Saints and Warriors topped the winners of this year’s DOXA Documentary Festival Awards. The doc by Patrick Shannon won the Colin Low Award for Best Canadian Director. Saints and Warriors screened as DOXA’s closing night selection and brought a story close to home to the Vancouver doc fest with its portrait of the All Native Basketball Tournament and the sport’s role in building community in Haida Gwaii.
An honourable mention went to Lyana Patrick for Nechako – It Will Be A Big River Again. The doc, which had its world premiere at DOXA, brought a story of unity between members of the Stellat’en First Nation and Saik’uz First Nation in the fight for land and water sovereignty.
New this year, DOXA presented an award for Best BC Director to Damien Eagle Bear for his feature #skoden, a provocative exploration of the man behind a meme that offered a rallying point for Indigenous people and invited larger conversations about the lingering effects of the residential school system. An honourable mention went to Elizabeth Vibert and Chen Wang for Aisha’s Story, DOXA’s opening night selection about a Palestinian woman making home recipes in a refugee camp.
Meanwhile, Hind Meddeb’s Sudan, Remember Us scored the international prize for Best Feature Documentary. The film examined Sudan amid a moment of protest and cultural upheaval. Honourable mentions went to To Use a Mountain by Casey Carter and Mistress Dispeller by Elizabeth Lo.
On the shorts front, DOXA’s top prize went to Correct Me if I’m Wrong, directed by Hao Zhou. The film offered a personal exploration of queerness, family, and identity. An honourable mention went to From Paris to Pyongyang, directed by Helen Lee.
Finally, Kim O’Bomsawin’s They Are Sacred won the Nigel Moore Award for Youth Programming. The film marked a continuation of O’Bomsawin’s study of Indigenous youths, in this case looking at neurodiversity and its impact on the relationship between a Cree father and son.
DOXA Documentary Festival ran in Vancouver from May 1 to 11.
