Bell Media Congratulates Six Documentaries Announced for 22nd Annual Hot Docs Festival

– Documentary films Being Canadian, Chameleon, How to Change the World, and Sugar Coated, and the shorts My Enemy, My Brother and I Thought I Told You to Shut Up!!, among official selections supported by Bell Media –

To tweet this release: http://bmpr.ca/1CvFMEq

TORONTO, March 18, 2015 /CNW/ - Bell Media is pleased to announce that four documentary films backed by CTV, The Movie Network, and Canal D, and two short films funded by BravoFACT, have been confirmed as official selections for the 22^nd annual Hot Docs Festival, running from April 23 to May 3 in Toronto. The lineup of supported films includes the world premieres of Robert Cohen's Being Canadian and Michèle Hozer's Sugar Coated, and the Canadian premieres of Ryan Mullins' Chameleon, Ann Shin's My Enemy, My Brother, Charlie Tyrell's I Thought I Told You to Shut Up!!, as well as Jerry Rothwell's How to Change the World, recipient of a Special Jury Award and the Candescent Award at Sundance 2015.

With a recently announced expanded role, Bell Media is Presenting Partner of #HotDocs2015, with support including the Bell Media Kickstart series, the Bell Media Hot Docs Showcase program, and Bell Media Best of Hot Docs series. In addition, Bell Media's premium TV service CraveTV is sponsor of the Hot Docs box office, which opened on March 9.

The following films selected for the 2015 Hot Docs Festival have been supported by Bell Media through commissioning and acquisition:

Being Canadian – Robert Cohen
Pre-buy for The Movie Network Produced by Amaze Film + Television In Association with GRAiNEY PICTURES
When Calgarian Robert Cohen moved to L.A. to pursue his dreams of becoming a comedy writer, he quickly realized that BEING CANADIAN meant his new friends and colleagues knew nothing but the usual stereotypes about his beloved homeland. After years of frustration, Robert decided to embark on a genuine and hilarious personal quest, traveling from one end of Canada to the other, to prove his country is more than just maple syrup and Mounties.

Chameleon – Ryan Mullins
The Movie Network Original Documentary Produced by EYESTEELFILM
Africa's most famed investigative reporter, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, takes audiences deep undercover for his own brand of brazen journalism, and behind the scenes of the Tiger Eye Investigations Bureau, hot on the heels of his next big case.

How to Change the World – Jerry Rothwell
Bell Media Original Documentary Produced by MET Film, Daniel Film, and Insight Production Company Ltd.
In 1971, a group of friends sail into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world's imagination. Using never-before-seen archival footage that brings their extraordinary world to life, How To Change The World is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement.

I Thought I Told You to Shut Up!! – Charlie Tyrell
bravoFACTUAL Original Documentary Short Produced by Milkman Productions
In 1977 David Boswell created comic book anti-hero Reid Fleming, the World's Toughest Milkman. 30 years later, the big screen Hollywood adaptation remains in contractual limbo. Narrated by Academy Award-Winner Jonathan Demme. 

My Enemy, My Brother – Ann Shin
bravoFACTUAL Original Documentary Short Produced by Fathom Film Group
A chance encounter on a battlefield sets in motion an extraordinary tale that transforms two men - the true story of two enemy soldiers, reunited by chance 20 years later in Canada, who become blood brothers.

Sugar Coated – Michèle Hozer
Co-Licensed by Canal D, in partnership with TVO and Knowledge, Produced by Cutting Factory Inc.
This compelling investigative documentary exposes the U.S. sugar industry's systematic hijacking of scientific study to bury evidence that sugar is, in fact, toxic.

The full line-up of Canadian films was announced today by Hot Docs. For further information on these and other festival films, please visit HotDocs.ca.

About Bell Media
With passion and an unrelenting commitment to excellence, Bell Media creates content and builds brands that entertain, inform, engage, and inspire audiences through the platforms of their choice. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. Bell Media owns 30 local television stations led by CTV, Canada's #1 television network; 35 specialty channels, including TSN and RDS, Canada's most-watched specialty channels in English and French; and four pay TV services, including The Movie Network and Super Écran. Bell Media is also Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 106 licensed radio stations in 54 markets across Canada. Bell Media owns Astral Out-of-Home, one of Canada's most dynamic and innovative out-of-home advertising companies with a network of more than 9,500 advertising faces in Québec, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. Bell Media also operates more than 200 websites; delivers TV Everywhere with premium subscription on-demand streaming service CraveTV, as well as its innovative GO video streaming services including CTV GO, TMN GO, and TSN GO; holds an equity stake in digital startup Hubub; is partners in Cirque du Soleil Media, a joint venture with Cirque du Soleil; and owns Dome Productions Inc., a multi-platform production company. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. For more on Bell Media, please visit www.bellmedia.ca.

SOURCE Bell Media

Nicolle Balen, Bell Media, 416.384.4061 or [email protected]