Aaron Swartz Documentary to Open Canada's Hot Docs Festival

Brian Knappenberger's tribute film about the Internet prodigy and activist who took his own life had its world premiere at Sundance.

TORONTO -- The Sundance tribute film about Internet prodigy and activist Aaron Swartz will open the 2014 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.

Brian Knappenberger's film The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, which had its world premiere in January, will open North America's largest documentary festival in Toronto on April 24, 2014, with an international bow.

And veteran rocker Alice Cooper will be in Toronto on April 28 for the Canadian bow of director Reginald Harkema's doc opera Super Duper Alice Cooper, which is to have a world premiere at Tribeca.

Cooper's Q&A will also be beamed to 47 cinema screens across Canada by exhibition giant Cineplex Entertainment.

Participant Media and Film Buff earlier picked up the North American rights to Knappenberger's doc about Swartz, the Internet coder and programming pioneer who committed suicide a year ago after being arrested for computer fraud.

Swartz helped develop RSS and Reddit before becoming an Internet activist.

Hot Docs' high profile special presentation sidebar has booked James Spione's Silenced, about four whistle-blowers on America's war on terror; Anthony Baxter's A Dangerous Game; Jesse Moss' The Overnighters; and Pavel Loparev and Askold Kurev's Children 404, about young Russian gays and lesbians.

The Canadian festival also plans a spotlight on Danish documentaries, and a special screening of the Oscar-winning film Harlan County, USA, with director Barbara Kopple on hand for a Q&A.

Also headed to Toronto is Star Trek's George Takei, who will participate in the festival's Big Ideas sidebar by discussing his acting and activism.

In all, Hot Docs will screen 197 films from 43 countries.

The 2014 Hot Docs edition is set to run from April 24 to May 4, 2014 in Toronto.