Hot Docs temporarily closing its flagship theatre, laying off staff amid financial woes
The beleaguered Hot Docs Film Festival says it's clos‐ ing its flagship Toronto the‐ atre for about three mon‐ ths and laying off staff amid financial difficulties.
Canada's largest film festi‐ val says it will temporarily shutter the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema starting June 12.
A statement from the fes‐ tival says that will result in temporary layoffs as the or‐ ganization tries to find a path back to profitability following slow pandemic recovery. They will use the closure to "regroup and engage in criti‐ cal strategic planning to ad‐ dress our deficit," organizers wrote in a message to pa‐ trons announcing the news.
A spokesperson didn't im‐ mediately answer questions about how many jobs are im‐ pacted by the closure.
"The Festival's success caps a year of steady postpandemic rebuilding, with all key metrics for Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema - attendance, box office, membership sales and concessions - far outper‐ forming 2023," the release continued.
"Hot Docs is on the right track, but our financial situa‐ tion remains serious despite these successes."
Hot Docs says anyone who purchased a ticket for a screening or event taking place after June 12 will get an automatic refund, and pa‐ trons will be notified if cer‐ tain events are rescheduled or moved to another venue.
Funding, staffing issues
The latest iteration of the festival, its 31st annual show‐ ing, wrapped in early May. And though Hot Docs itself reported the season as "a great success" that boasted near pre-pandemic atten‐ dance and higher than ex‐ pected box office revenue, events ahead of and during the festival were anything but rosy.
In a dizzying series of emails and news articles, fes‐ tival organizers, particularly new president Marie Nelson, warned that the festival was in jeopardy, and appealed for support. Then after the Cana‐ dian government provided $120 million to various arts organizations but left out the documentary festival, orga‐ nizers publicly lambasted the decision as "choosing win‐ ners and losers in Canada's cultural landscape."
But Hot Docs' difficult sit‐ uation echoes similar ones across that cultural land‐ scape. Festivals and Major Events Canada executive di‐ rector Martin Roy recently told CBC News it costs 30 to 40 per cent more to organize festivals now than it did prepandemic. As revenues fail to follow suit, sponsors pull out of under-performing arts events and the remaining or‐ ganizations fight over dwindling federal funds, and numerous festivals have been forced to close their doors.
But for Hot Docs, there are more than just money troubles. Alongside the wor‐ rying monetary issues, two high-profile board members resigned just days before the festival began - the latest in an ongoing exodus that brought down its total num‐ ber of board members from 24 last year to 13.
Just prior to that, 10 em‐ ployees blamed an "unpro‐ fessional and discriminatory environment" for their mass resignation. Their departure followed the arrival, and quick departure, of artistic di‐ rector Hussain Currimbhoy. who stepped down in March.