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The 2011 version of Hot Docs has now closed its doors for another year and once again is basking in the glow of success. As the festival transitioned some of its screenings to the new TIFF Lightbox theatres, it seems like it is well prepared to continue to grow – not just in the number of films it screens or in its reputation, but as a forum for new filmmakers (through panel sessions, workshops, etc.). The Audience Award winner (and Top 10) was announced a few days ago and the jury-voted Industry Awards last Friday. Here’s a rundown:

Hot Docs Audience Awards

1. SOMEWHERE BETWEEN (D: Linda Goldstein Knowlton, USA)
2. GIVE UP TOMORROW (D: Michael Collins, USA/UK)
3. HOW TO DIE IN OREGON (D: Peter D. Richardson, USA)
4. WILD HORSE, WILD RIDE (D: Alex Dawson and Greg Gricus, USA)
5. SENNA (D: Asif Kapadia, UK)
6. BUCK (D: Cindy Meehl, USA)
7. JIG (D: Sue Bourne, Scotland)
8. ECO PIRATE: THE STORY OF PAUL WATSON (D: Trish Dolman, Canada)
9. BEING ELMO: A PUPPETEER’S JOURNEY (D: Constance Marks, Philip Shane (Co-Director), USA)
10. KORAN BY HEART (D: Greg Barker, USA)

Knowlton’s Somewhere Between examines the lives of several Chinese-born, but North American raised (after being adopted) young girls and how they navigate their cultural landscape. Knowlton herself had adopted a Chinese girl and wondered how a previous generation had been coping.

And the big winners from the jury voting:

Best International Feature Award – DRAGONSLAYER (D: Tristan Patterson)

Skreech is content to chill – he likes to ride his skateboard in old swimming pools, get high and crash wherever the road may lead him. But society has different ideas for him. The jury’s statement: “We were captivated by a non-hero, in a capitalistic, nihilistic society in decline. We were drawn to the funky connection between the structure and content, the freshness of filmmaking and original non-linear storytelling. For these reasons we stand by DRAGONSLAYER.” The award includes a $10000 prize.

Special Jury Prize (International Feature) – THE CASTLE (Massimo D’Anolfi, Martina Parenti)

A look behind the scenes at Milan’s International airport to see not only the inner workings of luggage checking and bureaucracy, but also how their security guidelines get implemented and how that affects both the passengers as well as the airport staff. The jury’s statement: “For portraying a liminal space in both humor and pain; for the uncompromising camera which sees it all; for noticing the hardship of a system trapped by its own obsession of security, turning a regular terminal into an intrusive checkpoint into Europe; for not neglecting those who resist; for us who look but don’t see.” The award includes a $5000 prize.

Best Canadian Feature Award – FAMILY PORTRAIT IN BLACK AND WHITE (Julia Ivanova)

The family in question here is headed by Olga Nenya who is foster parenting 23 children (many of them mixed race) in the Ukraine. The film documents 3 years in their lives and in particular shows not only how Olga has greatly helped some of them, but has perhaps hindered others as well. The jury’s statement: “The award for Best Canadian Feature goes to an intimate, poetic film that bravely confronts nuance and complexity in its characters and its world.” The award includes a $15000 prize.

Special Jury Prize (Canadian Feature) – A tie between AT NIGHT, THEY DANCE (Isabelle Lavigne, Stéphane Thibault) and THE GUANTANAMO TRAP (D: Thomas Selim Wallner

The first is a film documenting the lives of belly dancers in the thick of Cairo and how they cope with society’s reaction to their art form. The second is, unsurprisingly, a look at the toll of Guantanamo Bay through 4 separate people who have – in different ways – been involved with torture.. The jury’s statement: “The special jury prize is shared between two films, a powerful film that mobilizes compelling characters who face uncomfortable truths, piecing together the anatomy of a broken system – THE GUANTANAMO TRAP by Thomas Selwin Wallmer, and a beautifully filmed, haunting and evocative documentary that invites us into a world we would never be able to enter otherwise – AT NIGHT, THEY DANCE by Isabelle Lavigne and Stephane Thibault.” The award includes a $10000 prize.

Other awards presented:

Best Mid-Length Documentary Award – OUR NEWSPAPER (Eline Flipse)

Best Short Documentary Award – FLYING ANNE (Catherine van Campen)

HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award – Michal Marczak (director of AT THE EDGE OF RUSSIA)

documentary’s Don Haig Award (for emerging Canadian documentary filmmakers) – Rama Rau

Lindalee Tracey Award (for emerging Canadian filmmaker with a passionate point of view, a strong sense of social justice and a sense of humour) – Alexandre Hamel