DOXA Documentary Film Festival has announced the line up for its 25th edition screening April 30 – May 10. The 2026 line-up, showcases 40 features and 29 short or mid-length films, including 27 Canadian films plus international films from 41 countries, with forty visiting filmmakers and industry leaders in attendance. DOXA 2023 welcomes a number of World Premiere films including 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, including a slate of innovative short films, a diverse range of International and Canadian features, and a thought-provoking and informative series of Industry events.”
DOXA 2026 features South Korea as the Country of Honour with guest curation by Byungwon Jang, Head Programmer of the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival (DMZ Docs). Returning programs include Rated Y for Youth, paraDOXA, and a series of industry programming including panels, masterclasses, workshops and more.
Throughout the Festival screenings take place at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, The Cinematheque and VIFF Centre, with industry events held at SFU’s World Art Centre and The Post at 750.
Thursday, April 30 @ 7pm, at the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts:
The DOXA 2026 Opening Gala kicks off the festival with a presentation of the live cinematic performance piece Bella Sutra, followed by a reception. Directed and narrated by OK Pedersen and accompanied by musicians Eden Glasman and Jakob Tokarczyk, Bella Sutra is a personal essay about life as an innkeeper in Bella Coola, BC. With honesty and levity, the piece reflects on our current communication crisis, the rural/urban philosophical divide, and the myth of progress.
Wednesday, May 6 @ 7pm, at VIFF Centre:
DOXA’s Mid-Week Gala presents the BC Premiere of Concrete Turned to Sand. Directed by local filmmakers Jessica Johnson and Ryan Ermacora, the film follows oyster farmers on Cortes Island, BC, and observes the shifting intertidal zone under the pressures of ocean warming and acidification.
– Saturday, May 2 at 3pm at SFU’s World Art Centre: Johnson and Ermacora will participate in an Industry Panel ahead of the film’s premiere.
Friday, May 1 @ 5:15pm at VIFF Centre:
DOXA’s Justice Forum Special Presentation; Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom explores the connection between two families and the famous photograph Saigon Execution with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Kim Nguyen in attendance.
For its 16th year, the Justice Forum will highlight four other films, in addition to Saigon Story, that showcase resistance, environmental justice and human rights.
image courtesy NFB
Saturday, May 9 @ 6:30pm at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts:
The 2026 Closing Gala presents the BC Premiere of Time and Water, from Oscar-nominated director Sara Dosa. The film is a lyrical meditation on climate grief, memory and belonging, centred on writer Andri Snaer Magnason. Drawing from Magnason’s home movies and photographs, myths and songs, the film is an intimate and expansive cinematic journey through memory and loss.
The 25th DOXA Documentary Film Festival is screening April 30 – May 10, 2026 at venues around the city. Festival passes and individual tickets are on sale now at doxafestival.ca. Festival passes include access to all film screenings as well as the Opening and Closing Galas, and Mid-Week Film.