The DC/DOX Documentary Film Festival returned to the district this June, once again providing a platform for emerging filmmakers innovating documentary storytelling. Held from June 13th to 16th, the festival showcased a diverse range of documentaries on big screens across the city. These films tackled critical topics like LGBTQ+ shelters and the controversial reinstatement of Arizona's abortion ban.

One of the standouts among the festival documentaries screened (51 features and 47 shorts) was 14 Paintings, a portrait of a society in transition. This short film explores the Chinese village of Dafen, formerly the world’s largest supplier of reproduction Western art masterpieces, as it undergoes a government-driven transformation from producing copies of paintings to creating originals. The documentary follows the artists of Dafen redefining their identities in light of this shift. Each of the fourteen painters navigates their experience of what it means to have the foundation of a society change overnight.

In an interview with film director Dongnan Chen, she said, “These paintings form a social map, connecting various aspects of our lives in a weird and unique way. So I thought instead of focusing on the village itself, I wanted to explore the intricate relationships between the painters, the buyers, the paintings, and the physical spaces in which they're displayed.”

Champions of the Golden Valley, a film by director Ben Sturgulewski, is a beautiful and deeply touching film that explores the power of sport and skiing in bringing together a culturally divided community in the frosty mountains of Bamiyan in the wake of Afghanistan’s collapse to the Taliban — A film about community and resilience.

Central to the story is the Afghan Ski Challenge, a ski race conceived by Alishah, an Olympic-hopeful coach and the film’s protagonist. Two other characters — Mujtaba and Hussain Ali, are mountain shepherds with passions for the sport. Originating from two different Afghani villages and ethnic groups, their skiing rivalry evokes tension and excitement.

The DC/DOX Documentary Film Festival is co-founded by industry veterans Sky Sitney and Jamie Shor, who bring decades of experience in festival creation and programming.

Sofia Gaviria Partow is an undergraduate student at Yale University, studying Economics with a certificate in Arabic.