Hot Docs International Documentary Festival co-founder Debbie Nightingale has died at 71.

Born in Toronto on Oct. 14, 1953, Nightingale (pictured) died on July 10 following a cancer diagnosis.

Nightingale began her career in the Canadian screen industry in 1979. She co-founded Hot Docs in 1993 alongside Paul Jay, helping to raise the initial $100,000 to get the festival off the ground. She served as Hot Docs’ first festival manager and later executive director.

“Every part of the Hot Docs we know today grew from what Debbie helped establish. She recognized the importance of documentary filmmaking and providing a place where filmmakers, funders and audiences could connect,” said Hot Docs in a statement provided to Playback Daily. “Without her, we wouldn’t be here. Her legacy will be forever felt and she will be truly missed.”

Outside of her work in the documentary world, Nightingale produced several films and series. She served as an executive producer on HBO Canada’s Living in Your Car and a producer on Kari Skogland’s 2004 sports dramedy Chicks with Sticks. She was last credited as an executive producer on Barry Avrich’s 2013 documentary Quality Balls: The David Steinberg Story.

Later in life, she established the 200-acre Haute Goat Farm in Port Hope, Ont., where she often remarked, “this is where I’m supposed to be,” according to her obituary.

“Debbie’s life was about connection to the land, to animals and especially to people. She had a way of making you feel seen, celebrated and entirely at home. Her presence was magnetic. Her absence will be immense,” read her obituary.

Nightingale is survived by her husband Shain Jaffe; her children, Sarah, Leland and Noah; siblings Caron and Ben; stepmother Margaret; her stepchildren, Gita and Meave; and her grandchildren Anna, Owen, Chasin and Calev.

Celebration of life details were being finalized at press time.

Photo courtesy of the Nightingale family