Join us for one of our most popular member events: our annual showcase of the Hot Docs Festival's best, most crowd-pleasing short films. We're thrilled to bring you a specially curated selection of six films from around the world that showcase the incredible range and diversity of shorts presented during the 2021 and 2021 Festivals.
Post-Screening Q&A with Oscar-shortlisted filmmaker Charlie Tyrell, director of Broken Orchestra
Tickets: Annual members may reserve two free tickets per Bronze member, four per Silver member, and six per Gold member.
A Concerto is a Conversation
D: Kris Bowers, Ben Proudfoot | 2020 | USA, Canada | 14 min
Acclaimed film composer (When They See Us, Green Book, Bridgerton) and jazz pianist Kris Bowers sits down with his 91-year-old grandfather, who reflects on his journey to California from Jim Crow Florida. Their exchange mirrors the title's musical form, with stories that illuminate the differences and similarities between their exceptional lives and how one generation can inspire the next.
Svonni vs. the Swedish Tax Agency
D: Maria Fredriksson | 2020 | Sweden | 5 min
A Sámi woman fights for her right to claim a tax deduction against the purchase of a dog. Why the Swedish authorities fail to recognize the dog's use as a reindeer herding tool versus a pet opens up a larger discussion about Indigenous rights and economic discrimination in this humorous takedown of the Swedish government's ignorance of Sámi culture.
In Sámi and Swedish with English subtitles
Girlsboysmix
D: Lara Aerts, Els van Driel | 2020 | Netherlands | 7 min
Nine-year-old Wen Long was born intersex. She isn't interested in being a boy or a girl, she's only interested in being herself. Tired of explaining herself, she wishes the whole world understood what intersex was and delivers a powerfully candid and playful lesson about acceptance and education in this challenge of the gender binary.
In Dutch with English subtitles
Help I've Gone Viral!
D: Audun Amundsen, Petter Heggen | 2020 | Norway, Indonesia | 20 min
Upon returning home to Norway after a holiday in Indonesia, Audun Kvitland pens an ode to Nasi Padang, West Sumatra's most famous culinary export. He uploads his ditty to YouTube, and much to his surprise, it becomes a viral sensation in Indonesia. A tasty little morsel that unites people through music and food.
In Norwegian, Indonesian and English
Wearable Tracy
D: Emily McAllister | 2020 | USA | 12 min
Beginning in May 2017, Lee Kim crafted a hat out of pipe cleaners every day on the subway ride from the Bronx to Manhattan. Spanning everything from the sublime to the surreal, these jaunty headpieces present an opportunity for Kim to create, connect and spark joy in her community
Broken Orchestra
D: Charlie Tyrell | 2019 | Canada | 12 min
Inventively peppered with elements of animation, this film profiles the educators and advocates of the Symphony for a Broken Orchestra—a project that mobilized a community to repair hundreds of instruments for students, in response to funding cuts for music education programs in Philadelphia.
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