DOCs from the Vault
DOC, in collaboration with Tënk, presents DOCs from the Vault, a series of 11 documentaries that have never before been broadcast online. This series of selected films made by DOC members aims to celebrate the rich creativity of Canadian independent documentary filmmaking by highlighting innovative, inspiring and creative — but sometimes overlooked — documentaries that deserve to find an audience.
All of the documentaries will be available across Canada, in English and in French. From March 25 to May 22, discover a second selection of 6 hidden treasures.
DOCs from the Vault is a screening series born out of this pandemic. Filmmakers used to working collaboratively found themselves alone, facing enormous obstacles, struggling to create work and to connect with each other. Amid this darkness, DOC was looking for multiple ways to strengthen our community. Through zoom calls and webinars, members across the country were suddenly, intimately face to face, and new connections across our six Chapters began to flourish.
DOC has been around since 1983, but many of our members’ earlier work that shaped their artistic practice and speaks to their region’s specific perspective is unaccessible.
We began speaking with Tënk about a program that would give new life to some of our members’ wonderful past films, by making them available online for the first time, and facilitating Francophone and Anglophone co-discovery of each others’ work.
The result is DOCs from the Vault: a juried selection of 11 documentaries by DOC members, none of which have ever been shared online. The earliest film is from 1998, the most recent from 2021. This is an act of community building across generations, of celebration, a “feel good” moment within a sea of bad news. It’s a small gesture crafted with an enormous heart. We hope you enjoy!
Sarah Spring
Executive Director, Documentary Organization of Canada
We wish to thank the Canada Council for the Arts for their support.
11 products
We Are Speaking Our Language Again
We Are Speaking Our Language Again
A look into the efforts of a small group of people as they fight to keep their language alive via the Tahltan Language Revitalization Program in Northern British Columbia.
Burning Rubber
When I leave my house in rural Nova Scotia, I often encounter black marks that twist and turn along the road, weaving their way through my community and daily route into the city. While many find this illegal activity annoying and disturbing, I’ve become increasingly intrigued by the form and intricacy of the marks left by a vehicle’s tires when they’re "squealed" in order to "la...
Medicine Walker
Among the First Nations of Canada there are still those who know the old songs, the ancient trails where the strong medicine grows, and how to gather and use it in healing ways. Dr.Dale Auger is a remarkable Cree artist, educator, and medicine man, and our host. Medicine walks in the rich boreal forest of the northern Alberta Cree, as well as with the Haida on their enchanted north Pacific arch...
Still Here: A Journey to Triumph
Still Here: A Journey to Triumph
A group of African Canadian youth were challenged to retrace the paths of their ancestors from former enslavement in the United States to Canada. Through a series of interviews with community elders, historians, and others, youth travel back in time, as far back as the American Revolutionary War, when the first major migration of Blacks arrives on the shores of Shelburne County in Nova Scotia. ...
This Stained Dawn
Faced with persistent violence against women and high levels of sexual assault and domestic violence, feminists in the city of Karachi, Pakistan, organize a women's march, facing threats from the state, the media and the country's radical religious right. Director Anam Abbas follows the march's organizers as they negotiate amidst surveillance, paranoia and insecurity, hoping to spark a revoluti...
Arctic Mosque
In September 2010, a little prefabricated mosque made its way across the trials and beauty of the Canadian landscape in an epic and unprecedented 4000km journey by road and river from the prairie city of Winnipeg to the small arctic town of Inuvik. As the northernmost mosque in the western hemisphere established its roots in the arctic permafrost, so, too, did the small yet eclectic community o...
The Making of a Judge
The Making of a Judge is the story of The Honourable Justice George E. Carter, told by his daughter Linda V. Carter, as he journeys along the path to becoming the first Canadian-born black Judge in the country. Linda has had a lifelong passion and appreciation for her Canadian, West Indian, and African roots, and the story of her father’s pioneering life traces those cultural influences on her ...
Soop on Wheels
Soop on Wheels is a story of the tenacity of the human spirit. It is a story of hope and healing, in relating the life and contributions of Everett Soop (1943-2001). Everett was a Blackfoot political cartoonist and humourist. He lived on the Blood Indian Reserve in southern Alberta. His survival tools were a sense of humour, artistic gifts and spiritual values taught to him by his grandparents....
Stalking Love
There is no one who has nothing to say about love. "Stalking Love" is a feature documentary in which a single camera traverses North America to peer into the hearts of individuals from all walks of life. From across Canada, the US, and Mexico, a colourful tapestry of humanity is woven. The human relationship to "love" is explored through the perspectives of a sex worker in Montreal, a...
