Hot Docs announces 2013 lineup

The 2013 Hot Docs film festival will kick off with the world premiere of The Manor, a documentary about a Jewish family running a Guelph strip club by first-time Canadian director Shawney Cohen.

“It’s a really strong year for Canadian films, which is fantastic,” festival executive director Chris McDonald said as the lineup for Toronto’s long-running documentary festival was unveiled on Tuesday at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema.

“It’s never been easy to make documentaries in Canada and it’s particularly tough right now so we’re thrilled we’re seeing this many strong films.”

Hot Docs will showcase 205 titles – whittled down from 2,386 submissions – in 11 screening programs during the 11-day festival.

The films come from 43 countries, including Poland, Russia, UAE, Haiti, Iran, Georgia, South Africa and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Hot Docs tweeted.

There will be 44 world, 51 international, 31 North American, 46 Canadian and 14 Toronto premieres.

The Bloor Cinema was revamped in 2012 as the home for Hot Docs and has been showcasing documentaries – including Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell – ever since.

“We’ve welcomed over – it’s quite astonishing – 150,000 people through those doors since we opened in March and we’ve more than doubled our projected audience,” McDonald said.

Last year’s festival saw movies from a record 51 countries screen at the festival.

Hot Docs unveiled the 28 films that would screen under the special presentations program at a news conference earlier this month.

Continental profiles the gay bathhouse scene in New York City where Bette Midler got her start; The Unbelievers follows renowned scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss around the world as they crusade for reason over religion; and in Sundance award-winner Who is Dayani Cristal? director Marc Silver tells the story of a body found in the Arizona desert with a mysterious tattoo.

The 20th annual Canadian International Documentary Festival runs April 25 to May 5.

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