丁香园AV

DOXA is proud to present Karen Cho鈥檚 Big Fight in Little Chinatown as this year鈥檚 Opening presentation, screening on May 4th at 丁香园AV鈥檚 Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema. All across the globe, Chinatowns are under threat of disappearing鈥攁nd along with them, the rich history of communities who fought from the margins for a place to belong. Big Fight in Little Chinatown follows the communities that are fighting to end perpetual gentrification and displacement across North America. Other Special Presentations include: Kokomo City, directed by D. Smith, which documents the stories of four Black transgender sex workers in New York and Georgia as they share reflections on tangled desires, far-reaching taboos and gender鈥檚 many meanings (Justice Forum); King Coal, directed by Elaine McMillion Sheldon, witnessing the daily rituals of life in Appalachia as the cultural roots of the coal industry continue to permeate, even as its economic power wanes (Rated Y for Youth); and Kaveh Nabatian鈥檚 Kite Zo A (Leave the Bones), which weaves together ancestral veneration, choreographed dance and interviews to tell a story of fighting back against colonial oppression in Haiti (Closing Gala).

DOXA is very proud to feature three guest-curated programs. Vancouver-based curator, writer and current Director of Artspeak Gallery, Nya Lewis has selected the film Beba (Rebeca Huntt, 2021) for their program, A Radical Pluriverse: Reflections on Black Womanhood on Both Sides of the Lens. In Lewis鈥檚 words, 鈥淚 consider it a privilege to access a spiritual legacy of mothers, sisters and daughters鈥攁 lineage or geneology of Black women(hood) that is defined by collective self-awareness, shared political consciousness, love, magic, quests for liberation and futurism.鈥� Farah Cl茅mentine Dramani-Issifou, whose research and curatorial work focuses on Afro-diasporic cinema and visual arts, has curated a program of short films called I AM A (WO)MAN: Transatlantic Perspectives on Political Struggles in the 1960s鈥�1970s in Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, the USA and France. These short works highlight the cross-cultural and -continental 鈥渟truggles for the emancipation of colonized peoples,鈥� and display the collaborative work of filmmakers and labour activists in the fight. Finally, Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis program titled NORITA: The Mother of All Struggles features Jayson McNamara鈥檚 work-in-progress doc, Norita, which examines the life and revolutionary work of Nora Corti帽as, the most famous of the Madres of the Plaza de Mayo鈥擜rgentina鈥檚 movement of women fighting for justice amidst the country鈥檚 rampant political oppression.

Beyond the festival鈥檚 cornerstone Justice Forum and Rated Y for Youth programs, DOXA 2023 will include two Spotlight programming streams: DANCE, DANCE OTHERWISE WE ARE LOST and THIN PLACES. As German dancer Pina Bausch once advised: 鈥淒ance, dance otherwise we are lost.鈥� In an effort to make sense of the world, the films in this spotlight program meld the disciplines of dance and filmmaking, strengthening relationships between ancestors, culture and community in the process. Films include: Paloma Zapata鈥檚 La Singla, which follows the mysterious career of Deaf flamenco dancer Anotnia Singla; A Way To B, directed by Jos de Putter and Clara van Gool, about Barcelona鈥檚 Liant la Troca dance collective made up of artists with diverse physical disabilities; Andreas Antonopoulos鈥檚 film about sugar鈥檚 role in the forced relocation of thousands of Indians to the Caribbean, titled Cheenee; and Closing Presentation Kite Zo A (Leave the Bones).

Thin Places presents a collection of films exploring liminal and precarious zones. 鈥淭here are places,鈥� says Irish writer Kerri n铆 Dochartaigh, 鈥渂oth hollowed and hallowed, all in one.鈥� Thin places, as they are known in the Celtic tradition, are locales where a sense of Heaven and Earth meet. But in this dense collection of films, Hell is present too. The films in this spotlight include, to name a few: Theo Montoya鈥檚 Anhell69鈥攑art queer ghost story, part ode to Colombian cinema, that bores its gaze into the streets of Medell铆n following a group of friends; Khoa L锚鈥檚 M谩 S脿i Gon (Mother Saigon), which constructs a dynamic ode to Saigon鈥檚 Queer and Trans communities through a series of intimate character portraits; Mstyslav Chernov鈥檚 journalistic and heavy-hitting 20 Days in Mariupol; the debut feature of Canadian filmmaker Terra Long, called Feet in Water, Head on Fire, which beautifully traces the communities and vegetation shaping the Coachella Valley region; and Veranada, Dominique Chaumont鈥檚 study of a lone herder migrating his flock in the Argentinian Andes, as the landscape withers from unprecedented drought.

Several Canadian filmmakers launch their world premiere at DOXA 2023. Amy Miller鈥檚 latest film, Manufacturing the Threat, is a festival highlight: After the arrest and imprisonment of a young Surrey couple, their plot to commit acts of terrorism was revealed to be the work of government agent provocateurs aiming to entrap and create their own 鈥渢hreats.鈥� Miller will also be giving a masterclass, co-presented by DOC BC | YT | NWT, as part of DOXA鈥檚 Industry program. Ali Grant鈥檚 Not Quite That champions an affecting local story; after finding out she is predisposed to breast cancer, Sarah White鈥攁 Jewish woman, mother, and butch lesbian鈥攎ust decide whether to wait and see what happens, or act fast and have a preventative double mastectomy. These Canadian films and more are exciting titles in DOXA鈥檚 2023 festival program.

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Committed to cultivating curiosity and critical thought, DOXA 2023 delivers some of the very best in contemporary documentary cinema over 11 days. DOXA Documentary Film Festival runs May 4-14, 2023, offering an exceptional selection of films, filmmaker Q+A鈥檚 and Industry events. Select films will be available to stream online after festival dates, between May 15 thru 24, unless otherwise specified. Online films are geo-blocked to Canada and virtual tickets will be limited. Select screenings will include live and pre-recorded filmmaker Q+As and extended discussions. For details on festival tickets and passes, check . For further information, call the DOXA office at 604.646.3200.

DOXA is presented by The Documentary Media society, a Vancouver-based non-profit, charitable society. DOXA is presented on unceded x史m蓹胃k史蓹y虛蓹m (Musqueam), Skwxw煤7mesh (Squamish) and Sel虛铆l虛witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) territory.

To view the full program of screenings and events, and to reserve your tickets,