Blurry photo of a flame against black, abstract lines, white box and white text reads Awards and Juries. Photo by Fandy Much

The DOXA Awards are selected based on three major criteria: 

  • Success and innovation in the realization of the project’s concept
  • Originality and relevance of subject matter and approach
  • Overall artistic and technical proficiency

DOXA is pleased to welcome an outstanding group of filmmakers, film critics and industry professionals to the Award Juries. Jury members meet during the festival to discuss the films and competition, and select the award winners and honourable mentions. 

2026 nominees coming soon!

DOXA FEATURE DOCUMENTARY AWARD

Presented by Capilano University – Documentary Program, School of Motion Picture Arts

 
IN COMPETITION

Alea Jacarandas 
Directed by Hassen Ferhani

AND THE FISH FLY ABOVE OUR HEADS و الأسماك تطير فوق رؤوسنا
Directed by Dima El-Horr

Bouchra 
Directed by Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani

Ça reste entre nous 
Directed by Maryam Shapoorian

​​Frìo Metal 
Directed by Clemente Castor

Life After Siham 
Directed by Namir Abdel Messeeh

Powwow People 
Directed by Sky Hopinka

Replica 
Directed by Chouwa Liang

The life that will come 
Directed by Karin Cuyul

What Comes from Sitting in Silence? 
Directed by Sophie Schrago

Who is Still Alive
Directed by Nicolas Wadimoff

WINDWARD
Directed by Sharon Lockhart
 

COLIN LOW AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN DIRECTOR

Presented by DOC Northwest and CFMDC

 
IN COMPETITION

Jessica Johnson, Ryan Ermacora
Concrete Turned to Sand

Mustafa Uzuner
Soul of the Foot 

Yi Cui
To Alexandra 致亞歷珊卓 

Min Sook Lee
There Are No Words 

Lina Rodriguez
Puntos de fuga 

Christopher Pavsek
The Latest News From Deseret 

Diana Allan
Partition تقسیم 

Jean-François-Caissy
Kindergarten 

Kim Nguyen
Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom
 

VANCOUVER FILM STUDIOS AWARD FOR BEST BC DIRECTOR

Presented by Vancouver Film Studios and Pacific Backlot

 
IN COMPETITION

Tanner Zurkoski
Illustrated Legacies: Graveyard of the Pacific 

Evan Adams and Eileen Francis
Namesake təm kʷaθ nan 

Morgan Tams
Green Valley

Jessica Johnson and Ryan Ermacora
Concrete Turned to Sand 

Christopher Pavsek
The Latest News From Deseret 

Nate Slaco
In Tyee Country

DOXA SHORT DOCUMENTARY AWARD

Presented by Capilano University – Documentary Program, School of Motion Picture Arts 

 
IN COMPETITION

Intersecting Memory ذاكرة متقاطعة 
Directed by Shayma' Awawdeh

IS GANG STALKING REAL  
Directed by Theodore Collatos

Words Fly back to the Black Earth
Directed by Xiao Zhang

an open field 
Directed by Teboho Edkins

Buckskin 
Directed by Mars Verrone

FELT
Directed by Blake Williams

Last Evenings on Earth 
Directed by Ralitsa Doncheva

Morning Circle 
Directed by Basma al-Sharif

Momentum
Directed by Nada Al-Omari

Tigers Can Be Seen in The Rain 
Directed by Oscar Ruiz Navia

Au Hasard
Directed by Darren Dominique Heroux

Tuktuit : Caribou 
Directed byLindsay McIntyre

The Flower and the Flood 
Directed by Elisa González

Living Containers 
Directed by Kara Hansen

Bubba 
Directed by Kayli Koonar

BAEA 
Directed by Terra Long
 

NIGEL MOORE AWARD FOR YOUTH PROGRAMMING

DOXA is proud to present the Nigel Moore Award for Youth Programming, first launched in 2013. The award is named in memory of Nigel Moore, a young man whose passion for knowledge, exploration and advocacy found a home in his love for documentary film.

