’ marquee market event the Forum and its sidebar operations back to live action, and the festival’s 30th anniversary adding a layer of buzzy excitement, docmakers and industry pros from Western Canada are hauling out a bumper crop of adventurous docs for audiences and buyers, and chatting in the real world about new projects with potential Canadian and international partners and funders.
“The riot was a story that no one had ever really talked about,” said Youngman, who’s currently working on a film about the first Indigenous woman to compete in Japan for professional wrestling. “We found out Vancouver was the only city in North America that rioted because of a loss of a game—it was like a black cloud and I think people were ashamed.
SXSW buzz film “Satan Wants You,” from Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams , explores the truths and lasting legacy of the bestselling memoir by a Victoria psychiatrist and his former patient that ignited the 1980s Satanic Panic. International sales agent is Cargo Film & Releasing. On the industry side, the British Columbia branch of the Canadian Media Producers’ Association brought an official delegation of seven doc producers to Hot Docs. “It’s a great year to re-engage,” the branch’s managing vice-president Tracey Friesen toldlast week. “The B.C. documentary community is tight and collaborative, especially with the active presence of the Documentary Organization of Canada’s British Columbia, Yukon, and Northwest Territories chapter.
“We’re hoping it will grow,” said Thompson, who serves on the board of the Alberta Media Production Industry Association. “Alberta’s small budget grant is limited and a huge competition because many documentaries are in the 250,000 to 500,000 range.” Thompson has a long association with Tasha Hubbard, whose latest doc, “Singing Back the Buffalo,” is now in post, and whose “We Will Stand Up” opened Hot Docs, and won its Best Canadian Feature award in 2019.