How HotDocs Works

Not having participated in a film festival before, I was a little confused about how HotDocs actually works, so here’s my little overview of how the process worked for me:

Step 1. Decide which film pass I want

My Festival Pass, a couple tickets and the Screening Schedule

The film passes range from single tickets ($14 each) to a 10-ticket pass ($100) to more hardcore passes (I think they go up to +$300).

There are also a bunch of other passes for students and seniors and amateur film-makers, etc, and a pass specifically for the late night screenings (after 11pm).

Note: There is an earlybird special, so if you buy your pass before a certain date (in March), you get more bang for your buck.

Step 2. Decide which films I want to watch

This is where it might start to get confusing.

I bought a 10-ticket pass, which gets me 10 tickets which I can use for any film. The pass is transferable, i.e. I could use the pass to watch 5 different films with a buddy, or I could watch 10 different films by myself, or I could grab 9 friends and we could all watch one film together, using the pass, etc.

I ended up doing a mix – I watched some films alone, and some with friends.

While the Festival Pass gives me hypothetical access to all the films, if you know which film(s) you want to see, it is best to arrange specific tickets beforehand, to guarantee your spot.

Here’s Situation A: I know what I want to watch

I know that I want to go with my friend Leah to see the film Mothers of Bedford on Friday at 9:30pm. (amazing film btw!) So I call up the HotDocs box office (or I could have gone online) and tell them my Festival Pass number and the number of tickets, and they mark down my order.

Then, sometime before the day of the screening, I head over to the Box Office and pick-up the tickets. (If I did this enough in advance, the tickets could be mailed to me.) At the Box Office, they mark the back of my Festival Pass to indicate that I have used up two of the 10 tickets that come with my pass.

Then, on Friday night, Leah and I head over to the screening and hand over our tickets! No waiting in line!

Situation B: I don’t know what I want to watch….until very late.

The film I want to  watch is showing at the Cumberland theatre in 45 minutes, so I head over there and approach the makeshift HotDocs desk and purchase a ticket. Since I already have bought a Festival Pass, they simply mark the back of my pass to indicate that I’ve used up another one of my ten tickets. There's no need for me to hand over any cash.

Now, if the film I wanted to see has already been ‘sold out’, then it becomes a different situation…

Situation C: The film I want to watch has already been ‘sold out’ and is in ‘RUSH’ status

At the last minute, I decided to watch Kumare on Sunday afternoon. (another great film!) I head over to the HotDocs desk at the theatre and am informed that the film has already gone ‘rush’. Basically what this means is that other, more organized, people have reserved/ordered their tickets in advance, so now I can’t order my ticket before the screening. Instead, I’ll have to stand in line and hope that the theatre doesn’t fill up before I get in.

So about 45 minutes before the screening, I join the rush line. They start to let us in 15 minutes before the film is supposed to start. We go to the HotDocs desk and purchase tickets (either via Festival Pass or cash), and then head into the theatre, grab any remaining extra seat, and then enjoy the film!

(note: try and avoid rush lines as much as possible. They kinda suck. But, HotDocs says that 80% of people waiting in rush lines do indeed get in to see the films, so at least there’s that.)

I think that explains the basic questions I had at the beginning of my HotDocs experience. There is a fair bit of planning involved - usually when I watch movies I check the times the day before - but it's all part of the fun. 

Next year I may upgrade to one of the hardcore Festival Passes and take a week off work to watch the films.