Documentary Film Festivals and Social Change

Chris McDonald was appointed executive director of Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in October of 1998. In 2013, he was named Hot Docs President. A native of Montreal, Chris holds a degree in Film Studies from McGill University. Prior to Hot Docs, Chris was development director for five years at the prestigious Canadian Film Centre, the advanced film, television and new media training centre founded by director Norman Jewison. Prior to his term at the CFC, Chris worked for two national environmental organizations. He sits on several industry advisory boards, and has served on panels and juries at leading film festivals and markets around the world. With a mandate to advance and celebrate the art of documentary and to showcase the work of documentary filmmakers, Hot Docs is now recognized as North America’s largest documentary festival, and its flagship Hot Docs Forum, established in 2000, is North America’s largest documentary market event. Each year the Festival attracts audiences of over 200,000, including 2,500 registered delegates. Hot Docs also administers an $8 million portfolio of production funds, and provides free screenings to over 90,000 students each year. The organization also owns and operates the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto, one of the only year-round documentary-focused cinemas in the world.

Nandini Ramnath is a film journalist and critic with Scroll.in. She has previously worked with Mint, Time Out Mumbai, NDTV24x7, The Indian Express. Her work covers Indian and foreign cinema and documentary.