DOXA film fest showcases Vancouver’s underground music scene

Credit: Flickr / Lauren Monaco

Vancouver band Japandroids appear in No Fun City at DOXA film festival

What better way to learn the secrets of Vancouver’s underground music scene than on the big screen

In 2008, I had the chance to see City Beats: Lost Vancouver from the ’40s to the ’60s at the Vancouver DOXA Documentary Film Festival. The program featured a series of archived black-and-white short films that offered “poetic portraits” of our city. The audience was blown away by trolley buses along Hastings, fishing in False Creek and canoes on Lost Lagoon.

Both films, while showcasing very different musical eras promise to reveal some little-known Vancouver secrets. 

Opening this weekend, May 7–16, DOXA is your best best for not-to-miss docs. Looking for schedule information? Check out the Festival Program.

Similarly, if you’ve ever walked by a scenester on Main Street and thought you’d travelled back in time, two docs at this year’s DOXA fest may just set you straight. Set to have its world premiere at DOXA, Susanne Tabata’s Bloodied but Unbowed chronicles the emergence of Vancouver’s 1970s and ’80s punk rock scene. If it’s anything like the trailer, the film is sure to feature some very colourful characters!

Or, if you’re more interested in Vancouver’s contemporary music scene check out Melissa James and Kate Kroll’s No Fun City, a doc that provides a glimpse into Vancouver’s underground music scene today and features performances from bands you’re sure to remember: including 3 Inches of Blood, Nu Sensae and the Sex Negatives.