Marie Nelson, president of Hot Docs, said the film festival is dealing with ‘significant operational challenges’ as it struggles to bounce back from pandemic-related closings
Thanks to the lingering effects of the pandemic and the myriad challenges facing the documentary-cinema marketplace, Hot Docs is sounding the alarm that its future as an organization is at stake.
While ticket sales at the cinema are up 65 per cent over this time last fiscal year, attendance is down 38 per cent compared to the year before the pandemic hit. Likewise, membership revenue is up 21 per cent over the same period last year, but is down 31 per cent when compared to the prepandemic era.
“We had to approach this year with clear eyes on the financial outlook, and be as creative as possible in trying to make sure that we’re providing an appropriate level of value for our audiences and corporate partners,” Nelson says. “But what we’re saying is that we don’t want it to be the last Hot Docs Festival.”
Prior to the pandemic, Hot Docs had been aiming to mount a capital campaign to renovate and expand its theatre by adding a second screen. Those efforts have now been paused.
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