The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, at 506 Bloor St. W. in Toronto, will play host to Hot Docs' gradual resumption of year-round programming, but with the news that the building housing the one-screen theatre will be put up for sale.Gabriel Li/The Canadian Press
Four months after temporarily closing the doors of its flagship Toronto cinema and restructuring its board of directors in the face of severe financial challenges, Hot Docs leaders have announced a path forward for the arts organization.
Organizers confirmed Thursday that the 32nd annual edition of North America’s premiere documentary film festival will go ahead next spring for its typical 11-day run, from April 24 through May 4, although with a slimmed down programming slate of 100-plus titles. (The 2024 edition featured 168, while 2023 boasted 214.) The festival’s industry programs will also be on offer but with an emphasis on more “intimate” networking opportunities, suggesting a similarly downsized sense of scale.
Meanwhile, Hot Docs announced the gradual resumption of year-round programming at its Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, but with the news that the building housing the one-screen theatre will be put up for sale. The organization hopes to secure a favourable lease-back arrangement from any potential buyer, injecting much-needed funds into the organization while allowing theatrical programming to continue inside the space for the foreseeable future.
The building, at 506 Bloor St. W., was purchased by Hot Docs in 2016 with the help of a $4-million donation from the Rogers Foundation. But since the pandemic, Hot Docs has struggled to make the year-round business work, with many of the organization’s operating deficits attributed to the ownership and operation of the cinema. After spending the majority of the summer with its doors shuttered, the theatre last month welcomed a limited reopening for third-party bookings. Starting in December, Hot Docs will resume in-house programming inside the theatre with the launch of the 2024/25 season of its popular Doc Soup series.
In an interview, Hot Docs interim executive director Janice Dawe said the organization has been able to sustain itself to this point thanks to the large number of supporters who converted their capital-campaign donations – funds originally meant to help revamp and expand the cinema, with the possibility of adding a second screen – to daily operational funds. Founding partner Rogers, a long-time sponsor of Hot Docs, has also confirmed that it will continue to support the festival.
“When I walked into this role, I wasn’t sure whether the turbulence of the past year meant that there would still be people here to support us, and boy oh boy was I surprised how many people really jumped forward to ask how they could help,” said Dawe, who has been leading the organization since the departure of president Marie Nelson in May. “That sustained us through the summer. And we don’t have a choice here – we are going to march forward and deliver on our mission.”
Nicholas de Pencier, a documentary filmmaker and member of Hot Docs’ current working board, added that the support from donors has “been so heartening – literally to the point of tears of relief.”
Hot Docs was also able to exit newly leased office space in Toronto’s downtown east side, helping it further save on operational expenses.
The next priorities for the working board, which was restructured in June to comprise just three members – de Pencier, Nulogy chief operating officer Kevin Wong and Pemberley Investments’ Lydia Luckevich – will be to both rebuild the membership and recruit a new permanent leader. Dawe, who joined Hot Docs strictly in a caretaker fashion, noted that the organization is intentionally seeking a new “executive director” – someone who is ready to “roll up their sleeves and get into the nitty-gritty work of running the organization” – not a “president,” as the latter title can be interpreted as a figurehead role.
Plans are also in motion to appoint a new artistic director and programmers, after a staff exodus from that department ahead of this past spring’s festival.
Still, Hot Docs faces myriad challenges in the months ahead, including resolving tensions between the festival and the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC), which founded Hot Docs in 1994 and has been deeply linked to the organization through its historic representation on the board.
During the opening weekend of this year’s festival, DOC released a public statement urging Hot Docs’ leading sponsor, Bank of Nova Scotia, to divest from Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. Meanwhile, DOC is currently one of Hot Docs’ largest creditors; it is owed a six-figure sum owing to a royalty-payment system linked to festival revenue that was set up years ago.
“I believe that the attack launched by DOC on the opening days of this year’s festival against both Hot Docs and its lead sponsor, BNS, was deliberate, intentional and inappropriate. They had full knowledge of Hot Docs’ precarious financial predicament and as such the damage that would likely flow from their actions,” said Ian Bandeen, a former long-time financial adviser to the Hot Docs board who is currently supporting the organization’s transition.
“It would be very difficult to argue in good faith that it constituted anything less than an outright repudiation and termination of the previous relationship between the two organizations. Look, if DOC cleans up their own mess and returns with a proposed new relationship, I would hope that Hot Docs would be gracious enough to accept the apology and give the proposed arrangement serious consideration.”
In a statement, Sarah Spring, the executive director of DOC, acknowledged the strain on the festival: “Our community has weathered an extremely difficult year. We have witnessed our beloved festival face extreme challenges, and we have in turn challenged Hot Docs to address the serious concerns that emerged in 2024.”
As to the outstanding royalty situation, DOC has “decided to enact a payment plan that will allow Hot Docs to delay its payment to DOC. This decision was made with the greatest care in order to ensure that Hot Docs can continue its mission, without sacrificing DOC’s ability to serve our community. The process of renewal within the festival is ongoing, and DOC is proud to stand in partnership with Hot Docs.”
Meanwhile, Hot Docs also needs to shore up significant political support to ensure longer-term stability. In April, organizers under Nelson excoriated the federal government for leaving Hot Docs out of the 2024 budget after her rare plea for government support.
“Janice and the team have been heroic in working together to be able to present an empirical picture that we can be a stabilized organization going forward worthy of government support,” de Pencier said.
“It was existential for a while, but if we get that amount of support in our time of trouble and tenuousness, I hope that momentum will be a narrative that serves itself.”