Indian-Canadian to head top film festival

TORONTO: Indo-Canadian filmmaker Lalita Krishna has become the first person from a visible minority to head Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary film festival.

The Toronto-based documentary director was appointed co-chair of Hot Docs, the second largest film festival in North America after the Toronto International Film Festival.

A former Board member of Hot Docs, Krishna said among her objectives will be see Hot Docs undertake more outreach to diverse communities to make documentaries more accessible.

“I would love to see a more diverse crowd come out to see documentaries. I think they’re missing out on a great experience,” she said.

Krishna, founder of the production house In Sync Media, has had her films screen at Hot Docs.

She was thrilled to be associated in a new capacity with the festival since it provides an important platform to documentaries, as she said, “That’s what Hot Docs reiterates for us - docs are popular. As a filmmaker, it is such an important testament to the popularity of documentaries. We can prove to the world that they are sexy.”

As her own company has branched out into digital content including apps, Krishna said one of the challenges facing Hot Docs is to constantly evolve to take into account the altering landscape, with a focus to “stay on the cusp, embracing new technologies, making sure to refresh and retool and update yourself.”

Originally from Delhi, Krishna is also the co-chair of the Ontario chapter of the Documentary Organization of Canada. Among her award-winning documentaries are Tiger! on the wrestling legend Tiger Jeet Singh, and Mallamall, on the mall culture’s explosion in India and its impact on the traditional retail industry

Hot Docs held its 25th edition this year.