DOXA Documentary Film Festival announces opening film from Victoria filmmakers​on March 27, 2025 at 7:37 pm

Films with strong B.C. connections have been chosen to open and close this year’s DOXA Documentary Film Festival in Vancouver.

Running May 1-11 the festival, now in its 24th year, will kick off with Victoria-based filmmakers Elizabeth Vibert and Cheng Wang’s Aisha’s Story and then close with the B.C. premiere of Haida filmmaker Patrick Shannon’s (Nang Ḵ’uulas) documentary Saints and Warriors.

Aisha’s Story (2025) will open the festival officially with a 7 p.m. screening on May 1 at the Vancouver Playhouse. The Saints and Warriors (2024) closing gala presentation is May 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the SFU Cinema.

“Documentary is a bridge between life and art, reflecting our reality back to us and revealing aspects of our world that are hidden or intentionally suppressed. However, documentaries can also inspire change and resilience,” said DOXA’s managing director Arnaud Menindes in a statement. “Many of our 2025 films touch on the theme of resistance; in this current moment of political upheaval and unease, we hope that our films inspire hope for moviegoers, and bring some context to the complexity of our time.”

Aisha’s Story follows Aisha, a Palestinian matriarch running her family’s grain mill in Jordan. Through the family business Aisha helps to preserve Palestinian history by passing down traditional cuisine to those that have been displaced from their homeland. Saints and Warriors shows how important basketball is to people of Xaaydaga Gwaay.yaay (Haida Gwaii) as it offers space for “leadership, resistance, and cultural preservation.”

The film follows the Skidegate Saints during the 2023-24 season as they battle to defend their dynasty at the All Native Basketball Tournament. Off the court the challenges are also difficult as players “navigate tensions, shifting allegiances, and the long-standing struggle for Indigenous land rights.”

Western Canada’s largest documentary film festival, DOXA will announce the full schedule on April 3. Tickets for the Opening and Closing Galas, as well as festival passes are on sale now at doxafestival.ca. Festival passes include access to all film screenings as well as the Opening and Closing Galas. Tickets for all other film screenings, as well as Industry passes, will go on sale April 3.