DOXA Documentary Film Festival announces 2021 award winners
Here are top docs to take in over the fest’s final weekend
Father won DOXA’s 2021 Feature Documentary Award.
DOXA Documentary Film Festival runs online and at the PNE Amphitheatre until end of day May 16.
WITH A FULL weekend remaining, DOXA Documentary Film Festival has announced winners of its 2021 event.
Father has won the 2021 fest’s Feature Documentary Award. Directed by Deng Wei, the film is about the relationship between a blind fortune-telling grandfather nearing the end of his life and his property-developer son. Jurors Brit Bachmann, Jorge Ignacio Castillo, and David Geary describe the film as “a beautifully nuanced, spacious, and darkly funny portrayal of a Chinese family that seamlessly interweaves fortune telling and real estate speculation with the art of the personal documentary” and selected the entry for its “textured and intelligent narrative construction”. DOXA marked the North American premiere of the film.
“What About Our Future?” won the 2021 Nigel Moore Award for Youth Programming.
“What About Our Future?” by Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos and Cláudio Cruz is this year’s winner of the Nigel Moore Award for Youth Programming. It marks the first time a short film has ever won the award.
The film “makes a poignant statement that highlights what amazing work can be achieved by a dedicated group of young minds, simultaneously solidifying the importance of preserving our natural world for generations to come,” noted jurors Maya Biderman, Teagan Dobson, Steven Hawkins, Anna Hetherington, and Jacob Saltzberg. “This film shows us that the power of youth organizing, and of young people as the catalysts for social change is fundamentally undeniable.”
The Big Scary “S” Word.
Also for the Nigel Moore award, Yael Bridge’s The Big Scary “S” Word earned an honourable mention for its “refreshing perspective on socialism in America”.
“The film navigates the climate and socio-political context of American socialism and does so with grace and focus,” the jurors found. “The spirit of the film evoked that of Nigel Moore, in whose memory this award was created.”
Presented by the Director’s Guild of Canada, the Colin Low Award for Best Canadian Director went to Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers for Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy. The film is set in the filmmaker’s home community of Kainai First Nation in what is now known as southern Alberta.
“Tailfeathers draws on personally held relations, community connections, and carefully compiled social histories to render the complexities of colonialism, substance use, and the politics of health through intimate portraits of the people most affected,” said jurors Julia Aoki, Selwyn Jacob, and Kim Hsu Guise. “The stories of healthcare workers and people who use substances are woven together with rigorous compassion, conveying the significant challenges posed by the opioid crisis and the healing that is made possible through community leadership and care.”
Ain’t No Time for Women.
Sarra El Abed’s Ain’t No Time For Women earned the Short Documentary Award. Jurors Teresa Alfeld, Priyanka Desai, and Alejandro Yoshizawa described the film as documenting in a “candid yet immersive style as they voice their political opinions in the confines of a salon.” They noted that “by framing the salon actions and conversations in a war photography style, the film reflects on the irony of women’s representation in the political system and the behind the scenes work women do to ensure that democracy is alive and healthy.”
The DOXA winners are selected on the basis of three main criteria: success and innovation in the realization of the project’s concept; originality and relevance of subject matter and approach; and overall artistic and technical proficiency.
All of the films on the 2021 program are available for streaming until end of day May 16, along with filmmaker Q&As and other events. There are also screenings of some of this year’s standout films at the DOXA Drive-In May 14 and 15 at the PNE Amphitheatre.
For passes and more information, visit DOXA.
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