TORONTO - Films about Conan O'Brien's expulsion from late night, Chastity Bono's sex change, the turbulent career of A Tribe Called Quest, and the shy puppeteer behind "Sesame Street"'s Elmo are among the features bound for the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.

Organizers say the special presentations program includes new work from Oscar-winner James Marsh, who follows up "Man on Wire" with "Project Nim," about a chimpanzee whose life story unfolds against "startling human error, eccentricity and hubris."

"Client 9" director Alex Gibney teams up with Alison Ellwood for "Magic Trip," about an infamous LSD-fuelled road trip across America in 1964.

The lineup also includes Sundance winners "Buck," which claimed an audience prize in January; "Position Among The Stars," which took a special jury prize; "Senna," which took the world cinema audience award; and "Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey," which won a special jury prize.

Celeb-driven fare includes "Becoming Chaz," about Chaz (formerly Chastity) Bono's journey through gender reassignment; "Conan O'Brien Can't Stop," about the comic's departure from "The Tonight Show," his subsequent ban from television and live tour; and actor Michael Rapaport's hip hop profile, "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest."

Hot Docs is billed as North America's largest documentary festival, conference and market and runs April 28 to May 8 in Toronto. Its full slate of films will be announced Tuesday.

"Our Special Presentations program is the closest documentary gets to glitz and glamour," Hot Docs director of programming Sean Farnel said in a release.

"But behind that glitz and glamour is a program grounded in reality, offering compelling glimpses into the epic life of a chimpanzee and a club king, the champions of ultimate fighting and gay porn, and the unique complexities of living day-to-day as a reincarnated prophet, a beloved puppeteer, or the son of Cher."

Other films also include:

  • "Bobby Fischer Against The World," which examines how the American Cold War hero became a vilified, paranoid recluse.
  • "Carol Channing: Larger Than Life," which profiles the Broadway powerhouse
  • and "Love Shines," which follows Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith as he pairs up with legendary hit-maker Bob Rock for a new CD.