Hot Docs 2011 Awards

Ballots have been counted and juries have decided and the Hot Docs Awards for 2011 have been announced. Here are the results:

Sundance Channel People's Choice Award winner is Somewhere Between (Dir: Linda Goldstein Knowlton)

The top ten audience favourites as determined by audience vote are:
Somewhere Between (Dir: Linda Goldstein Knowlton)
Give Up Tomorrow (Dir: Michael Collins)
How to Die in Oregon (Dir: Peter D. Richardson)
Wild Horse, Wild Ride (Dir: Alex Dawson and Greg Gricus)
Senna (Dir: Asif Kapadia)
Buck (Dir: Cindy Meehl)
Jig (Dir: Sue Bourne)
Eco Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson (Dir: Trish Dolman)
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (Dir: Constance Marks, Philip Shane (Co-Director))
Koran by Heart (Dir: Greg Barker)

Best Canadian Feature: Family Portrait in Black and White (Dir: Julia Ivanova; P: Boris Ivanov, Mike Jackson)

Special Jury Prize – Canadian Feature (tie): At Night, They Dance (Dir: Isabelle Lavigne, Stéphane Thibault; P: Lucie Lambert) and The Guantanamo Trap (Dir: Thomas Selim Wallner; P: Thomas Kufus, Amit Breuer, Marcel Hoehn, Christoph Jorg)
Honourable Mention: Wiebo's War (Dir: David York, P: David York, Nick Hector, Bryn Hughes, Bonnie Thompson; EP: David York, David Christensen)

Best International Feature: Dragonslayer (Dir: Tristan Patterson; P: John Baker, EP: Christine Vachon)

Special Jury Prize – International Feature: The Castle (Dir:Massimo D'Anolfi, Martina Parenti; P: Massimo D'Anolfi, Martina Parenti; EP: Massimo D'Anolfi, Martina Parenti)
Honourable Mentions: Grande Hotel (Dir: Lotte Stoops; P: Ellen De Waele, Co-Producer Denis Vaslin, Volya Films; EP: Ellen De Waele) and Hell and Back Again (Dir: Danfung Dennis; P: Mike Lerner, Martin Herring; EP: Dan Cogan, Karol Martesko Fenster, Gernot Schaffler, Thomas Brunner, Maxyne Franklin)

Best Mid-Length Documentary: Our Newspaper (Dir: Eline Flipse; P: Eline Flipse; EP: Eline Flipse)
Honourable Mention: People I Could Have Been and Maybe Am (Dir: Boris Gerrets; P: Pieter van Huystee)

Best Short Documentary: Flying Anne (Dir: Catherine van Campen; P: Joost Seelen)
Honourable Mention: Something to Tell You (Dir: Pete Gleeson; P: Pete Gleeson; EP: Yvette Coyne)

HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award: Michal Marczak for the film At the Edge of Russia (P: Marianna Rowinska)

documentary’s Don Haig Award: Rama Rau

Lindalee Tracey Award: Alexandre Hamel

Also, the festival itself has been nominated for an award! The 2011 Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts which "recognizes the outstanding achievements of artists and arts organizations and their contributions to arts and culture in Ontario over a significant period of time". The winners will be announced on Thursday June 9, 2011. I'll be thinking happy Hot Docs thoughts for the festival and keep my fingers crossed for them. Good luck!

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival runs from April 28 - May 8, 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada