Michael Bernard and Gavin Froome’s Dense City, Sebastian Rist and Aude Leroux-Levesque’s Living With Giants and Attiya Khan and Lawrence Jackman’s A Better Man are among the Canadian titles to be presented before a host of international commissioners at this year’s Hot Docs Forum.

In addition, Thief’s Bazaar was also selected to participate in the forum. A total of 19 doc projects will be presented at the event on April 29 and 30.

Also included in this year’s Forum picks are The Jazz Ambassadors from Hugo Berkeley, and Reporter from Poland’s Magdalena Szymków. The projects represent 15 different countries and were selected from 150 submissions, according to Hot Docs organizers.

Commissioners confirmed to date will hail from such outlets as Al Jazeera America, Al Jazeera English, ARTE, ARTE/ZDF, BBC Storyville, CANAL +, CBC, CNN Films, DR Danish Broadcasting Corporation, EBS, France Télévisions, HBO Europe, NDR, Netflix, NHK, PBS, RAI 3, SBS Television, Shaw Media, SRC, SVT Sveriges Television, Showtime, Super Channel, TVOntario, WDR, YLE, ZDF and others.

This year’s selection committee was comprised of ZDF commissioning editor Michael Gries, Submarine entertainment manager of acquisitions and distribution Ben Braun and DOK Leipzig’s head of industry, Brigid O’Shea.

The Shaw Media-Hot Docs Funds Hot Docs Forum Pitch Prize – $10,000 – will once again be given to the best Canadian pitch at the event, as determined by a committee of non-Canadian, international commissioners on hand.

The Cuban Hat Award will also be presented once again, with money raised over the course of the Forum’s two days given to the observers’ favorite pitch as determined by ballot. Also, the Entertainment One Mounties’ Hat Pitch will give an observer on hand a chance to pitch his or her project in an available slot.

Projects on tap for this year’s Hot Docs Forum, with credits supplied by Hot Docs, include:

A BETTER MAN
Production Company: Intervention Productions Inc. (Canada)
Directors: Attiya Khan, Lawrence Jackman

ASK THE SEXPERT
Production Company: Coast to Coast Films, LLC (U.S.)
Director: Vaishali Sinha

BIG SONIA
Production Company: Inflatable Film, LLC (U.S.)
Directors: Leah Warshawski, Todd Soliday

DENSE CITY
Production Company: Twofold Films Inc. (Canada)
Directors: Michael Bernard, Gavin Froome

DREAM AWAY
Production Companies: Monokel, Fig Leaf Studios (Germany, Egypt)
Directors: Marouan Omara, Johanna Domke

IN JACKSON HEIGHTS
Production Company: Moulins Films, LLC (U.S.)
Director: Frederick Wiseman

LIVING WITH GIANTS
Production Company: MC2 Communication Media (Canada)
Directors: Sébastien Rist, Aude Leroux-Lévesque

NEW SENSATION
Production Company: Left Turn Films (U.S.)
Directors: Tyler Measom, Patrick Waldrop

OLANCHO
Production Companies: Olancho Movie, LLC, Tercer Piso (U.S., Honduras)
Directors: Christopher Valdes, Theodore Griswold

PLAYING GOD
Production Company: Bildersturm Filmproduktion GmbH (Germany)
Director: Karin Jurschick

POST-PUNK DISORDER
Production Companies: Mouka Filmi, Indie Film As (Finland, Norway)
Directors: Jukka Kärkkäinen, J-P Passi

PROPOSITION FOR A REVOLUTION
Production Companies: Friendly People, Le Boxeur Films (India, Netherlands)
Directors: Khushboo Ranka, Vinay Shukla

REPORTER
Production Company: Otter Films (Poland)
Director: Magdalena Szymków

SELLING OUR DAUGHTERS
Production Company: Shine Global Inc. (U.S.)
Directors: Josie Swantek, Dave Adams

THE JAZZ AMBASSADORS
Production Companies: Antelope/Normal Life Pictures, THIRTEEN Productions, LLC (UK, U.S.)
Director: Hugo Berkeley

THE NEW MISSIONARIES
Production Companies: Big World Cinema, Yoav Shamir Films (South Africa, Israel)
Director: Yoav Shamir

THE VASULKA EFFECT
Production Companies: Sagafilm, Nonami AB (Iceland, Sweden)
Director: Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdottir

THIEF’S BAZAAR
Production Companies: Harbour Line Films (India)

WHEN GOD SLEEPS (WT)

Production Companies: Partner Pictures, HUPE Film- und Fernsehproduktion (U.S., Germany)
Director: Till Schauder

Hot Docs comes to Toronto from April 23 to May 3.

– From Realscreen