Nekai Walks (D: Rico King, P: David Mcilvride) won the Hot Docs Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary at this year’s Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival, which was chosen by an audience poll, and also includes a cash prize of $50,000. It’s the story of a 16-year-old boy (Nekai Foster) who beat the medical odds and survived and recovered, after he was shot while walking home in Toronto’s Jane and Finch neighbourhood.

Placing first in the overall audience poll was American Doctor (D: Poh Si Teng, P: Poh Si Teng, Kirstine Barfod, Reem Haddad) which follows three American physicians – Palestinian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian – as they provide emergency medical aid in Gaza during the conflict.

The 11-day festival showcased 115 films from 51 countries, and featured 173 screenings. A highlight of the festival was the chance to hear from 162 filmmakers and guests during the Q&As. This year they included Grammy Award-winning singer songwriter Kenny Loggins, from the doc Kenny Loggins: Conviction of the Heart; MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe from MySpace; and investigative journalist and co-founder and host of Democracy Now! Amy Goodman, from Steal This Story, Please!

Award-winning queer rock icon Carole Pope was also present. The opening night film in which she was featured, Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions (D: Michelle Mama | P: Allison Grace, Bill Taylor) ranked an impressive sixth in an audience poll.

It was one of at least a half dozen documentaries that featured LGBTQ themes. Others included Jaripeo, a celebration of queer self expression against the backdrop of the annual Christmas jaripeo, a Mexican rodeo-style festival; and Apolo, a Brazilian film about a trans couple’s pregnancy journey after conceiving naturally.

Other docs popular in the audience poll included A Fox Under a Pink Moon about a teenager’s harrowing attempts to flee Iran; The Ballad of Judas Priest which chronicles the heavy metal band’s five-decade long journey, and Code of Misconduct, about the trial of five Canadian pro hockey players charged with sexual assault, a doc which brought some audience members to tears.

There was something for everyone at this year’s festival with categories on everything from digital life, to artists and creative minds (one of this writer’s favorites was the doc Maintenance Artist), Brazilian films, world premieres, and films in juried competition.

Free daytime screenings were back this year for students and those over 60, and, as usual, the Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary was free for everyone on the final night.

Keep an eye out for some of the festival films you missed in the coming months at the Hot Docs Cinema.

About the Author

A tireless traveller, who loves to experience as much as possible of a destination plus discover what makes it unique. Sharing stories from 89 countries in dozens of newspapers, magazines and online, and more recently in travel presentations for small groups. My passions include music (especially world music), foreign films, cultural events & learning languages. I'm also a cold weather cyclist on the streets of Toronto.