Cinecittà will coordinate, also this year,  the selections for Italian documentaries at Hot Docs - Canadian International Documentary Film Festival (April 23rd – May 3rd, 2026).
The Lead Programmer of the festival Gabor Pertic will be in Rome to view the Italian films at our offices from Wednesday November 19th to Thursday November 20th.
Here are selected selection guidelines:
* Hot Docs has two juried competition programs for feature films, Canadian Spectrum and International Spectrum, and several non-competitive programs. Feature-length films in the Spectrum programs are eligible for jury prizes.
* International Short Films that are World or International Premieres will be eligible for the Best International Short Film Award.
* All feature films are eligible for the Audience Award.
* Features, Mid-Lengths and Shorts must have been completed after January 1, 2025.
* Films must be at minimum Ontario premieres and must not be available online in any form, for any period of time, to Ontario audiences prior to the 2026 Festival (this includes DVDs for purchase or VOD of any length or language). Short Films available online will be considered Toronto Premieres.
You may find full regulations here: www.hotdocs.ca/i/submit-a-film
In order to receive the free waiver link for submissions, you must write to Alessio Massatani a.massatani@cinecitta.it, and Cecilia Spano c.spano@cinecitta.it no later than Tuesday, 18th November specifying the title, the director and the film length and including a link of the film with English subtitles. The waiver will be valid until the official Festival submisison deadline, 8th January 2026.