Rated Y for Youth is back for its 17th edition! Curated with the intention of facilitating media literacy through thought-provoking documentaries, this program provides an opportunity for high school students and youth to foster an appreciation for cinema, while engaging in open dialogues on a broad range of social issues. Each Rated Y film will include a complementary Study Guide to support and enrich classroom conversations, as well as a live discussion with filmmakers and community members.
Educators interested in group bookings for Rated Y screenings, please email boxoffice@doxafestival.ca.
View the 2026 Program
Illustrated Legacies: Graveyard of the Pacific
Tanner Zurkoski, Canada, 2025, 70 mins
“We didn’t need to wait until non-natives arrived in this corner of the Pacific for history to begin… history has always been unfolding in this place.” In his first feature-length documentary, Zurkoski gathers stories from knowledge-keepers, Indigenous researchers and historians to document early encounters between explorers and the Nuu-chah-nulth nations. He anchors the 1864 Kingfisher incident through oral history, offering a version truer than the one found in textbooks. Interviews and coastal footage are interwoven with original animations by Gord Hill, depicting everyday life and traditions from centuries ago and their inevitable clash with colonial authority. Recommended viewing for anyone who calls the Pacific Northwest home.
Screening Times
Powwow People
Sky Hopinka, USA, 2025, 88 mins
Native dancers from across Turtle Island gather at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle for a Powwow. Guided by the lively commentary of MC Ruben Little Head (Northern Cheyenne Nation), immersive sound and vivid imagery carry viewers through the rhythms, movements and preparations of the gathering. Rather than observing from a distance, Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk/Pechanga) offers an intimate portrait of organizing and hosting a Powwow, inviting dancers, singers, vendors and community members into the frame. Powwow People avoids didactic explanation, instead allowing small gestures to shape the experience. The film culminates in an extended sequence of the Powwow’s spirited finale, celebrating the vitality and continuity of a contemporary Native gathering while honouring the enduring presence of Indigenous life and community.
Screening Times
Replica
Chouwa Liang, Australia/France, 2026, 90 mins
In contemporary China, three young women turn to A.I. companions to navigate love, desire and loneliness. Qin, a factory worker, brings her virtual boyfriend to life through imagined dates and shared routines; Muna, a married mother, seeks ChatGPT’s counsel and intimacy as her husband grows distant; and Sonya, single and self-assured, tests the limits of attachment with a digital husband. Observing their interactions with technology and each other, Replica probes the delicate boundary between solace and dependence in an age of artificial intimacy.
Under the Red Roof
Yushi Nagamatsu, Japan, 2025, 68 mins
In the coastal town of Shakotan, Hokkaido, Nozuka Elementary School prepares to close after 134 years as the region’s population declines. Taiyo, a quiet second grader, is one of the final four students to pass through its halls before the school shuts its doors. In Under the Red Roof, Yushi Nagamatsu gently observes the school’s final months, capturing the small gestures of care and curiosity that shape a child’s world on the brink of change.
FAQs?
Are there any costs to buy Rated Y for Youth tickets?
We offer discounted tickets to student groups booking tickets for Rated Y screenings. Teachers and/or chaperones receive a free ticket to the screening. Schools and organizations must contact DOXA's box office directly to reserve and book their group screening.
Where are the films playing / How do I get to the venue for DOXA Festival?
Venues for Rated Y for Youth screenings will be at the following locations this year:
- SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts: 149 W Hastings St, Vancouver, BC
- The Cinematheque: 1131 Howe St, Vancouver, BC
- VIFF Centre: 1181 Seymour St, Vancouver, BC
Learn more about our venue spaces or browse the DOXA 2026 program