Play The Blame Game: It’s Toronto’s annual “what should I see?” documentary film festival.
The 2026 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival runs from April 23 to May 3, 2026 featuring 115 documentaries from 51 different countries. And I get it…that stat seems overwhelming. (TIFF is even worse with at least 300 movies.)
Never no worries, this My Pal Sammy edition is your amiable antinode to festival fatigue.
STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE!
Directors: Carl Deal & Tia Lessin | 102 min
Tuesday, April 28 | 6:30 p.m. Hot Docs Cinema
Wednesday, April 29 | 9:15 p.m. Hot Docs Cinema
Fiercely independent journalist Amy Goodman has spent three decades holding the powerful to account, reporting from conflict zones and the Democracy Now! newsroom as an essential voice highlighting global issues and pursuing truth in an era of “alternative” facts.
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Ready for lots of dope name dropping?From Executive Producers Julie Cohen, Rosario Dawson, Jane Fonda and Tom Morello (oh, yes!) comes Steal This Story, Please! (Everyone should be familiar with Jane Fonda and Tom Morello’s political bent. Their consistent activism is already a significant trailer for this documentary.)
The directors Carl Deal and Tia Lessin produced many of Michael Moore’s docs.
I’ve seen this journalism documentary: a fascinating portrait of Amy Goodman and her independent news program Democracy Now! It portrays her intense curiosity well.
My favourite line from Steal This Story, Please! is:
“We have so much work to do.”
In the doc, Amy Goodman is watching a Middle East war unfold (does it matter which one at this point?!) on CNN and other TV news. And recognizing her position as a truly independent news outlet; the host of Democracy Now! comments with: “We have so much work to do.”
She founded Democracy Now! to provide the independent news she believes is missing from mainstream and government-funded outlets. (Although, these days NPR no longer receives its traditional direct and indirect federal appropriations through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
So, I like that Steal This Story, Please! also wrestles with “what does independent media mean?” Democracy Now! takes no corporate or government funding. It is audience supported and commercial free.)
It’s so weird…we have more podcasts and TikTok videos and CNN is 24/7 and access to NY Times, Washington Post and NPR you name it. And yet I find we’re less informed.
Currently, there’s an unsettling disappointment with a lot of popular news media. When I consume traditional news media like NY Times or CNN I don’t eat well, it’s a lot of junk food. There’s a lack of nuance and historical context.
And I don’t get distinct perspectives, just sides. I get issued a list of tribal talking points I’m supposed to memorize because my team? Why of course: “we’re the good guys.” (Utter nonsense.)
All of this is why Steal This Story, Please! is refreshing. It reveals an uncommon alternative and an effective cure for lame hot takes. In March 2026, Democracy Now! hosted a 30th anniversary event featuring musical performances by Patti Smith. Whose uplifting song People Have the Power closes out Steal This Story, Please!
- Meanwhile, In My Summer Lair…
Steal This Story, Please! features lots of journalism coverage of recent (and often) Middle East wars. But before those cyclical wars there was…Vietnam. In this My Summer Lair conversation with producer Caroline Marsden, we explore Vietnam: The War That Changed America, streaming on Apple TV.
I’ve artfully arranged my compelling Hot Docs suggestions and highlights in unique sections such as: The Blame Game. Steal This Story, Please! joins Public Access and The Ballad of Judas Priest.
Sammy Verdict: Feelings Are Not Journalism.
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair podcast: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