Inside Lara Roxx
In the Spring of 2004, 21-year-old Lara Roxx left her hometown of Montreal and headed to L.A to try and make a ton of cash in the adult entertainment industry. Within two months of working in this industry, she contracted the most virulent form of HIV while performing sex in front of the camera. Inside Lara Roxx is a feature-length documentary about the events leading up to that scene and the y...
Arctic Cliffhangers
Canada’s Arctic seabirds are revealing much about the Earth’s changing oceans and climate. Arctic Cliffhangers spotlights the biology and life history of seabirds, providing insights into the impacts of industrial pollution and the role that climate change plays in the transformation of marine ecosystems. In addition to communicating some of the latest scientific findings on polar marine resear...
We Are Speaking Our Language Again
We Are Speaking Our Language Again
A look into the efforts of a small group of people as they fight to keep their language alive via the Tahltan Language Revitalization Program in Northern British Columbia.
Burning Rubber
When I leave my house in rural Nova Scotia, I often encounter black marks that twist and turn along the road, weaving their way through my community and daily route into the city. While many find this illegal activity annoying and disturbing, I’ve become increasingly intrigued by the form and intricacy of the marks left by a vehicle’s tires when they’re "squealed" in order to "la...
Medicine Walker
Among the First Nations of Canada there are still those who know the old songs, the ancient trails where the strong medicine grows, and how to gather and use it in healing ways. Dr.Dale Auger is a remarkable Cree artist, educator, and medicine man, and our host. Medicine walks in the rich boreal forest of the northern Alberta Cree, as well as with the Haida on their enchanted north Pacific arch...
Still Here: A Journey to Triumph
Still Here: A Journey to Triumph
A group of African Canadian youth were challenged to retrace the paths of their ancestors from former enslavement in the United States to Canada. Through a series of interviews with community elders, historians, and others, youth travel back in time, as far back as the American Revolutionary War, when the first major migration of Blacks arrives on the shores of Shelburne County in Nova Scotia. ...
This Stained Dawn
Faced with persistent violence against women and high levels of sexual assault and domestic violence, feminists in the city of Karachi, Pakistan, organize a women's march, facing threats from the state, the media and the country's radical religious right. Director Anam Abbas follows the march's organizers as they negotiate amidst surveillance, paranoia and insecurity, hoping to spark a revoluti...
Arctic Mosque
In September 2010, a little prefabricated mosque made its way across the trials and beauty of the Canadian landscape in an epic and unprecedented 4000km journey by road and river from the prairie city of Winnipeg to the small arctic town of Inuvik. As the northernmost mosque in the western hemisphere established its roots in the arctic permafrost, so, too, did the small yet eclectic community o...
The Making of a Judge
The Making of a Judge is the story of The Honourable Justice George E. Carter, told by his daughter Linda V. Carter, as he journeys along the path to becoming the first Canadian-born black Judge in the country. Linda has had a lifelong passion and appreciation for her Canadian, West Indian, and African roots, and the story of her father’s pioneering life traces those cultural influences on her ...
Soop on Wheels
Soop on Wheels is a story of the tenacity of the human spirit. It is a story of hope and healing, in relating the life and contributions of Everett Soop (1943-2001). Everett was a Blackfoot political cartoonist and humourist. He lived on the Blood Indian Reserve in southern Alberta. His survival tools were a sense of humour, artistic gifts and spiritual values taught to him by his grandparents....
Stalking Love
There is no one who has nothing to say about love. "Stalking Love" is a feature documentary in which a single camera traverses North America to peer into the hearts of individuals from all walks of life. From across Canada, the US, and Mexico, a colourful tapestry of humanity is woven. The human relationship to "love" is explored through the perspectives of a sex worker in Montreal, a...
Inside Lara Roxx
In the Spring of 2004, 21-year-old Lara Roxx left her hometown of Montreal and headed to L.A to try and make a ton of cash in the adult entertainment industry. Within two months of working in this industry, she contracted the most virulent form of HIV while performing sex in front of the camera. Inside Lara Roxx is a feature-length documentary about the events leading up to that scene and the y...
Arctic Cliffhangers
Canada’s Arctic seabirds are revealing much about the Earth’s changing oceans and climate. Arctic Cliffhangers spotlights the biology and life history of seabirds, providing insights into the impacts of industrial pollution and the role that climate change plays in the transformation of marine ecosystems. In addition to communicating some of the latest scientific findings on polar marine resear...
