Struggling Hot Docs Festival Plans “Limited” Toronto Theater Reopening

The Hot Docs Canadian Documentary Festival, North America’s largest, has announced a “limited reopening” for its Toronto cinema after the struggling event shuttered its flagship theater as part of a financial restructuring.

Hot Docs Fest President Marie Nelson Exits Amid Financial Turmoil

“Since temporarily closing Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in June, the team has been working tirelessly throughout the summer to address the financial and governance issues that led to its closure,” Hot Docs said in a statement on Thursday.

The Hot Docs Theatre on Bloor Street will reopen Sept. 28 for third party rentals and “select partner screening” events. “We are also thrilled to be able to gradually welcome back members of our cinema team who were placed on temporary layoff with this summer’s closure,” the festival added in a statement.

Hot Docs also said it will give details on resuming regular Hot Docs programming and staging a 2025 festival in the coming months. In July 2024, president Marie Nelson — the former ABC News and Disney executive who took the helm in June 2023 — left Hot Docs after a chaotic 2024 edition.

Hot Docs Fest Financial Crunch Sparks Cuts to Board of Directors

Interim executive director Janice Dawe and managing director Heidi Tao Yang stepped in to help run Hot Docs ahead of its 2024 edition when artistic director Hussain Currimbhoy and 10 programmers left the festival’s organizing team. Hot Docs also dramatically scaled back its board of directors in response to what the festival said was a post-pandemic financial distress at the Toronto organization.

Dawe and Yang on Thursday said a new permanent executive director for Hot Docs will be named, while adding: “Of critical importance, the team has also been actively addressing the organization’s deficit by implementing plans to right-size the organization, reducing operating costs and prioritizing core programming and initiatives in our future planning.”

Hot Docs: Nishta Jain's 'Farming the Revolution' Takes Top Jury Prize