DOXA Documentary Film Festival came to a close this weekend, and announced the winners of its 2024 competitions.
Nigel Moore Award for Youth Programming went to Neil Diamond and Catherine Bainbridge’s Red Fever. Jurors Olivia Moore, Anna Hetherington, Emily Ash Cutajar and Darius Darabi share that Red Fever “is a witty and dynamic film that highlights the deep and profound roots of Indigenous influence on western media, culture, and identity. The engaging and cohesive structure of the film, representing mind, body, soul, and heart has something to offer to everyone, examining the topics of fashion, sports, politics, and the environment… [firmly] grounding indigeneity in the present and pushing back against the persistent narrative of Indigenous peoples’ [only] existing in the past, this film is a captivating and necessary watch that will resonate with all audiences.”
As well, the jurors would like to acknowledge another film that deserves special mention, and that is Singing Back the Buffalo directed by Tasha Hubbard: “With its rich visuals and uplifting message, Singing Back the Buffalo is a vital film during this moment as we strive for reconciliation, sustainability, and climate justice. Highlighting survivance and revitalization through the movement to restore the buffalo, Hubbard’s film provides a message of hope that will resonate and inspire youth audiences and generations to come.”
Short Documentary Award Jurors Gianluca Matarrese, Éléonore Goldberg and Kimberly Ho presented this year’s award to Hao Zhou’s Wouldn’t Make It Any Other Way. “Deploying a broad corpus of emotions, Wouldn’t Make it Any Other Way deliciously combines elements of belonging, identity and hope, expertly highlighted by Hao Zhou’s cinematography and editing. We fell under the spell of budding costume designer Marc Marcos, passionate, wholehearted and determined to be happy.”
A special jury mention was given to Ibrahim Handal’s A Short Film About a Chair. Jurors shared: “It is quite an art to be able to give life to simple objects, seemingly of no particular interest. A Short Film About a Chair proves that we can make a documentary about anything, with the art of noticing it. Like a closed session, through humor, the multiplicity of languages, a state of confinement and wandering, the film invites us to reflect on patience and change.”
Colin Low Award for Best Canadian Director was presented by the Directors Guild of Canada to Pablo Alvarez-Mesa for La Laguna del Soldado. Jurors Florence Lamonthe, Ryan Ermacora and Hind Saïh recognize “his skillful layering of Colombian history and the specifics of place through an ecological perspective. A film that is as sensitive as it is critical, La Laguna del Soldado probes a lineage of colonial violence even as it continues into the present. Through its inventive and sensorial construction, distinctions between form and content dissolve into the fog. Pablo Alvarez-Mesa’s work has produced a singular grammar of cinema, providing access to the Páramo through a geological strata of image and sound. The film’s immersive use of offscreen audio and superimposition reflects upon environmental and Indigenous justice, blending the poetic and the political.”
A special jury mention is given to Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell and Michael Toledano of Yintah for “[the film’s] uncompromising commitment to Indigenous sovereignty and justice in the face of collusion between state violence and the resource extraction industry; for the enduring strength of all those involved in both the film’s production and greater struggle. Yintah is a film of historical importance and a testimony for generations to come.”
Another special jury mention is also given to Lisa Jackson for Wilfred Buck, for “its brilliant threading of archival material, re-creations and contemporary scenes to tell a story of displacement while offering paths towards communal healing. Bridging astral scales with microscopic imagery, Wilfred Buck brings us into a rich tapestry of Indigenous cosmology.”
DOXA Feature Documentary Award went to Lina Soualem’s Bye Bye Tiberias. Jurors Liz Marshall, Sara Wylie and Hejer Charf state “This urgent personal documentary of longing, displacement and connection illuminates Palestinian family archives at a time when these documents and stories are being erased in the ongoing genocide. Cinematically weaving generations of matrilineal history with that of her motherland, we honour filmmaker Lina Soualem for her courage and artistry.”
The jurors would also like to give two special mentions: “Made by a collective of neuro-diverse people, [The Neurocultures Collective and Steven Eastwood’s The Stimming Pool is a unique and formally innovative example of participatory cinema, showcasing new ways of seeing and being seen.” The second special mention goes to Kamay by Ilyas Yourish and Shahrokh Bikaran: “This hauntingly powerful and poetic film masterfully uses cinematic language to contemplate love, loss and perseverance, while honouring the Hazara people and the women of Afghanistan.”
Elevate Award, presented by Elevate Inclusion Strategies went to Ilyas Yourish and Shahrokh Bikaran for Kamay. Jurors Aya Garcia, Damien Eagle Bear and Brandon Wint say that “while many of the films nominated for this year’s award possessed a compelling, heart-wrenching level of cinematic intimacy, Kamay, more than perhaps any film, conveyed the relationship between resistance and familial love. We were both impressed and moved by the poetic cinematic language of the film, as Kamay immersed the viewer in a unique portrayal of resistance through unconditional family love.”
A special jury mention is given to Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell and Michael Toledano’s Yintah, for its “powerful story of resistance and resilience against colonial and imperial powers. It was very inspiring to see the Wet’suwet’en peoples’ devotion and example of community-led activism that we should all aspire to.”
More details and the full jury statements can be found online at doxafestival.ca