Toronto's Hot Docs announced its award winners at a presentation on Saturday night at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, which saw the Best International Feature Documentary Award, worth CAD 10,000 (€7,345), go to Chan Tze Woon's Blue Island (Hong Kong/Japan/Taiwan), a hybrid film that takes stock of Hong Kong and the surrounding region in the aftermath of pro-documentary protests and the subsequent crackdown. The prize also qualifies the film for the Academy Awards. The jury comprised Ragtag Film Society's artistic director, Chloé Trayner, filmmaker Alex Rivera and film programmer Diana Sanchez.

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Jacquelin Mills picked up the Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award, also worth CAD 10,000, for Geographies of Solitude. The documentary in which the self-taught naturalist and environmentalist Zoe Lucas shares her incredible life also received the CAD 3,000 (€2,200) Earl A Glick Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award. The film world-premiered at the Berlinale, where it won the Ecumenical Jury Prize in the Forum. The jury consisted of IDA's director of artist programmes Abby Sun, Sundance programmer Basil Tsiokos and writer-director Yasmine Mathurin.

Polish director Bogna Kowalczyk received the Emerging International Filmmaker Award, worth CAD 3,000, for Boylesque [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Bogna Kowalczyk
scheda film], the portrait of an openly gay 82-year-old Polish man living life loud in his palpably homophobic country.

The Special Jury Prize – International Feature Documentary, worth CAD 5,000 (€3,680), was given to The Wind Blows the Border by Brazil's Laura Faerman and Marina Weis. The film charts an indigenous woman’s dangerous fight to keep her community’s ancestral land safe from the expansion of agribusiness in her native Brazil.

The DGC Special Jury Prize – Canadian Feature Documentary, of the same value, was presented to Rojek by Zaynê Akyol, a journey into Syrian detention centres that captures revealing conversations with key members of Islamic State.

Alain Gomis received the Best Mid-length Documentary Award, worth CAD 3,000, for his Berlinale Forum entry Rewind & Play [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alain Gomis
scheda film] (France/Germany), which revolves around Thelonius Monk's agonising 1969 interview for French television. The Scotiabank Docs For Schools Student’s Choice Award, worth CAD 5,000, went to Daniel Roher's Navalny (USA).

As for the audience's favourites, Eternal Spring by Jason Loftus won both the Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary, worth CAD 25,000 (€18,300), and the Hot Docs Audience Award. Okay! (The ASD Band Film) by Mark Bone and Unloved: Huronia’s Forgotten Children by Barri Cohen came second and third after the votes were counted for the Canadian documentaries, earning themselves CAD 15,000 (€11,000) and CAD 10,000, respectively.

Here is the full list of Hot Docs award winners:

Best International Feature Documentary Award
Blue Island - Chan Tze Woon (Hong Kong/Japan/Taiwan)

Special Jury Prize – International Feature Documentary
The Wind Blows the Border - Laura Faerman, Marina Weis (Brazil)

Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award
Geographies of Solitude - Jacquelyn Mills (Canada)

DGC Special Jury Prize – Canadian Feature Documentary
Rojek - Zaynê Akyol (Canada)
Special Mention
Batata - Noura Kevorkian (Canada/Lebanon/Qatar)

Emerging International Filmmaker Award
Boylesque [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Bogna Kowalczyk
scheda film] - Bogna Kowalczyk (Poland/Czech Republic)

Earl A Glick Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award
Geographies of Solitude - Jacquelyn Mills

Best Mid-length Documentary Award
Rewind & Play [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Alain Gomis
scheda film] (France/Germany)- Alain Gomis

Best International Short Documentary Award
More Than I Remember - Amy Bench (USA)
Special Mention
Roadmap - Dan Habib, Samuel Habib (USA)

Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary
Perfecting the Art of Longing - Kitra Cahana (Canada)
Special Mention
The Benevolents - Sarah Baril Gaudet (Canada)

Scotiabank Docs For Schools Student’s Choice Award
Navalny - Daniel Roher (USA)

Audience awards

Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary
Eternal Spring - Jason Loftus (Canada)

Second Prize
Okay! (The ASD Band Film) - Mark Bone (Canada)

Third Prize
Unloved: Huronia’s Forgotten Children - Barri Cohen (Canada)

Hot Docs Audience Award
Eternal Spring - Jason Loftus

Outstanding Achievement Award
Anand Patwardhan

Lindalee Tracey Award
Avazeh Shahnavaz

Don Haig Award
Mila Aung-Thwin