The 49th Year  (88 min, 2026) wins the Hot Docs Joan VanDuzer Special Jury Prize-International Feature Documentary 2026 !

Jury statement: “For its astute view on political ideologies and its meditative exploration of the true costs of radical action beyond isolated moments of protest and conventional electoral politics—and the ways in which periods of dissent can fade into enforced consensus, the jury recognizes Heidrun Holzfeind’s elegiac yet piercing attention to one man and the echoes of his resistance with the Hot Docs Joan VanDuzer Special Jury Prize-International Feature Documentary.”

The prize is awarded to a feature-length documentary in the International Spectrum Competition program of the Hot Docs documentary film festival Toronto that the jury feels is deserving of special recognition.