Safety of Palestinian documentary filmmaker top of mind at Hot Docs programming event

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This article was published 25/03/2025 (557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – The safety of an Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker weighed heavily at a Hot Docs event on Tuesday, as the festival revealed a lineup it says aims to amplify marginalized voices.

Hamdan Ballal, a co-director of “No Other Land,” was detained Monday in the West Bank by the Israeli military following what he described as a beating outside of his home during a settler attack on his village. Israeli authorities released Ballal on Tuesday.

“I think that attack is heinous,” said Canadian filmmaker Justine Pimlott, the producer of “Parade: Queer Acts of Love and Resistance,” which will open this year’s Hot Docs with a world premiere.

“What we need to do is figure out ways in which we’re connected through our humanity, not the ways in which we can express hate through focusing on difference.”

The opening film, directed by Winnipeg’s Noam Gonick, takes a look at the history of Canada’s LGBTQ+ movement.

“We need love and resistance, and I think the love is really important. Love is the way in which we find how you and I are similar, how you and I are connected in our humanity. That’s love. And I think we need to connect with that very much so right now,” Pimlott said.

This year’s festival will feature 113 documentaries, nearly half the number of films shown two years ago, as it navigates ongoing financial challenges.

At a press conference, Hot Docs programming director Heather Haynes addressed reports of the attack on Ballal before providing more details on this year’s lineup.

“These acts lay bare the growing dangers faced by courageous journalists, filmmakers and ordinary citizens who risked their lives to share their vital stories,” she said.

The Israeli military said Monday it had detained three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks at forces as well as one Israeli civilian, who was soon released.

The Associated Press reported that Ballal denied throwing stones, and was released from an Israeli police station in the West Bank Tuesday with bruises on his face and blood on his clothes.

“No Other Land,” a film by a Palestinian-Israeli activist collective, has won a string of awards including this year’s Oscar for documentary feature.

Haynes said this year’s festival spotlights movements fighting for human rights, which she called “more important than ever” to uplift. She added this year’s festival is especially “queer-focused” in light of growing threats to LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S. and the potential challenges in Canada as the election approaches.

Another film set to screen at the festival “Heightened Scrutiny,” which follows civil rights lawyer Chase Strangio’s legal battles against American anti-trans laws.

Several features highlight people speaking truth to power, including the world premiere of “Betrayal,” a Canadian documentary about Liberian dictator Charles Taylor’s brother-in-law Cindor Reeves, who risked everything to blow the whistle on the regime’s crimes.

The movie’s director Lena Macdonald emphasized the need for “courage” in the filmmaking community.

“We are living in a time in Palestine and around the world where journalists and filmmakers are more at risk.”

Macdonald recalled filming “Betrayal” while seven months pregnant in Sierra Leone, right in the middle of a coup attempt.

“I get brought back to the idea of courage and truth-telling, and how important it is and how vital this festival is and how vital it is that we amplify other people’s stories,” she said.

She said she hopes films like hers encourage people “to do the right thing and to dig deep within themselves and find moral courage to speak out in ways big and small.”

Last week, Hot Docs announced Toronto International Film Festival veteran Diana Sanchez as its new executive director, promising she’d lead the organization into “a period of rebuilding and reimagining.”

She takes over March 31 from interim director Janice Dawe, who has been leading the struggling non-profit since its former president Marie Nelson stepped down in July after one year in the role.

“Toronto and the doc community, we need Hot Docs, and I am committed and very excited to work with this incredibly talented team that’s welcomed me so warmly,” said Sanchez while addressing the audience.

Haynes said Hot Docs received the same amount of submissions this year as it did the previous two years, which shows “the confidence that filmmakers and distributors worldwide have in this festival.”

However, she noted the number of documentaries they’re featuring is down to 113 from 165 last year, and 213 in 2023.

“My hope is that we will begin to rebuild slowly and in a way that’s also keeping in mind the industry overall. You know, perhaps not having 280 films, but growing within measure.”

She said 30 per cent of this year’s lineup is Canadian, including the world premieres of “Casas Muertas,” which follows three generations of Venezuelans as they confront the harsh realities of an ongoing economic crisis, and “Shamed,” about an online vigilante who confronts alleged sexual predators in public, only to face a legal battle over the ethics of his methods.

Haynes stressed the value of Hot Docs remaining active, especially as documentaries like “No Other Land” and last year’s “Union,” about Amazon warehouse workers fighting to unionize, struggle to find distribution.

“Broadcasters and streamers are programming less and less political films and this is why festivals are so important, because we show a variety of films and oftentimes this is one of the few places where these filmmakers can bring their stories to the audience,” she said.

“We’re a vital platform for emerging filmmakers to show their work and launch their careers.”

Over the summer, the non-profit restructured its board of directors, temporarily closed its flagship Toronto theatre and laid off staff, citing “urgent” financial difficulties. It reopened on a limited basis in the fall, announcing “significant progress” in tackling its deficit and governance challenges.

The Hot Docs festival will run from April 24 to May 4 in Toronto.

– With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2025.