The National Directors Division (NDD) of the Directors Guild of Canada is proud to announce selections for the NDD Market Accelerator Delegation at Hot Docs. Hot Docs Festival 2025, running from April 24th to May 4th.
Selected Directors:
Liz Marshall (BC): A CITY BUILT BY WOMYN - For 40 years women came to the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, a haven they conjured and re-built every August in the woods, as an antidote to the world.
Katia Café-Fébrissy (QC): THIS LAND WILL CALL ME MASTER - A Canadian filmmaker of Guadeloupean cultural heritage searches answers to the generational conflicts in her family over the division of land inherited from her grandfather. In the process, she unveils the devastating impact of French colonialism on the contemporary Guadeloupean family structure.
Adrian Wills (QC): LA CHASSE AU JUSTE - In 1888 Quebec, an outlaw defying a corrupt system, the biggest manhunt in Canadian history, and a journalist caught in the storm—LA CHASSE AU JUSTE exposes the explosive tale of Donald Morrison, a Scottish rebel whose defiance turned him into a legend—the Canadian Rob Roy.
ZERO HOUR: COUNTDOWN TO V-E DAY - As the clock ticks down the final five days to V-E Day, ZERO HOUR: COUNTDOWN TO V-E DAY uncovers five untold stories of soldiers and civilians caught between unimaginable brutality and flickering hope, where the war’s end is near, but survival is anything but certain.
Carmen Pollard (BC): UP IN THE CLOUDS, DOWN IN THE VALLEY - A visually impaired conceptual artist embarks on a mission to revolutionize accessibility for his community, discovering purpose and success along the way. But at what personal cost?
Alison Reid (ON): EXHILARATING ROAD TRIP - ENDEARING BUDDY FILM - ENVIRONMENTAL LOVE LETTER - Renowned wildlife artist Robert Bateman and biologist Bristol Foster embark on a 1957 globe-trotting adventure in a Land Rover they fondly dub, The Grizzly Torque. Decades later its rediscovery and restoration sparks a magical journey through time weaving together art, science, and environmental activism through the lens of their lifelong friendship.
Matt Gallagher (ON): SHAME - The story of one online vigilante who played judge and jury with deadly results
Francine Zuckerman (ON): A PlACE CALLED HOME - An intimate journey as two women delve into their own complex relationship with their mothers, their fractured identity and the challenging concept of home.
Teresa Alfeld (BC): NOBODY'S PUPPET: AN ED THE SOCK-UMENTARY - A comedic yet intimate hybrid documentary about legendary Canadian media personality Ed the Sock and his relationship with his “manager” (read: creator) Steven Kerzner.
Kevin Fitzgerald (BC): THE ART OF DANCE - An unprecedented immersive cinematic experience that dares us to come alive by tracing the Indigenous African origins of dance's evolution through music, community, and culture. This innovative theatrical feature film and premium documentary series awakens our souls and ignites inspiration through the beauty and courage of some of the world’s most celebrated dancers on a journey of connection.
Sergio Navarretta (ON): ABSOLUTE ALTITUDE - ABSOLUTE ALTITUDE (working title) takes audiences on a thrilling cinematic journey through the skies with Canada's elite aerobatic team, the Snowbirds.
Nika Belianina (ON): INCONCEIVABLE MOTHERHOOD - Filmmaker Nika Belianina, who always assumed she’d be a mother, explores involuntary childlessness through her personal journey. Her years-long quest for motherhood becomes an emotional odyssey of hope, loss, and reinvention.
Elizabeta Lazebnik (ON): IRIDESCENCE - Iridescence is a visually inventive and humorous exploration of what it feels like to be an autistic artist. Anchored in the personal journey of filmmaker Elizabeta Lazebnik, who was diagnosed with autism in their 30s, the film weaves together deeply personal experiences with the stories of two other autistic artists.
Noam Gonick (MB): CRUISIN' - Winnipeg’s car cruise is enjoyed by hordes every Sunday night. Comprised of street interviews with drivers and their fans as well as driving photography followed up in wintertime garages with vintage cars being tricked-out, we'll covertly address the climate crisis, petrol wars, economic fealty - all through the lens of young automobile aficionados.
Troy Scott (BC): RUNNING WITH HOPE - At 66, Dana Fox has spent his life pushing the limits of endurance as a marathon runner, but nothing could have prepared him for the race he now faces. Diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of bile duct cancer, Cholangiocarcinoma, Dana was given just eight months to live. Instead of accepting his prognosis, he made an unthinkable decision: he would continue training for the Boston Marathon while undergoing grueling rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and groundbreaking targeted agents and immunotherapy through clinical trials.
Megan Wennberg (NS): NONSUCH - Cahows are beautiful seabirds that were thought to be extinct for over 300 years. But a few remaining birds were found off the coast of Bermuda in the 1950s, and a small but dedicated group has been working to save them ever since, despite mounting challenges from climate change and human encroachment.