For younger audiences, documentary has particular relevance. The world in which they are growing up is an increasingly complex place. Documentary not only captures this complexity, but also has the capacity to act as a catalyst for social change and fundamentally alter people’s beliefs. The award will be adjudicated by a youth jury, who will choose the film that best exemplifies the qualities of compassion, social engagement and spirit in which Nigel lived.

IN COMPETITION

Illustrated Legacies: Graveyard of the Pacific 
Directed by Tanner Zurkoski

Under the Red Roof 
Directed by Yushi Nagamatsu

Replica 
Directed by Chouwa Liang

Powwow People 
Directed by Sky Hopinka

Nigel Moore Award for Youth Programming Jurors

A person with wavy hair in a denim shirt plays guitar by a lake, with mountains and trees in the background. The mood is calm and introspective.

Mack Riddell

Mack Riddell is a touring musician from North Vancouver, with shows across North America and Europe later this year. Growing up in a musical family, Mack developed a love of art and creative expression, which translated to a passion for movies in his teens. In his free time, Mack enjoys spending time with family, hiking the North Shore mountains, and making music with his brother, Sam. He is excited to be joining the jury this year and continuing Nigel’s legacy.

Smiling woman with long brown hair in a striped shirt stands outdoors. Background is blurred green foliage, creating a calm, natural setting.

Olivia Moore

Olivia Moore is a Master’s student at UBC, studying Public Policy and Global Affairs with a focus on sustainability. She is passionate about climate action, social justice, and community resilience. As Nigel’s younger sister, she is very proud to follow in his footsteps, with a shared love of documentary film and storytelling.

Emily Ash Cutajar 2025

Emily Ash Cutajar

Emily Ash Cutajar is a recent graduate from UBC and now works as a baker. Emily is passionate about baking and pastry, sustainability, and community organizing. In her free time she enjoys swimming, spending time with friends, and watching films, especially while supporting independent theatres around the city. This is her second year joining the jury and she is looking forward to experiencing more documentary films.

DOXA Short Documentary Award Jurors

Man with curly hair and stubble smiling, holding a camera on a city street. He wears a black blazer, conveying a relaxed, cheerful vibe.

Michael Toledano

Michael Toledano is an award winning director, cinematographer, and photographer best known for Yintah (2024) – a decade long documentary project on the Wet’suwet’en fight for sovereignty. Michael’s work has appeared on every major Canadian news network and international outlets like Al Jazeera and Democracy Now. It is characterized by vivid ground level documentation of grassroots people shaping history. Winner of the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards for Best Documentary Cinematographer & Best Feature Documentary.

A person with a beard and glasses wearing a cap smiles slightly at the camera. The background features a blue sky with fluffy clouds.

Bryan Sullivan

Bryan Sullivan is a producer, director, cinematographer, and editor with over 29 years of experience creating compelling documentary and factual content. He specializes in developing and delivering global one-offs and series for broadcast, premium digital content, and high-end educational and branded productions for both private and public sectors.

A man with short dark hair, a beard, and glasses, wearing an orange plaid shirt, smiles gently with lush green foliage in the background.

Hubert Sabino-Brunette

Hubert Sabino-Brunette is artistic co-director of the RIDM - Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal. He’s also a programmer for the online platform for creative documentary Tënk, and for Cinéma sous les étoiles, a free to the public open-air documentary film festival in Montreal. He completed a PhD in film studies at the Université de Montréal, where he also taught. He now teaches the history and the different approaches to documentary filmmaking at the École des métiers du cinéma et de la vidéo, a public school dedicated to documentary film in the city of Rivière-du-Loup. He also contributes to the magazines 24 images and Séquences.

Colin Low for Best Canadian Director Jurors + Vancouver Film Studios for Best BC Director Jurors

A person with glasses and a beard smiles warmly, set against a backdrop of green plants. The atmosphere is friendly and inviting.

