Two Canadian copros are among the projects in the newly announced 2022 Hot Docs Forum.

Matabeleland (Montreal’s EyeSteelFilm; Kenya’s LBx Africa) and a still-untitled labour union documentary (Canada’s Oh Ratface Films; New York’s Level Ground Productions) are in the 23rd edition of the international financing event.

The forum is aimed at securing coproduction financing for feature-length documentaries. It’s running online as part of the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, scheduled for April 28 to May 8 in Toronto.

Matabeleland is from director Nyasha Kadandara and producers Sam Soko and Bob Moore. It follows a struggling migrant truck driver who is torn between being in a hostile foreign country or returning to the country that killed his father.

The other yet-to-be-titled project is from director Brett Story and producers Mars Verrone, Samantha Curley and Stephen Maine. It looks at workers in an Amazon fulfillment centre and their fight to unionize.

A total of 20 projects representing 19 countries are in this year’s Hot Docs Forum, which will see filmmakers pitch to leading commissioning editors, film fund representatives, financiers and angel investors from around the world. The presentations and decision-maker feedback will be available to registered delegates to stream during the festival.

Of the 26 filmmakers participating, 14 are women and 15 are Black, Indigenous or people of colour.

The CMF-Hot Docs Forum Canadian Pitch Prize, presented in partnership with Canada Media Fund, is a $10,000 cash award given to the best Canadian pitch.

Selected projects will also participate in Hot Docs Deal Maker, a curated one-on-one pitch meeting program.

Hot Docs says last year’s forum participants pitched to more than 50 key commissioning editors and funders, resulting in over $122,000 in cash prizes awarded.