Hot Docs, the Toronto-based North American documentary festival and market, is temporarily closing its Ted Rogers Cinema in the city as it seeks to “recalibrate and strategically plan a sustainable future.”
The move comes a few months after the organisation called for more financial support from audiences and the Canadian government and saw a mass exit of programmers in the run-up to its April 25-May 5 thirty-first edition.
The Ted Rogers Cinema, which screens first-run Canadian and international documentary films year-round, will close on June 12 for what Hot Docs said would be approximately three months. The closure will “necessitate temporary layoffs for a portion of staff,” the organisation said.
In a statement, Hot Docs board of directors co-chair Robin Mirsky said the closure “has been an incredibly difficult decision to make, but it’s crucial for us to take this step now. This temporary closure will enable us to pause, recalibrate, and strategically plan a sustainable future for this beloved organisation.”
In a post on the Hot Docs website, the organisation said average attendance at this year’s festival screenings reached “close to pre-pandemic levels” and box office exceeded targets by 12%. But, the post added, “our financial situation remains serious.”
During the closure of the Ted Rogers Cinema Hot Docs will review the venue’s “mission, programming and operation,” said the post, “to determine a path back to profitability.”
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