The National Directors Division (NDD) of the Directors Guild of Canada has unveiled the inaugural participants for the Director Market Accelerator delegation at this year’s Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival.

All the directors selected have projects with a producer attached and at least partial financing secured that they are seeking to move forward at the 2025 edition of Hot Docs, running from April 24 to May 4.

Participation in the accelerator also includes project feedback from the Hot Docs industry team, a market preparation consultation session with pitch-doctor Carole Kirschner, exclusive networking sessions, a private reception and discounted festival passes.

Of the 15 participants, nine are from Ontario. They are Nika Belianina, Katia Café-Febrissy, Matt Gallagher, Elizabeth Lazebnik, Sergio Navaretta, Carmen Pollard, Alison Reid and Francine Zuckerman.

Teresa Alfeld, Kevin Fitzgerald, Liz Marshall and Troy Scott, meanwhile, hail from B.C.

Rounding out the delegation is Manitoba’s Noam Golick, Nova Scotia’s Megan Wennberg and Quebec’s Adrian Wills.

“The NDD’s market accelerator will offer these filmmakers concrete ways to move their projects forward, from pitch to production, and help build them a pathway upward through the industry,” said NDD chair Zach Lipovsky in a statement.

Separate directors for the program will also be announced for the Banff World Media Festival, with international plans for the European Film Market in Berlin and Series Mania in France for 2026.

The Director Market Accelerator is one of three initiatives created by the NDD following the October 2024 launch of the National Director Mentor Program and the November 2024 launch of the National Director Observer Initiative Program.

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