Category Archives: Documentary

DOXA Documentary Film Festival Returns for 25th Edition with 69 Films from 41 Countries

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Western Canada’s largest documentary festival is back for a milestone year. DOXA Documentary Film Festival runs April 30 through May 10 in Vancouver, bringing 40 features and 29 shorts from filmmakers around the globe.

The lineup includes 27 Canadian films alongside international work from 41 countries. Four films will have their world premieres at the fest: *Under the Red Roof* by Yushi Nagamatsu, *Illustrated Legacies: Graveyard of the Pacific* by Tanner Zurkoski, *The Flower and the Flood* by Elisa González, and *Bubba* by Kayli Koonar.

“We are excited to celebrate 25 festival editions highlighting important, entertaining and relevant documentary films,” says Artistic Director Sarah Ouazzani. “This is an important milestone, and we are pleased to share a great program with the Vancouver film community once again this year.”

Opening night features *Bella Sutra*, a live cinematic performance directed and narrated by OK Pedersen. The piece reflects on life as an innkeeper in Bella Coola, BC, tackling the rural/urban divide and what Pedersen calls our current “communication crisis.” Musicians Eden Glasman and Jakob Tokarczyk will accompany the performance on April 30 at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.

The mid-week gala spotlights local talent with *Concrete Turned to Sand*, directed by Vancouver filmmakers Jessica Johnson and Ryan Ermacora. The doc follows oyster farmers on Cortes Island as they navigate ocean warming and acidification. Both directors will participate in an industry panel on May 2.

Sara Dosa’s *Time and Water* closes the festival on May 9. The Oscar-nominated director (*Fire of Love*) crafted a meditation on climate grief and memory, centered on Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason and built from home movies, photographs, and myths.

DOXA’s Justice Forum returns for its 16th year with *Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom* as its special presentation. The film explores the families connected to the famous Saigon Execution photograph. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Kim Nguyen will attend.

The festival is also highlighting South Korea as its Country of Honour, with guest curation by Byungwon Jang, Head Programmer of the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival. The program includes *Beyond Now, Nyein* and *Untold*, plus shorts *The Silent Bearers* and *Last May in Theatres*.

Other notable titles include Sundance selections *AMERICAN DOCTOR* and *The Oldest Person in the World*, TIFF premieres *Bouchra* and *Powwow People*, and Berlinale entry *Traces*.

Screenings happen at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, The Cinematheque, and VIFF Centre. Forty filmmakers and industry leaders will be in attendance.

Tickets and festival passes are available now at doxafestival.ca.

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They Called Us Outlaws Doc Series Debuts Prologue at SXSW

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they-called-us-outlawsA first look at the upcoming documentary series They Called Us Outlaws premiered at SXSW, where the prologue episode played to a sold-out audience in Austin.

Directed by Eric Geadelmann and Kelly Magelky, the series explores the roots of the outlaw country movement, focusing on 1970s Austin and the cultural shift shaped by artists like Waylon Jennings. The project is presented in association with the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum.

The debut episode serves as an introduction to a planned ten-part series, tracing the spirit of independent artistry that defined the era and continues to influence musicians today.

A wider release for the series has not yet been announced.

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Racing Film 2DIE4 Set for IMAX Release This April

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2DIE4

O2 Produções Artísticas e Cinematográficas Ltda

The racing film 2DIE4 will hit select IMAX theaters on April 16, offering an immersive look at one of motorsport’s most intense competitions.

Shot during the 24 Hours of Le Mans at real race speed—with no reenactments—the film follows driver Felipe Nasr as he navigates a high-stakes endurance race. After a strong start in practice, a mechanical failure pushes him to the back of the grid, turning his race into a relentless fight to climb back through the field.

Directed by Salomão and André Abdala, 2DIE4 focuses on the mental and physical demands of racing, capturing the pressure, precision, and risk that define the sport at its highest level.

The IMAX release emphasizes the film’s immersive approach, placing audiences as close as possible to the experience of being on the track.

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VR Documentary Lacuna to Make International Premiere at SXSW

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lacuna

Studio Biarritz

The VR documentary Lacuna will make its international premiere at SXSW as part of the festival’s XR Spotlight section.

Directed by Maartje Wegdam and Nienke Huitenga Broeren and produced by Corine Meijers, the immersive project invites viewers into the fragmented memories of Sonja, as she reflects on a moment of loss during the Second World War. The experience combines conversations with Sonja, animation, 3D modeling, and personal footage to explore how memory—and the absence of it—can shape identity.

Lacuna previously world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival’s Cannes Immersive program and is designed as both a remembrance project and a broader reflection on how people reconstruct the past through imagination.

The VR experience will be available during SXSW’s XR Spotlight Experiences, running daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Fairmont Hotel in Austin through March 17.

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Indigenous Documentary Ceremony to World Premiere at SXSW

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CeremonyThe documentary Ceremony, directed by Banchi Hanuse, will make its world premiere at SXSW as part of the festival’s Documentary Spotlight Program.

