"Cheap labour toiling at unskilled and essential work is the open secret of all highly developed European economies. But when celebrated Czech journalist Saša Uhlová goes undercover for two years as an itinerant worker, the human cost of late-stage capitalism comes into stark view. Wired with a hidden camera, Uhlová picks asparagus in Germany, cleans hotel rooms in Ireland and provides personal health care for the elderly in France. But she doesn’t just simulate the unlivable conditions of labour; she endures the emotional damage inflicted by sporadic phone calls and non-existent visits home to her husband, children and ailing father. Exhausted, isolated and completely vulnerable to external forces, Uhlová personifies the paradoxical social value of the migrant worker. Shockingly immersive and deeply personal, this original exposé reveals the unsustainability and inhumanity of middle-class European life." – #HotDocs

"Gather your tissues for this stirring look at a rarely explored stage of aging: after-love. Life-long relationships generally end up being told as one-sided stories, since one partner almost always outlives the other. Here, an ensemble of Danish men and women aged 80 and up offer their collective experience of losing their person, and the life that continues without them. They describe heartache, yes, and loneliness at times, but these expressive individuals also detail with great beauty what it means to live fully with memories. Through gorgeous cinematography, artful projections and the naturalness of their age, these other halves express the feel, smell and taste of the spaces they now experience alone. Far from a sad testament of loss, this sensuous, life-affirming portrait generously shares what it means to say - and survive - goodbye." – #HotDocs

"Estonian freestyle skier Kelly Sildaru was just 13 years old when she won gold at the 2016 Winter X Games. Coached by her dad, who took up the sport himself when his daughter turned two, the pair became a media sensation—child prodigy and untrained coach. Setting and breaking record after record, many before the age of 10, Sildaru fused her commitment to cracking expert tricks with her father’s unrelenting drive to excel. Given her unmatched success on the mountains, no one would have predicted the injury that would derail Kelly’s first Olympic run, or the even more devastating secret she was about to reveal: her father had been abusing her for years. Fellow ski legends, sports agents and Sildaru’s mother join the icon herself in this powerful testimonial that sets a new standard of sports bravery." – #HotDocs

"In 2023, film star Emmanuelle Béart (Manon of the Springs; Mission: Impossible) publicly revealed she is an incest survivor. A national reckoning around child sexual abuse was already underway in France after accusations were made against a prominent family when Béart set about lifting the veil of silence around the crime. Choosing both first-person and ensemble documentary voices, Béart creates a powerful platform for fellow fighters to challenge the insidious shame that arises from incest. Along with co-director Anastasia Mikova, two other women and a man, Béart points the finger at the laws and social taboos of a country where a child is sexually victimized every three minutes. Reluctant to include her own story at first, Béart powerfully remonstrates: “the silence—which is first imposed by the person who rapes you—this silence makes a terrible noise within you and takes all kinds of forms” in this stirring and personal critique." – #HotDocs

"Across the European Union, access to abortion, IVF and assisted dying varies drastically from country to country. Terminations are illegal in Malta, while nations like Italy protect a woman’s right to choose. If an Italian woman wants an IVF procedure, however, she must go abroad to countries like Greece. To circumvent these border restrictions, European residents are increasingly turning to medical tourism as a solution. While logistically practical, this personal travel can make for extremely vulnerable experiences. In this bold experiment, cameras accompany those seeking prohibited treatments from the start of their journeys, and the equally dedicated opponents they meet en route. Real women, performance artists and activists from both sides of the moral divides are given voice and space in this daring social critique. As controversial as it is timely, Stray Bodiesdemonstrates just how arbitrary bodily autonomy can be." – #HotDocs

"What good is freedom if you can’t afford it? As the Berlin Wall tumbled across the Eastern Bloc in the 1990s, it drew aside the Iron Curtain’s repression and physical containment of Hungarian citizens. The borders to the rest of Europe, and indeed the world, were now open—but only for those who could afford the extraordinary cost of travel. With nothing to lose, three young tricksters happen upon the fact that the distinctive blue ink used on international train tickets allows for easy forgery. Soon, these accidental kingpins of a capitalist syndicate find themselves caught in the wheels of an old-school communist police investigation. Droll animation tells the little-known story of an unlikely gang that valiantly tripped open the West for a new generation. Watch incredulously as the cops crack the scheme but not the youthful spirit of self-determination in this comical tale." – #HotDocs

"Christopher Clark, a Scottish eco-warrior, set out to build an Outpost of Progress in the heart of the Amazon rainforest - a utopian commune run by Indigenous People that balances technology with nature. Against the odds, he brings computers and utilities to the settlement while fending off deforestation and illicit trading at every turn. When wildfires burn out of control, Clark realizes that to save this last patch of undisturbed rainforest, he must motivate the Brazilian government to create a protective reserve - but how? By staging a Pink Floyd reunion concert in the heart of the still-burning bush, of course! Filmmaker and friend Edoardo Morabito follows Clark headlong around the world to meet eccentric contacts and organize the gig. Is this a crazy scheme from a mad dreamer, a desperate stunt driven by a desperate man, or both?" – #HotDocs

"A racist decides to burn the Qu’ran as an act of free speech in Norway. This is the extent of the logic behind Lars Thorsen’s publicity stunts for his Islamophobic hate group, Stop the Islamization of Norway (SIAN). Thorsen’s antics are unoriginal and offensive, but his protests have the desired dual effect of attracting attention (and outrage) and forcing the police to protect his right to self-expression. To understand SIAN’s inner workings and strategies, the filmmakers present themselves as neutral journalists to Thorsen and his followers. For three years, they watch the braggart entreat anyone in public squares or parking lots to debate his rhetoric and then hide behind the law when his “knowledge” is challenged. What co-directors Fabien Greenberg and Bård Kjøge Rønning deliver is a revealing look at provocation for provocation’s sake, laid bare in a street-level battle for democracy." – #HotDocs

"Brought up as the child of two ministers, Evangelical pastor Jana is struggling to practise what she preaches to her rural Slovenian parish. Extolling the virtues of sacrifice and commitment, she pursues her church career while her husband raises their daughter at home. But, as she ministers unconditional forgiveness to her followers, she struggles to turn the other cheek to her own traumas, both past and present. The patriarchy Jana serves requires that she, like many women, turn her reflections inward and find purpose in her suffering. How much healing can faith provide before her shame and sins trespass against her? Raw, emotional and completely relatable, one woman’s crisis of belief underscores a far more universal fight for accountability from those in power." – #HotDocs