Music film Muscle Shoals audience favourite at Hot Docs

Muscle Shoals, the story of a tiny Alabama town thatcarved a niche for itself in American music history, has won the audience award at Torontos Hot Docs festival.

It was picked as the most popular film from audiences at the 11-day festival, which wrapped up on Sunday. Hot Docs estimates 180,000 people attended the fest, which screened 204 films.

American director Greg "Freddy" Camalier was the filmmaker behind Muscle Shoals, which focuses onFame Studios, whichworked with Aretha Franklin, Gregg Allman, Wilson Pickett and other greats.

The top three films as voted by the public share cash prize for the Audience Award, a crowd-funded pot that now stands at $6,700, but is still accepting donations.

The second and third films:

• Blood Brother, directed by Steve Hoover of the U.S., which follows a friends sudden move to India to care for HIV-positive orphans.
• A Whole Lott More: by Victor Buhler of Britain, which looks at the impact of the auto crisis on a company whose 1200 employees have developmental disabilities.

Two films tied for the Filmmakers Award, voted on by attending filmmakers:

• The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear, by Tinatin Gurchiani of Georgia, whichexamines the lives of Georgian youth who answer a casting call.
• These Birds Walk by Bassam Tariq and Omar Mullick of the U.S., whichtells the story of a childrens shelter in Karachi.