Toronto’s beloved Hot Docs Festival has announced its 2024 lineup amid a staff upheaval following rumours of a toxic work environment.
From Apr. 25 to May 5, the 31st edition of the festival will showcase 168 documentaries from 64 countries and 83 international premieres. This year, the popular documentary film festival will premiere with Dawn Porter’s Luther: Never Too Much.
In an interview with Now Toronto, Hot Docs Director of Festival Programming Heather Haynes shared some special programs people can expect.
“What we’ve done in the festival is we’ve broken some of the programs into tighter segments. So, we have, for instance, Art and Resistance, which is one I’m very excited about. And it’s focusing on films that are protests, but artistic in nature, like creative activism…There’s pop life, which is going to be focusing on documentaries of musicians and music and then we have Land Sky Sea which is focusing on our relationship to nature,” she said.
The release of the lineup comes after the organization’s Artistic Director Hussain Currimbhoy stepped down from his role last week due to personal reasons. Following his departure, Haynes took over to lead the programming department in preparation for the upcoming festival.
According to the Globe and Mail, ten of the festival’s programmers left their posts due to claims they were working in a “toxic workplace.”
Haynes reveals she feels unfazed and at ease about the spontaneous change in leadership because of her extensive experience working with the company.
“I’ve been with the festival for 17 years. So, I feel very comfortable, and it will be easy to move in. And I have a wonderful team that supports me and we all work together very closely,” she said.
In response to Currimbhoy and others walking off the job, organizers of the festival said “…We thank them for their contributions. We look forward to celebrating this year’s films with our audiences and bringing them together with filmmakers to share their important stories.”
LUTHER: NEVER TOO MUCH DEBUTS ON OPENING NIGHT
To kick off the festival, Porter’s Luther: Never Too Much will star on the big screen. The bio-doc follows legendary singer Luther Vandross and his journey towards becoming one of the most iconic singer-songwriters of his generation. It includes exclusive interviews with renowned names such as David Bowie, Mariah Carey and Dionne Warwick, among others.
“This film allows Luther to tell his own story a lot. There was a lot of controversy during his time about his sexuality, about whether or not he could crossover, be on the pop charts. Black artists were not played on pop music in America, so there’s also that story. And then there’s the story of how he really triumphed in the end before his untimely passing in his early 50s,” Director Dawn Porter said to Now Toronto.
She goes on to say that there are a number of surprises in the movie for even the biggest of fans and for those who are not as familiar with his music, they will also be surprisingly delighted by what they learn.
Now Toronto also spoke to other documentary directors who are thrilled to have their films premiere at this year’s festival.
DISCO’S REVENGE
Disco’s Revenge tells the story of the meteoric rise and unwavering influence of the dance music genre, disco. The film begins at its origins in the 1970s during the Civil Rights Movement and the Stonewall Riots, and blooms into how disco became its own movement.
Co-directors Omar Majeed and Peter Mishara explain why they chose to profile disco compared to other famous dance genres.
“Disco is unique in terms of musical genre in that it had one of the most vitriolic backlashes against a musical genre, like ever. I mean, rock and roll had its record burnings, and there’s things like that, but it stands apart as a music genre that was really vilified and attacked and dismissed,” Majeed said.
“When we think of disco, we think of all these sort of silly things. But I think what we’re trying to trace is something that goes a little bit deeper and understanding what the origins are, and how it keeps on in our culture. DJ culture and dance culture. It’s still so prevalent today, and disco is emblematic of that and this has inspired generations after, so that’s our plan with this doc,” Mishara said.
UNION
Union is a documentary that chronicles the first unionized Amazon workplace in the United States. It’s a historic win that has been described as one of the most important victories in the labour force since the 1930s. To make matters more impressive, the group won with no prior organizing background, institutional backing or substantial budget.
Co-director Brett Story described to Now Toronto the difficult process behind making the film.
“It was a very challenging film to make. Nobody thought this group of workers would win. They were mounting an independent insurgent labor effort. There were about eight, nine, 10 of them at the most, camping out at a tent by a bus stop across the street from the Amazon warehouse where they were doing shifts,” she said.
“So, we, my co-director, Stephen Maing and I, our cinematographer, had to camp out in bed with them essentially, for two years to document the struggle. We had 900 hours of footage that we shaped into our film,” she continued.
The full list of films set to be featured in the Hot Docs festival can be found here. Films will play at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema located at 506 Bloor St. W., as well as other select theatres across Toronto. Schedule details can be found here.
Single tickets go on sale to the public on Apr. 2.
The Hot Docs festival takes place April 25 through May 5.