Damien Eagle Bear

Niitsitapi, amateur physicist, frybread-eating machine, Damien Eagle Bear is a multifaceted filmmaker from the Kainai First Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Damien started with the short experimental documentary Napi, which asks the question, what will happen when the Blackfoot trickster gets behind the camera? The film premiered at the opening night of the 37th American Indian Film Festival in 2012, and since then, Damien has continued to expand his skillset from directing to producing, including premiering two films, q’sapi times and Big Momma at the Vancouver International Film Festival in the same year. With his latest project, he returns to directing for the feature documentary #skoden, which delves into the origins of NDN countries' most iconic meme to redefine the man at the center of it all. Damien’s work explores the themes of belonging and Indigenous resiliency.

A person in a black coat with a fur-trimmed hood smiles warmly in a snowy landscape. The bright blue sky adds contrast and a cheerful tone.

Anaïs Elboujdaïni

Anaïs Elboujdaïni is an award-winning Journalist for Radio-Canada based in Vancouver, BC. She is also a co-founder and former director of programming of a film festival in Vancouver which highlights the cinema of the Middle East and North Africa and its diasporas, called the MENA Film Festival. Before a stint as a freelance reporter, she worked with La Converse in Montréal, and previously as a videojournalist at Noovo Info in Québec. Her reporting lead her to the USA, Germany, Morocco and Bangladesh. When she's away from the keyboard, you can find her singing at karaoke, playing boardgames or drinking a good coffee.

Woman with blonde hair in a black leather jacket stands against a textured stone wall, gazing confidently at the camera.

Olivia Norquay

Olivia Norquay is the Film Programmer at the Winnipeg Film Group’s Dave Barber Cinematheque, a non-profit artist-run centre and arthouse cinema located on Treaty One Territory and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. Olivia is responsible for Cinematheque’s year-round programming, including programming for the Gimme Some Truth Documentary Film Festival, and curating a variety of special programming events and film series. Olivia oversees programming in accordance with the Winnipeg Film Group's mandate to advance the art of the moving image, fostering a culture of independent cinema appreciation throughout the organization.

DOXA Feature Documentary Award Jurors

Portrait of a person with short, dark brown hair and a trimmed beard, looking directly at the camera against a dark gray background. The expression is neutral.

Sean Stiller

Sean Stiller (Associate Member, CSC) is an award-winning filmmaker specializing in documentary, commercial films. He has worked on a wide variety of productions, from TV series, feature length films, gallery installations and branded documentary series, as well as his own original projects. His films have screened domestically and internationally, at Toronto International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, Lunenberg Docs, Hot Docs Documentary Festival, ImagineNative, DOXA, Planet In Focus Environmental Film Festival, Maoriland, and Maryland International Film Festival, among others. He is a 2020 recipient of the HotDocs CrossCurrents fund. His first feature length documentary, Returning Home, won best Canadian feature documentary at the 2021 Vancouver International Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival and the Edmonton International Film Festival. He is a member of the William’s Lake First Nation (T’exelc), part of the Secwépemc Nation.

Woman with long dark hair and blue eyes smiles at the camera, wearing a blue denim shirt against a plain light background.

Milena Salazar

Milena Salazar is a documentary filmmaker, whose work as a director and editor has screened internationally at festivals such at IDFA, TIFF, Hot Docs, DOXA, DOC NYC, and many others. Born and raised in Costa Rica, she is currently based in Vancouver, BC where she established her production company Norita Films. Her interest lies in creating films that traverse the intimate to the universal, driven by reflective inquiry and creative expression. In addition to her creative work, she has contributed to the Canadian documentary sector through programming and administrative roles with organizations including DOXA, VIFF, DOC Northwest, and GEMS Vancouver.

Black and white portrait of a woman with long, wavy hair wearing a dark turtleneck, looking slightly off-camera with a neutral expression.

Julie Le Hegarat

Julie Le Hegarat is a scholar, filmmaker, and curator based on unceded Coast Salish territories. Her work focuses on feminist and decolonial practices in documentary, with a secondary interest in horror genres. Her practice and scholarship explore embodiment, labor, intimacies, and the domestic space as an intersecting national and individual construct. A former UnionDocs fellow, her video essays have shown internationally. Her work can be found in Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, Short Film Studies Journal, and the Journal of Cinema and Media Studies.