British Surgeon gets top prize at Hot Docs
British documentary The English Surgeon, directed by Geoffrey Smith, won the Best International Feature Documentary Award at Toronto’s Hot Docs festival. The film recounts the story of reputed British brain surgeon Henry Marsh, who provides succour to patients in the Ukraine.
The jury said about the film: “Polished and shameless, in the best sense of combining two seemingly contradictory elements and shaping them into a satisfying and penetrating whole…as one juror noted, this film has everything.” The winner received a CA$5000 cash prize, courtesy of Hot Docs.
The new HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award was given to Boris Despodov’s Bulgarian film Corridor #8. The film looks at a misguided infrastructure project in South Eastern Europe. The motivation read: “For the Emerging Artist Award, our jury must have set a new record for consensus - it was pretty much immediate. We agreed right away. This film is gorgeous, hilarious, enlightening and irresistible.”
The Special Jury Prize for International Feature Documentary was awarded to Israeli film To See If I’m Smiling, directed by Tamar Yarom. The film examines testimonials of female Israeli soldiers that illustrate how the trauma of war temporarily alters personalities, morals and values. The jury said of the film: “The Special Jury Prize is given to a film that makes all of us face the question: Could this be me? Would I behave this way? The director and protagonists share memories of a different and painful existence in a way that touches and challenges us and is relevant everywhere in the world.”
In addition, the Hot Docs Board of Directors presented its annual Outstanding Achievement Award to British documentary pioneer Richard Leacock.
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