Nishta Jain’s “Farming the Revolution” has won Hot Docs’ Best International Feature Documentary Award, it was announced Friday at the festival’s awards ceremony, held in Toronto at the Centre for Social Innovation–Annex.
Produced by Jain (Raintree Films) and Valérie Montmartin (Little Big Story) and co-directed by cinematographer Akash Basumatari, the film follows the massive year-long gathering of Indian farmers protesting unjust new farm laws that they felt would impact their markets.
The jury said, “‘Farming the Revolution’ spotlights the power of ordinary people with an enduring cinematic sophistication and an indomitable lyrical presence.” The award comes with a Cnd. $10,000 cash prize.
The film, a co-production between India and Norway, now automatically qualifies for consideration in the Academy’s Best Documentary Feature category without the standard theatrical run, providing it complies with Academy rules. It is distributed by Cinephil.
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Pablo Álvarez-Mesa’s “The Soldier’s Lagoon”—which traces Simon Bolívar’s campaign to liberate Colombia while exploring contemporary political and environmental realities in the Andes’ páramo region—won the Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award and a Cnd. $10,000 cash prize.
The Canadian feature documentary jury said, “a myriad of issues from post-colonial legacies including environmental, land and military destruction . . . [are] mirrored in the film’s strong artistic vision—a commitment to astonishing cinematography, to 16mm film, to an evocative and meditative sonic world.”
“Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story,” directed by Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, was awarded the DGC Special Jury Prize for Canadian Feature Documentary and a Cdn $5,000 cash prize, sponsored by the Directors’ Guild of Canada and DGC Ontario. The jury said it appreciated how the film invites viewers into the “courageous and generous” artist’s story, “while giving enough room to showcase Jackie’s empowering music.”
Patricia Bbaale Bandak’s “Death of a Saint” was given the international competition’s Special Jury Prize and a Cdn. $5,000 cash award, sponsored by A&E. The jury called the film “ a poetic exploration of intergenerational trauma with maturity, perseverance and deftness that signal the arrival of a unique talent to watch.”
Erin Lau and Amber Espinosa-Jones for Jalena Keane-Lee’s “Standing Above the Clouds” won the Bill Nemtin Award for Best Social Impact Documentary, which recognizes the producers of an International Spectrum film that has the greatest potential to create social impact. The Cdn. $10,000 cash prize supports the producers’ outreach and marketing activities. The jury called the film, “ A devastating inside look at a powerful grassroots protest led by women and elders to protect our nature and future from commercialisation and the damning indifference of bystanders.”
In the same category, the jury gave special mention to Subina Shrestha’s “Devi” for its “gut-wrenching portrayal of a woman’s endless fight for the voiceless and disregarded victims of wartime sexual violence in [an] uncompromising film.”
“The Battle for Laikipia,” directed by Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi won the new Land|Sky|Sea Award, which recognizes an exceptional feature-length documentary in the competition program of the same name. The jury said the film “has extraordinary access to both sides of a post-colonial country where climate change is pushing people to become the worst versions of themselves,” and called it ”an unflinching, transparent lens on Kenya’s ongoing struggle for Indigenous land rights which is exasperated by apocalyptic drought.”
The jury also acknowledged “Yintah,” directed by Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell, and Michael Toledano, which follows the Wet’suwet’en people as they resist the construction of multiple pipelines across their land.
The Earl A. Glick Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award went to Laurence Lévesqu for “Okurimono,” about a woman’s return to Nagasaki after a 20-year absence to clear out her mother’s home. The jury called it a “quiet but intense film about memory and remembrance, family and mortality. The award comes with a Cdn. $3,000 cash prize courtesy of the Earl A. Glick Family.
Best Emerging International Filmmaker Award went to Fan Wu, director of “XiXi,” which explores themes of womanhood, autonomy and self-reinvention through video diaries and personal archives. The award includes a Cdn. $3,000 cash prize, supported by the Donner Canadian Foundation. The jury also acknowledged Ismael Vásquez Bernabé, director of “The Weavers’ Songs,” with an honorable mention.
The Lindalee Tracey Award—honoring an Canadian filmmaker with a passionate point of view, a strong sense of social justice and a sense of humour—went to Meysam Motazedi, who will receive Cdn. $5,000 from the Lindalee Tracey Fund, a $5,000 in kind voucher from Picture Shop for equipment rentals and services, and a hand-blown glass sculpture by Andrew Kuntz.
Kumjana Novakova’s “Silence of Reason,” an investigation of the Foča rape camps during the mid-90s war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, received award for best mid-length documentary, which includes a Cdn.$3,000 prize. The jury also gave an honorable mention to Carlos Yuri Ceuninck’s “The New Man.”
The Best International Short Documentary Award, which comes with a Cdn. Cash prize supported by CNN Collection, was presented to Janet Harbord’s “Autism Plays Itself.” The jury also gave Fay Tsakas’ “Christmas, Every Day” a special mention.
The Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary was presented to “Am I the Skinniest Person You’ve Ever Seen?’ by Eisha Marjara. The award includes a Cdn. $3,000 cash prize courtesy of John and Betty Youson. The jury also acknowledged Isabelle Grignon-Francke’s “Sparkle.”
The best international short doc and best Canadian short doc qualify for consideration in the documentary short subject category of the annual Academy Awards with the standard theatrical run, provided they comply with Academy rules.
The Scotiabank Docs for Schools Student Choice Award, which comes with a Cdn. $5,000 cash award courtesy of Scotiabank, went to “The Strike,” directed by JoeBill Muñoz and Lucas Guilkey. This award recognizes the documentary that receives the highest rating in the student audience poll.
As reported earlier by Variety, Canadian producer Alison Duke, producer of Laurie Townshend’s “A Mother Apart” received the Don Haig Award, which is given to an outstanding independent Canadian producer with a film in the Festival in recognition of their creative vision, entrepreneurship and track record for nurturing emerging talent. The award comes with a Cdn. $5,000 cash prize, courtesy of the Don Haig Foundation.
Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck received the 2024 Outstanding Achievement Award.
The Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian documentary will be announced on May 5 at a special encore screening at 7:00 pm at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. The winning film will receive a $50,000 cash prize, courtesy of Rogers. The overall Audience Award winner will be announced after the festival.
