Program guide
How to apply to Hot Docs Forum
Pitch forum where documentary teams present projects to international commissioners, funders and an industry audience during Hot Docs 2027.
Step by step
- Check that you are eligibleThe published rules: Open to creators and freelancers, founders.
- Gather the materialsYou will need: Project proposal, Work samples, Financial summary.
- Write the answersApply with a deck and a crisp one-pager; organisers choose companies that fit their investor audience.
- Submit on the official pageApply through the official page (Own portal) before 10 December 2026, and keep the confirmation.
- Follow upNote when results are due. If the organiser invites questions, ask once, briefly, after the date has passed.
Timeline
- By 19 November 2026Update deck and numbersRefresh the deck, key metrics and the one-sentence description of the company.
- By 26 November 2026Draft the answersAnswer every question plainly, with numbers you can verify.
- By 3 December 2026Record and reviewRecord the video if one is asked for, and have someone outside the team read the answers.
- By 8 December 2026SubmitSubmit early; some programs review applications as they arrive.
Questions you will meet, answered honestly
What stage are you at, and what are you raising?
Stage, amount and what it funds, in one line. If you are not raising yet, say what you want from the event instead.
Why should this audience hear you?
Match your sector and stage to the investors the organiser lists, without stretching the fit.
What reviewers of pitch events look for
- Apply with a deck and a crisp one-pager; organisers choose companies that fit their investor audience.
- Rehearse a pitch that fits the exact slot length and ends with one specific ask.
- Plan the follow-up before the event: who you want to meet and what you will send them the next day.
How Onward Scout helps
This one is submitted on the organiser's own site, behind your login. Onward Scout prepares every answer and file in the form's order with one-tap copy, so submitting takes minutes; you mark it submitted when you're done.
Let Onward Scout prepare your Hot Docs Forum application
Get a pitch deck and a one-pager for this programme, drafted from what you already have in about two minutes. Free to start, no account needed. Every answer is drafted from your own documents with sources, and nothing is submitted without your tap.
Nothing is submitted without your tap. Logins, CAPTCHAs, payments and interviews stay with you.