SUBMISSION FEE
$45.00 CAD must be submitted along with the Project Entry Form. All major credit cards are accepted.
You will receive confirmation from our offices within three weeks of your submission.
Please note: Applications for Hot Docs Work-In-Progress and Deal Maker are only accepted online. Please do not send anything by post or email to the Hot Docs office.
REQUIRED INFORMATION
- Primary contact information
- Title, genre, duration, language, format, date of principle photography, projected date of release, production country
- Pitch category and pitch type
- Type of support (commission, acquisition, pre-buy, co-production, and/or distribution)
- Stage of production (late development, production or rough cut)
- Short synopsis (approximately 350 words)
- One-page treatment (approximately 850 words)
- Short status report (approximately 500 words)
- Other forums and buyers pitched (if applicable)
- Co-production partner information (if applicable)
- Committed market partner information
- Confirmed financial sources
- Top line budget
- Financing scenario
- Key creative and production personnel biographies and filmographies
- Short description of the outreach and engagement strategy (approximately 300 words)
- Short description of the distribution strategy (approximately 300 words)
- Description of the digital media component/cross platform strategy (approximately 300 words) images, sketches or screen grabs may be submitted to support this description
Required Documents
The following supporting documentation is required to complete the application, and may be uploaded directly into the submission form:
- Letter or email of commitment from “trigger financier” (required for regular category only). Alternately, if the trigger is a successful crowdfunding campaign, please submit a screen capture.
- One-page production budget in the applicant’s local currency and in US dollars.
- Work-In-Progress footage sent via a single streamable link for regular category and rough cut category.
NOTIFICATION & REGISTRATION
Projects that apply for Hot Docs Work-In-Progress and/or Deal Maker will be notified of their application status in early March 2025.
Chosen projects have one week to accept the offered pitch slot, pay the registration fee, and provide verification of text for publication.
Each Work-In-Progress team must consist of a minimum of one and maximum of to members.
Each pitch team member must register for a Hot Docs industry pass. Selected projects will receive details about pricing and registration. Each registration includes:
- Access to Hot Docs Festival
- A discount when submitting the finished film to a future Hot Docs Festival
PITCH CATEGORIES & ELIGIBILITY
Regular Category
Includes feature and broadcast length
Independent production companies are eligible to enter documentary projects currently in late development and production.
To be eligible, the project must have:
- financial commitment from a third-party market partner (broadcaster, distributor, sales agent, online platform, eligible film board/film institute) Any additional information will be at the discretion of the selection committee.
- a minimum of approximately 10% (but no more than 75%) of its financing in place; existing financing must include arms-length, third-party monies from the marketplace; in Canada, the existing financing can also include, but cannot solely consist of, federal and provincial tax credits. Please note that the 10% minimum can be obtained through a combination of financiers.
WIP footage must be hosted on an independent website and submitted via a link. Footage can be password protected but must remain active until teams are notified of the application results.
Rough Cut Category
Independent production companies are eligible to enter projects at a rough cut stage that have not yet secured market financing via a broadcaster, distributor, fund, crowdfunding, etc.
The submission of footage is required for the Rough Cut category. A maximum of 20 minutes of footage may be submitted with the application. Footage must be hosted on an independent website and submitted via a link. Footage must remain active until teams are notified of the application results.
Please note that having obtained market funding does not exclude you from the Rough Cut category.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Entries including more than the requested documentation and exceeding the word count will not be accepted.
Two projects may be entered per production company.
If your application is incomplete, you will be notified and asked to supply additional information.
After consulting with the team on possible updates and changes, the text submitted at the acceptance deadline will be reproduced in the Hot Docs Industry Catalog.
Selected projects will be contacted in order to update the information submitted in the original application.
Only independent production companies will be considered.
Hot Docs Industry Programs decision is final and individual feedback is not guaranteed if your application is unsuccessful.
Hot Docs Industry Programs reserve the right to change the guidelines or procedures at any time.
Hot Docs Industry Programs will not take rights or liabilities in projects selected.
Your application and participation implies acceptance of the above terms.