TORONTO - The celebrated documentary "The Cove" has claimed the Hot Docs Audience Award.
The American-made film, which also won the audience award at this year's Sundance Film Festival, follows dolphin trainer Richard O'Barry and his team of activists as they travel to Japan to shed light on that country's dolphin hunt.
"65--RedRoses," a Canadian-made film about an online network of girls with cystic fibrosis, finished second in audience voting.
Third place went to "Inside Hana's Suitcase" (Canada-Czech Republic), which tracks the journey of a suitcase that belonged to a child who was incarcerated for being Jewish during the Holocaust.
Organizers said this year's festival was the most successful Hot Docs yet. They estimated that 122,000 people attended screenings -- a 42 per cent increase over 2008.
Hot Docs -- widely regarded as North America's largest documentary festival -- ran from April 30 to May 10, with more than 170 documentaries on its schedule.
On Friday, "Invisible City," directed by Hubert Davis, was given the $15,000 award for best Canadian feature at the festival, while "One Man Village" won the $10,000 prize for best international feature.
The special jury prize for an international feature was given to "Cooking History" (Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia), an examination of military cooks, while "Waterlife," Gemini Award-winning filmmaker Kevin McMahon's study of the Great Lakes, won the $10,000 special jury prize for a Canadian feature.
