By Danielle Piper

The DOXA Documentary Film Festival ( May 2-11, 2014) is a chance for Vancouverites to watch some of the world’s major, independent documentaries. Each year, Vancouver hosts this festival and provides a wide array of politically charged and thought-provoking films in several languages. These films span in genre from Social Justice to Environment and Sustainability, broaching topics such as work life, urban design, aboriginal culture and more.

This year’s DOXA featured the Canadian premiere of DamNation. This documentary explores the drawbacks  of North American dams on the environment and the wildlife that reside in it. In addition, the film examines the negative impacts on First Nations Culture and recreational living. The film’s director, Ben Knight, captures stunning visuals of the landscape. These serve to further denounce the travesty of environmental destruction the dams cause, but still provides an objective view of the scenario by identifying alternatives and solutions to the problem.

Although slow-moving, the film does have its moments of tenacity and fire. Moreover, the film contains an assortment of moments that will make you smile, laugh, cry and grimace. Unfortunately, Damnation is no longer playing at DOXA. However, there are still several international films being featured during the last two days of the film festival. For more information with regards to dates, show times, ticket prices and location, please visit https://www.doxafestival.ca/