TVO documentaries had a banner year at the world-class documentary festival
TVO Original documentary Prey was honoured with two top awards at the 2019 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival: the Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary, and the DGC Special Jury Prize for Canadian Feature Documentary.
Prey is a moving and unflinching account of a of a sexual abuse survivor’s legal fight against the Catholic Church. Most civil court cases seeking damages due to sex abuse by the clergy are settled out of court and kept quiet. In Prey, Rod MacLeod, who as a boy was abused for years by a Catholic priest and teacher, chooses a public trial to shine a light on these cases.
The feature documentary, which will have its World Broadcast and Streaming Premiere on TVO and tvo.org later this fall, was directed by Matt Gallagher, produced by Cornelia Principe, and co-produced and edited by Nick Hector.
“We’ve commissioned many films over the years, but Prey was truly special,” says Linda Fong, Independent Production Officer for Documentaries at TVO. “The response from the Hot Docs audience was powerful and overwhelming. Many were moved to tears when the survivors in the film stood up to a standing ovation. Their courage and grace were humbling, and it was a privilege for us to help bring this important story to audiences across the country.”
Along with Prey, three other TVO Original documentaries had their world premieres at Hot Docs. River Silence, directed by Rogério Soares, received an honourable mention from the DGC Special Jury Prize committee. There Are No Fakes, directed by Jamie Kastner, was #7 on the Top 20 Audience Picks at Hot Docs. And Larry Weinstein’s Propaganda: The Art of Selling Lies, which will have a special TVO screening at Hot Docs Cinema on June 26. All these impactful documentaries are coming to TVO and tvo.org later this fall.
Two more documentaries produced in association with TVO, Push and The Trial of Ratko Mladic, also made their debuts at Hot Docs. Hot on the heels of Hot Docs, The Trial of Ratko Mladic had its Canadian broadcast premiere on TVO in May and is now available to stream any time at tvo.org.