The Hot Docs Award for Best Canadian Feature Documentary is an annual Canadian film award, presented by the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival to the film selected by jury members as the year's best Canadian feature film in the festival program. The award was presented for the first time in 1998; prior to that year, awards were presented in various genre categories, but no special distinction for Canadian films was presented. The award is sponsored by the Documentary Organization of Canada and Telefilm Canada, and carries a cash prize of $10,000.
In 2001, the festival presented both "gold" and "silver" medals in the category, although this structure was not retained in future years.
In most years, the festival also presents a Special Jury Prize to a Canadian feature documentary which was not the primary winner of the main award, but still features some award-worthy aspect such as narrative or technical innovation. The Special Jury Prize is sponsored by the Directors Guild of Canada and its Ontario chapter, and carries a $5,000 cash prize.
Winners Best Canadian Feature Documentary Year Film Filmmaker(s) Ref 1998 Chile, Obstinate Memory (Chile, la memoria obstinada) Patricio Guzmán "World's best documentaries honoured Filmmaker Allan King given first lifetime achievement award at fifth annual Hot Docs!". The Globe and Mail, March 23, 1998. 1999 Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows Paul Jay Tamsen Tillson, "Canuck hot docs picked". Variety, May 11, 1999. 2000 The Holier It Gets Jennifer Baichwal "Hot Docs presents awards at seventh annual festival: Zyklon Portrait takes best short, editing, humanitarian prizes". National Post, May 8, 2000. 2001 My Left Breast Gerry Rogers Brenda Bouw, "My Left Breast wins gold award at Hot Docs festival". National Post, May 8, 2001. Out of the Fire Shelley Saywell 2002 The Fiancée of Life (La fiancée de la vie) Carole Laganière "Hot Docs prize goes to Montreal director". The Globe and Mail, May 7, 2002. 2003 Rage Against the Darkness John Kastner "Hot Docs festival hands out 12 awards". The Globe and Mail, May 6, 2003. 2004 Army of One Sarah Goodman "Hot Docs announces its picks of the year". The Globe and Mail, May 3, 2004. 2005 Hogtown: The Politics of Policing Min Sook Lee "Hogtown muckraker digs up prize at Hot Docs". National Post, May 2, 2005. 2006 Martyr Street Shelley Saywell "'Martyr Street' wins best of Hot Docs". CBC Arts, May 7, 2006. 2007 The Bodybuilder and I Bryan Friedman "Hot Docs film festival breaks attendance record with 68,000 taking in films". Canadian Press, April 30, 2007. 2008 Flicker Nik Sheehan "Film on valiant English doctor in Ukraine wins big at Hot Docs". The Globe and Mail, April 26, 2008. 2009 Invisible City Hubert Davis "Film about Toronto's troubled Regent Park neighbourhood among Hot Docs winners". Canadian Press, May 8, 2009. 2010 In the Name of the Family Shelley Saywell "Propaganda tale wins Hot Docs prize movies; Bin Laden bodyguard film also a winner". Toronto Star, May 9, 2010. 2011 Family Portrait in Black and White Julia Ivanova "Julia Ivanovna film wins $15,000 Hot Docs prize". The Globe and Mail, May 6, 2011. 2012 The World Before Her Nisha Pahuja "‘The World Before Her' wins best Canadian feature at Hot Docs". The Globe and Mail, May 4, 2012. 2013 When I Walk Jason DaSilva Adam Benzine, "Hot Docs 2013: When I Walk, Dragon Girls, scoop prizes". Playback, May 6, 2013. 2014 Out of Mind, Out of Sight John Kastner Paula Bernstein, "Hot Docs 2014 Winners Announced: ‘Out of Mind, Out of Sight’ Wins Best Canadian Feature Documentary". IndieWire, May 3, 2014. 2015 Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World Charles Wilkinson Norman Wilner, "Hot Docs 2015: The Winners". Now, May 2, 2015. 2016 Koneline: Our Land Beautiful Nettie Wild Norman Wilner, "Hot Docs 2016: And the winners are…". Now, May 10, 2016. 2017 Unarmed Verses Charles Officer Norman Wilner, "Hot Docs 2017: And Some Of The Winners Are …". Now, May 6, 2017. 2018 A Little Wisdom Yuqi Kang Norman Wilner, "Hot Docs 2018: A Little Wisdom, Transformer among award winners". Now, May 5, 2018. 2019 Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up Tasha Hubbard Jennie Punter, "‘We Will Stand Up,’ ‘Hope Frozen’ Take Top Prizes at Hot Docs". Variety, May 4, 2019. 2020 Prayer for a Lost Mitten (Prière pour une mitaine perdue) Jean-François Lesage Jillian Morgan, "“Prayer for a Lost Mitten,” “Stray” take top prizes at Hot Docs ’20 competition". RealScreen, May 15, 2020. 2021 Zo Reken Emanuel Licha Kevin Ritchie, "Hot Docs 2021: Zo Reken, One Of Ours claim top prizes". Now, May 7, 2021. 2022 Geographies of Solitude Jacquelyn Mills Sadaf Ahsan, "Jacquelyn Mills’ ‘Geographies of Solitude’ wins Hot Docs’ best Canadian film award". Toronto Star, May 7, 2022. 2023 I Lost My Mom (J'ai placé ma mère) Denys Desjardins Jennie Punter, "‘The Mountains,’ Heartbreaking Portrait of a Fractured Family, Wins Top Honor at Hot Docs". Variety, May 6, 2023. 2024 The Soldier's Lagoon Pablo Álvarez Mesa Jennie Punter, "‘Farming the Revolution’ Harvests Top International Competition Award at Hot Docs". Variety, May 3, 2024. 2025 Agatha's Almanac Amalie Atkins Matthew Carey, "Hot Docs Announces Prizes: Awards Go To ‘I, Poppy,’ ‘River Of Grass,’ ‘Paul,’ ‘Khartoum’ And More". Deadline Hollywood, May 2, 2025. 2026 Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom Kim Nguyen Matthew Carey, "West Bank-Set ‘House Of Hope,’ ‘Saigon Story: Two Shootings In The Forest Kingdom’ Among Big Winners At Hot Docs". Deadline Hollywood, May 1, 2026.
Special Jury Prize Year Film Filmmaker(s) Ref 2003 The Last Round: Chuvalo vs. Ali Joseph Blasioli 2004 Continuous Journey Ali Kazimi 2005 No award 2006 Mystic Ball Greg Hamilton 2007 Driven by Dreams (À force de rêves) Serge Giguère 2008 Junior Isabelle Lavigne 2009 Waterlife Kevin McMahon 2010 Leave Them Laughing John Zaritsky 2011 At Night, They Dance Isabelle Lavigne, Stéphane Thibault The Guantanamo Trap Thomas Wallner 2012 Peace Out Charles Wilkinson 2013 Alphée of the Stars (Alphée des étoiles) Hugo Latulippe 2014 Before the Last Curtain Falls Thomas Wallner 2015 The Amina Profile Sophie Deraspe 2016 The Prison in Twelve Landscapes Brett Story 2017 Resurrecting Hassan Carlo Guillermo Proto 2018 What Walaa Wants Christy Garland 2019 Prey Matt Gallagher 2020 Stateless Michèle Stephenson 2021 One of Ours Yasmine Mathurin 2022 Rojek Zaynê Akyol 2023 Caiti Blues Justine Harbonnier 2024 Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story Michael Mabbott, Lucah Rosenberg-Lee 2025 Paul Denis Côté 2026 Ceremony Banchi Hanuse
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