‘Riveting and unflinching’ clergy abuse trial film Prey wins $50K Hot Docs audience prize

Share Button

Courtroom account takes audience prize after winning special jury honour

CBC News

Directed by Matt Gallagher, clergy abuse trial film Prey won the $50,000 Rogers Audience Award for best Canadian documentary on Sunday at Hot Docs. (Hot Docs)

Prey, a “riveting and unflinching” account of a sexual abuse survivor’s legal fight against the Catholic Church, has won the top award at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival.

Directed by Matt Gallagher, Prey was named winner of the $50,000 Rogers Audience Award for best Canadian documentary on Sunday, the final day of Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival.

Immediately after the announcement, organizers held a free encore screening of the film.

Hot Docs

✔ @hotdocs

Winner of the $50,000 Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary at is PREY by Matt Gallagher, a riveting and unflinching account of a survivor’s journey as he takes on the Catholic Church in an Ontario court. 

Most cases of clergy sex abuse are settled quietly and out-of-court. Gallagher’s film follows a Canadian man who chooses to pursue a public trial in order to shine a light on these cases of abuse and attempt to hold the Catholic Church accountable.

Rod MacLeod, who as a boy was abused for years by a Catholic priest and teacher, enlists civil lawyer Rob Talach, who has filed approximately 400 suits against the church, for the case.

View image on Twitter

Linda Fong @DocsLinda

“Making this film was like putting a megaphone on it – so they could tell their stories” – PREY producer Cornelia Principe, on stage with director Matt Gallagher, and film subjects Rod MacLeod and Patrick McMahon @hotdocs @TVOdocs
Winner of the audience award

In addition to the audience award, Prey also won a $5,000 special jury prize during an earlier Hot Docs awards ceremony in Toronto on Friday.

Other winners announced Friday include Tasha Hubbard’s Colten Boushie doc nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, which opened this year’s edition of Hot Docs.

3 Responses to ‘Riveting and unflinching’ clergy abuse trial film Prey wins $50K Hot Docs audience prize

  1. Sylvia says:
    May 22, 2019 at 5:27 pm

    Well done Matt Gallagher, and well done to all of you whose participation made the documentary possible.

  2. Patrick McMahon says:
    October 22, 2019 at 10:42 am

    PREY is showing this Thursday and Friday (Oct. 24th and 25th) at the Forest City Film Festival in London. It is the Opening Night film for the festival. I and others involved in PREY will be there to speak afterward.
    The film will also be screening at the Windsor Film Fetival Nov. 06th and 07th. Let the world know that people care about the actions of these abusers, and more importantly the criminals who protected them by attending the film. Hope every showing sells out!

Leave a Reply