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The Hot Docs Canadian Documentary Festival, North America’s largest, has unveiled its programming team for its upcoming 2025 edition.
The Toronto festival said Heather Haynes has been promoted to director of programming, and her team for the 2025 edition includes programmers who abruptly resigned in March amid financial woes and the departure of artistic director Hussain Currimbhoy.
As Hot Docs continues with a restructuring of the organization, programmers returning to the festival include Gabor Pertic, Lucila Moctezuma, Gugi Gumilang, Vicci Ho, Mariam Zaidi, Vivian Belik, Alex Rogalski and Aisha Jamal. Among them are programmers that took part in a mass exit in March, ahead of this year’s edition of Hot Docs.
New additions to the programming team include Kinga Binkowska, Julian Carrington, Lauren Clarke, David Knipe, Simone Estrin, Elspeth Arbow, Hawa Essuman and Reza Sameni. The promotion of Haynes, who has been with Hot Docs for 19 years, was announced by Janice Dawe, Hot Docs’ interim executive director.
“My colleagues, whose dedication and resilience have been unwavering in the face of our recent challenges, inspire me daily. While our work is far from finished, we are steadfast in our commitment to re-stabilize and secure a future where we continue to support Canadian and international filmmakers, strengthen the documentary industry and serve our devoted audiences with the passion and excellence they deserve,” Haynes said in a statement.
The programmer exodus at Hot Docs earlier this year occurred as the organization also indicated it faced a widening cash crunch as it struggled to regain its footing after the pandemic. The 32nd annual Hot Docs Festival is set to take place from April 24 to May 4, 2025.
To restore the organization’s financial footing, the festival is exploring a sale and lease-back of its flagship Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on Bloor Street. Hot Docs has already undergone deep cost-cutting and job cuts, a slew of executive exits, including from the boardroom and the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema being shuttered in June 2024.
The cinema reopened in late September for third party rentals, and fest organizers said regular Hot Docs programming will resume on Dec. 4, 2024 at the downtown theater ahead of a planned 32nd edition in spring 2025.
Hot Docs, led by Dawe, is also looking for a permanent top exec after president Marie Nelson — the former ABC News and Disney executive who took the helm in June 2023 — left the organization in July 2024 after the chaotic 31st edition.