The film will debut at Alamo Lamar in Austin on March 14, with a second screening scheduled for March 16. Ceremony is also nominated for the SXSW “Green Lens” Award, which recognizes projects that highlight environmental change and pathways toward a more sustainable future.

The documentary centers on the Nuxalk Nation in Bella Coola, where the disappearance of the ooligan fish becomes a starting point for examining deeper histories tied to land, culture, and survival. Through testimony, watercolor animation, and archival footage, the film explores how Indigenous voices confront historical erasure while reclaiming their stories and relationship with the natural world.

Directed and produced by Slts’lani Banchi Hanuse, the film has been in development since 2014 and builds on Hanuse’s work as a filmmaker and co-founder of Nuxalk Radio, which supports language revitalization and cultural preservation.

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Trailer Released for Sci-Fi Documentary Daughters of the Forest Ahead of SXSW Premiere

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Daughters-of-the-ForestThe trailer has been released for Daughters of the Forest (Hijas del bosque), a sci-fi documentary directed by Otilia Portillo Padua, ahead of its North American premiere at SXSW.

The film will first world premiere at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen before screening in the Visions section at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin.

Daughters of the Forest follows Lis and Juli, two Indigenous mycologists from communities in Mexico who study the complex relationship between humans and fungi. As they share their scientific knowledge and ancestral traditions, the film explores how environmental change, deforestation, and limited opportunities threaten both ecosystems and cultural knowledge.

Blending documentary storytelling with speculative elements, the film looks at how mushrooms and mycelial networks can offer new ways of thinking about coexistence and the future.

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Alfonso Cuarón Joins How to Clean a House in Ten Easy Steps Ahead of True/False World Premiere

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how-to-clean-a-house-in-ten-easy-stepsA new hybrid documentary backed by Alfonso Cuarón is set to debut at the 2026 True/False Film Festival.

How to Clean a House in Ten Easy Steps, the debut feature from director Carolina González Valencia, will have its world premiere at the 23rd edition of the festival, taking place March 5–8 in Columbia, Missouri. The film is executive produced by the Academy Award–winning filmmaker alongside labor leader Ai-jen Poo, president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

The documentary follows Beatriz Valencia, a Colombian-born domestic worker living in the United States, and her daughter Carolina — the filmmaker herself — as they create a fictional alter ego together: a writer. Blending documentary storytelling with elements of fiction, the film explores immigration, labor, family separation, and the power of imagination to reclaim personal narratives.

Structured in ten chapters, the film shifts between everyday routines, docu-fiction, and surreal moments as mother and daughter confront questions of identity, migration, and belonging.

The project was also selected as the 2026 recipient of the True Life Fund, a philanthropic initiative connected to the True/False Film Festival that supports documentary subjects.

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Daughters of the Forest Set for SXSW North American Premiere After CPH:DOX Debut

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daughters-of-the-forrestThe documentary Daughters of the Forest (Hijas del bosque), directed by Otilia Portillo Padua, is set for its North American premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, following its world premiere at CPH:DOX.

The film will first debut in competition for the Dox Award at CPH:DOX (March 11–22) before screening in the Visions section at SXSW (March 12–18).

Daughters of the Forest follows Lis and Juli, two Indigenous women and trained mycologists from communities in Oaxaca and Mexico State who study the complex ecosystems of mushrooms in the forests where they live. As environmental pressures and deforestation threaten their surroundings, the pair work to bridge scientific research with ancestral knowledge to better understand and protect the fungi that sustain their communities.

Blending documentary storytelling with speculative elements, the film explores the connections between humans, nature, and knowledge systems, offering a reflective look at coexistence and ecological resilience.

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Mistress Dispeller Streams on Criterion Channel, Unpacking China’s Infidelity Industry

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Mistress-DispellerElizabeth Lo’s documentary Mistress Dispeller is now streaming exclusively on the Criterion Channel.

The film follows Wang Zhenxi, a professional “mistress dispeller” hired to preserve marriages by breaking up extramarital affairs — a growing industry in China. With rare, intimate access, the documentary observes a real marital crisis unfold as Wang works to steer a couple back from collapse.

As loyalties shift between husband, wife, and mistress, Mistress Dispeller explores how emotion, pragmatism, and cultural expectations shape modern relationships. Critics have described the film as both haunting and unexpectedly tender.

Mistress Dispeller is available now on the Criterion Channel.

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Tough Old Broads Premieres at Santa Barbara International Film Festival

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touch-old-broadsThe documentary Tough Old Broads makes its world premiere February 10 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, with additional screenings on February 11 and 13. The premiere screening will be followed by a Q and A with director Stacey Tenenbaum and the film’s subjects.

Directed by Canadian filmmaker Stacey Tenenbaum, the film focuses on three women whose careers reshaped the fields they entered.

Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967 and later helped push for the inclusion of the women’s marathon in the Olympic Games. Inuit leader Siila Watt-Cloutier has spent decades advocating for Indigenous rights and climate action on the global stage. Photographer Sharon Farmer broke barriers in government, becoming the first woman and first person of color to serve as Director of White House Photography.

The film follows each of them in the present day, looking at how their work and influence continue to evolve.

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