The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is presenting a stellar selection of seven National Film Board of Canada (NFB) produced and co-produced documentaries, including two world premieres, from April 25 to May 5 in Toronto.

Among them is the world premiere of A Mother Apart by Oya Media Group and the NFB will take place on April 26 at the Scotiabank Theatre, and on April 28 at the TIFF Lightbox.

Toronto filmmaker Laurie Townshend’s feature documentary accompanies powerhouse Jamaican-American poet and LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin as she re-imagines the essential art of mothering.

The 89-minute documentary is produced by Alison Duke and Ngardy Conteh George of Oya Media Group, and Justine Pimlott of the NFB.

Staceyann Chin embodies multiple complex identities—poet, activist, lesbian, Jamaican American, mother. But the most complicated of all is “daughter.” Abandoned by her mother as a child, Staceyann has been seeking her out for decades, travelling the globe in a one-sided attempt to forge a meaningful bond with the woman who brought her into the world. And now, as the sole parent of nine-year-old Zuri, she wrestles with an all-consuming dilemma: how to mother a daughter when your own mother was missing in action.

Townshend is a Toronto-based filmmaker, writer, and educator. Her films centre on the human capacity to transform small acts of courage into quiet revolutions, as seen in the dramatic short The Railpath Hero (2013, TIFF Black Star Series), the unscripted series Human Frequency Streetdocs (2014) and the award-winning short doc Charley (2016).

There will also be a Charles Officer Memorial Screening on May 4 at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. When the filmmaker died on December 1, 2023, the community of Toronto and Canadian cinema lost a visionary talent. As part of a special tribute, Hot Docs will screen Officer’s 2010 NFB feature documentary, Mighty Jerome, an 83-minute film produced by Selwyn Jacob.

From acclaimed filmmaker Charles Officer comes the story of the rise, fall and redemption of Harry Jerome, Canada’s most record-setting track and field star. Gorgeous monochrome imagery, impassioned interviews and astonishing archival footage are used to tell the triumphant and compelling story of what Harry Jerome’s own coach called “the greatest comeback in track and field history.”

Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story by Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee is a 99-minute film that will be shown on April 27 and 28 at TIFF Lightbox and on May 4 at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema.

Nashville-born soul singer Jackie Shane boldly carved a new path as one of music’s pioneering Black trans performers. On the edge of stardom, why did she suddenly leave the spotlight? Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story hands the mic over to one of the most beguiling artists of the 20th century to finally reveal her truth, in her own unmistakable voice. From leaving the Jim Crow South to performing with Etta James to becoming a chart-topping ingénue in Toronto, discover Jackie’s extraordinary story in a film whose executive producers include Elliot Page.

Mabbott’s first feature, The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico, premiered at TIFF to popular and critical acclaim, receiving the Best Canadian First Feature Award. His second directorial effort, Citizen Duane, also premiered at TIFF. His first documentary film, Music Lessons, premiered at Hot Docs.

Rosenberg-Lee was adopted from the Dominican Republic into a Toronto family, where he developed his love of activism through film and his passion to tell stories of marginalized voices. Lucah has produced and directed a variety of film projects, including Passing and For Nonna Anna, which have been screened at TIFF, Inside Out and Sundance.