The NFB at Hot Docs 2025
2025
NFB and its co-producers are pleased to have six films, five feature-length documentaries and one short documentary, programmed at this year’s Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, April 24 to May 4, 2025. Complete press release.
This stellar lineup showcases the NFB’s contributions to Canadian documentary this past year, follow the links to the EPKs:
Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance
Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man
The Nest
Ghosts of the Sea
Night Watches Us
King’s Court
Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance
Opening Night Special Presentations | World Premiere
2025 | 96 min
Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance captures pivotal moments that sparked Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ movement, honouring the activists and elders whose resistance led to the rights we have today.
Through rarely seen archival footage and first-person accounts, audiences are brought to the frontlines of the struggle. From police raids to early drag shows, community organizing to the House of Commons—the complex history of the country’s diverse communities is brought to life. Key milestones illustrate the power of taking it into the streets and underscore how easily the rights we’ve fought for can be revoked, making the documentary essential viewing for all Canadians.
Unflinching, bold, enraging, hopeful; Parade is a vital new chapter in the queer canon.
A film by Noam Gonick
Produced by Justine Pimlott (NFB)
Screening schedule & tickets
April 24, 2025 | 6:15 pm | Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema
April 24, 2025 | 9:30 pm | Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema
April 26, 2025 | 11:15 am | Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema
May 3, 2025 | 10:00 am | TIFF Lightbox 1
Please note: Thu, April 24, at 6:15 PM screening is for Industry passholders only.
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Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man
Canadian Spectrum Competition | World Premiere
2025 | 77 min
Siksika filmmaker Sinakson Trevor Solway intimately portrays the lives of Blackfoot men as they navigate identity, kinship and the complex expectations of manhood. Through unfiltered moments and revealing conversations set against the breathtaking landscape of the Prairies, the film reimagines what it means to be a Native man. Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man is a profound ode to strength, vulnerability and love across generations.
A film by Sinakson Trevor Solway
Produced by Coty Savard (NFB)
Screening schedule & tickets
April 26, 2025 | 5:45 pm | TIFF Lightbox 2
April 28, 2025 | 11:00 am | TIFF Lightbox 2
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The Nest
Special Presentations | World Premiere
2025 | 89 min
At the end of her mother’s life, decolonial writer Julietta Singh returns to say goodbye to her childhood home. As she digs into the history of the house, she uncovers 140 years of forgotten matriarchs and political histories she never knew. In this genre-defying cross-community collaboration, a single home is transformed from a place of siloed stories into a site of radical potential.
A film by Chase Joynt and Julietta Singh
Produced by Alicia Smith (NFB) and Justine Pimlott (NFB)
Screening schedule & tickets
April 27, 2025 | 8:00 pm | TIFF Lightbox 1
April 30, 2025 | 11:15 am | TIFF Lightbox 1
Trailer
Ghosts of the Sea
Canadian Spectrum Competition | Ontario Premiere
2024 | 97 min
While searching for clues about the death of her brother, who was lost at sea, Virginia Tangvald embarks on a fascinating investigation into her family’s dark secrets. Calling into question the idyllic life of her father, legendary sailor Peter Tangvald, her quest dismantles the myth of absolute freedom and offers the hope that a toxic cycle has been broken.
A film by Virginia Tangvald
Produced by Isabelle Couture (micro_scope), Élaine Hébert (micro_scope), Nathalie Cloutier (NFB), Maéva Savinien (Urban Factory)
Screening schedule & tickets
April 27, 2025 | 10:30 am | TIFF Lightbox 1
April 30, 2025 | 5:15 pm | TIFF Lightbox 4
Trailer
Night Watches Us
Night Watches Us
Tipping Point | World Premiere
2024 | 43 min
This film addresses themes of mental health and police brutality. Viewer discretion is advised.
On August 21, 2018, a son lost his father, a mother lost her son and a nephew lost his uncle. The community knows what happened. Flowers bloom where Nicholas Gibbs last drew breath. He was a 23-year-old Black man plagued by mental health issues but was murdered by the Montreal police. Stefan Verna’s Night Watches Us examines the systemic forces that lead to Nicholas’s tragic death, telling the story through the eyes of his family and community, united in their collective grief. Using a blend of documentary styles mixed with street art and spoken word, this film is a love letter in honour of Nicholas and the Gibbs family.
A film by Stefan Verna
Produced by Ariel Nasr (NFB) and Kat Baulu (NFB)
Screening schedule & tickets
May 1, 2025 | 5:00 pm | TIFF Lightbox 2
May 1, 2025 | 2:45 pm | TIFF Lightbox 3
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King's Court
King’s Court
Shorts | World Premiere
2025 | 20 min
A fast-paced look at friendship, family and the journey to manhood in modern society, King’s Court is a National Film Board short film that blurs the line between documentary and fiction, immersing viewers in the raw emotions and struggles of two lifelong friends in Toronto’s Bleecker Street neighbourhood—one of Canada’s most diverse and densely populated areas. Through engaging, cinematic storytelling both on and off their favourite basketball court, we root for these inspiring young men in pursuit of identity and acceptance.
A film by Serville Poblete
Produced by Kate Vollum (NFB)
Screening schedule & tickets
May 1, 2025 | 4:30 pm | TIFF Lightbox 4
May 3, 2025 | 12:15 pm | TIFF Lightbox 4
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Media Relations
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About the NFB
Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 7,000 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.