Last night in a rainy and blustery Toronto, the annual Hot Docs Awards ceremony was held with the top prize for Best International Documentary going to Yael Hersonski's A FILM UNFINISHED, which explores a long lost Nazi propaganda film about the Warsaw ghetto. A FILM UNFINISHED had its World Premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where it took the editing prize in the World Cinema Documentary competition.
The Special Jury prize went to Laura Poitras' THE OATH, the latest in a string of spring festival prizes for that film, which coincidentally opens this weekend at the IFC Center in New York.
Jeff Malmberg's MARWENCOL and Josh Fox' GASLAND were the two other films named as the jury's shortlist of films in the International competition. Both of those films were runners-up to THE OATH at festivals in April (MARWENCOL getting the Special Jury prize in Boston and GASLAND receiving the same award in Sarasota).
[Personal note, I had twittered en route to Toronto that my three favorite docs of the year thus far were GASLAND, MARWENCOL and THE OATH. I haven't seen A FILM UNFINISHED yet although am certainly keen to now that it has been singled out with those other three films.]
In addition to MARWENCOL being named a finalist in the international competition, director Malmberg received the HBO Emerging Artist award from the jury at Hot Docs (which included filmmakers Chris Hegedus and Gonzalo Arijon and DGA Canada President Sturla Gunnarsson).
The Canadian jury gave their top award to Shelley Saywell's IN THE NAME OF THE FAMILY, a film about young Muslim women in Canada. The Special Jury prize went to John Zaritsky's LEAVE THEM LAUGHING, which profiles the comedian Carla Zilbersmith as she battles ALS.
Best short film was awarded to TUSSILAGO, an animated film by Swedish director Jonas Odell. Best Mid-length Doc went to Tomer Haymann's I SHOT MY LOVE.
indieWIRE's Peter Knegt has more, including jury statements, from Toronto.
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