Central and Eastern European documentary cinema will beshowcased at the 2007 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival aspart of the festival's National Spotlight programme.

Films from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia will be considered forinclusion.

In addition, Hot Docs will devote its Made In... sidebar on currentBrazilian production, the first time the festival has spotlighted a SouthAmerican nation.

Hot Docs' director of programming Sean Farnel pointed topolitical and cultural shifts in Europe over the past 15 years as grist for thedocumentary mill. "And the more recent emergence of new support systems,festivals and markets seems to have sparked a fresh wave of non-fictionfilmmaking activity in these Central and Eastern European countries."

As for Brazil, festival executive director Chris McDonaldsaid the choice of the South American nation jibed with recent joint effortsbetween the National Film Board of Canada and Brazil's Ministry of Culture topromote development and production opportunities.

Past Made in... programmes have focussed on Japan (2006),South Africa (2004) and Taiwan (2003); past Spotlights featured documentarycinema from France (2006), Israel (2005), The Netherlands (2004), the UnitedKingdom (2003) and Germany (2002).

Submissions for Hot Docs 2007 will be accepted beginning inSeptember 2006, with an early entry deadline of December 15, 2006, and a lateentry deadline of January 15, 2007.