Audiences can rediscover Canadian documentaries from previous rounds of the festival circuit thanks to a new partnership between the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC) and the streaming platform Tënk. The DOCs from the Vault series will screen the SVOD premieres of 11 films by DOC members. The films will stream in two programmes, launching January 28 and March 25. DOCs from the Vault offers works from members from coast to coast.
The first series includes Mia Donovan’s breakthrough film Inside Lara Roxx (2011), which profiles the titular actor as she builds a new life after contracting HIV on an adult film shoot. Millefiore Clarkes’ Stalking Love (2005) brings a multifaceted exploration of love to the series. Clarkes previously won the DOC Institute’s DOC Luminary Award with the organization tapping her as one of the doc scene’s talents to watch. Fans of nature docs can catch Arctic Cliffhangers (2009) by Stephen A. Smith and Julia Szucs. The doc is a portrait of a biologist and his research of arctic seabirds. Stories of social justice round out the first series with Soop on Wheels (1999) and The Making of a Judge (2010). The docs by Sandy Greer and Linda V. Carter, respectively, offer character studies of Indigenous comic/cartoonist Everett Soop and the Honourable George E. Carter, the latter having made history as Canada’s first Black judge.
DOCs from the Vault’s second series includes the recent festival hit This Stained Dawn. Directed by Anam Abbas, This Stained Dawn won the doc prize at the 2021 Reel Asian Film Festival for its portrait of Karachi feminists. Stories of identity and representation appear in Arctic Mosque (2015) by Saira Rahman and Nilufer Rahman and Burning Rubber (2009) by Ariella Palhke. The former follows the journey of a prefabricated mosque as it’s shipped from Winnipeg to Inuvik, while the latter considers art and masculinity by intersecting auto-racing and the creative arts. Stories of resilience, meanwhile, appear in Mike Bourquin’s portrait of the fight to preserve the Tahltan language in B.C., Dah Dzahge Nodeside (2014), while Wanda Taylor’s Still Here: A Journey to Triumph (2007) follows Black teens as the explore their ancestors’ journey to Canada. Medicine Walker (2004) by Gregory Coves, meanwhile, rounds out the series with its portrait of Cree comedian and healer Dr. Dale Auger.
DOCs from the Vault will be able to stream at Tenk.ca.
