Huge documentary festival returning to Toronto with over 100 films

Hot Docs is returning to Toronto for its 32nd edition in 2025 with a crucial and thought-provoking lineup starting this week.

North America's leading documentary festival runs from April 24 to May 4, with 113 documentaries representing 47 countries in this year's lineup.

Documentary enthusiasts will discover 11 diverse programs filled with 35 world, 14 international, and 26 North American premieres. There will also be knowledge sessions, networking opportunities and market programs for industry delegates and filmmakers to check out.

"I am incredibly excited to be able to share these 113 extraordinary films as part of the 32nd Hot Docs Festival," said Heather Haynes, Hot Docs Director of Programming, in a release. "Both the documentary landscape and the world of film festivals have been faced with new challenges and so much change over the past few years, and despite all of this, our community has found a way to keep moving forward.

"We're honoured to be able to continue to share the powerful work and talent of filmmakers from Canada and around the world with Toronto's dedicated film-loving audiences. Documentary filmmaking has always played a significant role in expanding on the stories shared in headlines, and in times such as this, when there is so much consistent change and uncertainty both here at home and globally, that expansion is perhaps needed now more than ever."

Hot Docs 2025 opens on Thursday, April 24 with the world premiere of Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance by acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Noam Gonick and produced by Justine Pimlott for the National Film Board of Canada, on Thursday, April 24.

The ground-breaking feature doc spotlights the crucial moments and brave actions that sparked the 2SLGBTQ+ movement in Canada.

Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance

The Canadian Spectrum Competition features the world premieres of films like #skoden, a thoughtful exploration of the unhoused Albertan man behind a viral Indigenous meme; and Shamed about an online vigilante who seeks out and ambushes potential sexual predators.

Audiences will also want to check out The Big Ideas series for insightful conversations with notable guests.

The series will include director Shoshannah Stern and actor Marlee Matlin of Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, and director James Jones and journalist Christo Grozev of Antidote. 

Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore

And for the first time in Hot Docs history, Made In will spotlight documentaries made by filmmakers and participants who have been driven from their homelands by war, conflict or humanitarian crises.

Make sure to stay tuned for details about the free encore screening on Sunday, May 4, the Festival's final night, where the recipient of the 2025 Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary will be unveiled.

An audience poll will determine the top Canadian feature film, which will receive a $50,000 cash prize.

Hot Docs takes place from April 24 to May 4, 2025. Check out the festival's full schedule and purchase tickets online.