, will take place this year from May 4-5 during the festival, which runs April 28 to May 8. The 27 projects were selected from 193 submissions and represent 14 different countries.

“The 2011 Hot Docs Forum responds to continuing shifts and changes in the documentary industry,” said Hot Docs Forum and Market director Elizabeth Radshaw, “but what remains the same is the opportunity for some intense and intimate networking with key industry executives.

“In addition to matching exceptional international content with funding and support, the Hot Docs Forum offers a space for selected projects and production companies to showcase the many unique faces of the documentary form for both broadcast and non-broadcast funding sources.”

As with the past two years, a Shaw Media-Hot Docs Forum Pitch Prize will be awarded to the best Canadian pitch at the 2011 event, as determined by a committee of international commissioning editors in attendance. The winner will receive a $40,000 cash prize to be used towards the production and completion budget for their project.

Among the participating buyers and financiers attending this year will be ARTE, the BBC, CBC/SRC, Channel 4, E1 Entertainment, Films Transit International, the Ford Foundation, HBO, High Fidelity HDTV, Impact Partners, NHK, Participant Productions, PBS, RAI, Ro*co Film, SBS, Sundance Channel, SVT, TVOntario, YLE and ZDF.

The event’s Cuban Hat Award will also return, with the money raised over the two days of the event to be given to the Observers’ favorite pitch, as determined by ballot.

The full list of projects pitching runs:

I Am A Girl, from Testify Media (Australia)
Miss Nikki And The Tiger Girls, from Iris Pictures (Australia)
Doc Pomus, A Man And His Music, from Clear Lake Historical Productions (Canada)
Gaza Doctor, from Paperny Films Development 2 (Canada)
Pyongyang Express: Escape On The Underground Railroad, from Fathom Film Group (Canada)
Under The City, from Catbird Productions (Canada)
Waiting Room, from Peripheria (Canada)
Within Every Woman, from Golden Nugget Productions (Canada)
Seven Days, Seven Nights, from Filmico Productions (Colombia, Spain, Venezuela)
Finding Vivian Maier, from Mortensen Film (Denmark/USA)
Buffalo Bill And The Conquest Of The East, from Ere Production (France/Germany)
World According To Irving, from Florianfilm (Germany)
The Garden Of Eden, from Lama Films (Israel)
When Two Worlds Collide, from Yachaywasi Films (Peru)
Tpb Afk: The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard, from Nonami (Sweden)
Light In Her Eyes, from Proaction Film (Syria)
A Whole Lott More, from Flying V Productions (UK)
The Dark Matter Of Love, from Pulse Films (UK)
Driven, from Start In Morocco Films (UK)
On The Edge, from Met Film Production (UK)
A Fierce Green Fire, from A Fierce Green Fire (USA)
Gideon’s Army, from Trilogy Films (USA)
How To Survive A Plague (aka Brightness Falls), from How To Survive A Plague (USA)
Informant, from Stanford University’s Department Of Art And Art History (USA)
Pride, from 64th St. Media (USA)
Unstable Elements, from Great Curve Films (USA)
Uranium Drive-In, from Reel Thing Productions (USA)

From realscreen magazine
Photo: Joesph Michael.