Ever since 2012, KDocsFF has been presenting social-justice documentaries. It began as a film series under the name Miss Representation Action Group. Then in 2014, it evolved into KDocsFF and partnered with the Vancouver International Film Festival. That year, it screened The Price We Pay about big business tax avoidance and How to Survive the Plague about AIDS activists. Since then, it carried on every year, including during the pandemic.
However, next year’s KDocsFF festival and KDocsFF’s year-round program have been placed on hiatus.
This comes after the founder and festival director, Janice Morris, suffered a hip fracture and underwent surgery. According to a KDocsFF post on Linkedin, Morris is currently recovering. Meanwhile, KDocsFF’s community outreach program and social justice lab will continue under Greg Chan.
Prior to being put on hold, the festival was scheduled for February 19 to 23 at the Vancouver International Film Centre.
“Thank you to all our partners, collaborators, funders, supporters, guests, and volunteers for sticking by us,” the post states. “We will be back!”
KDocsFF based at Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Morris teaches English literature at Kwantlen Polytechnic University; Chan teaches film studies courses in KPU’s English department.
For several years, KDocsFF was described as a Kwantlen Polytechnic University-organized festival and it continues to be housed at KPU. Unlike some other Canadian film festivals, it’s not a stand-alone registered charity.
“Building strong partnerships was (and still is) a foundational goal of KDocsFF—that is, to be a film festival that is not just faculty-driven with narrow goals, but also student-, staff-, alumni-, and community-driven, with a global-facing, social justice education mission rooted in learner engagement,” the festival states on its website.
“We are extremely proud of the many connections and collaborations KDocsFF has initiated, built, and deepened, on campus and off,” it adds. “We look forward to further engaging with and on behalf of KPU’s many learners.”
The festival has gone on hiatus during a difficult financial period for the university. On December 11, the student paper, The Runner, reported that KPU was projecting a 21 percent decline in international students in the next fiscal year. This comes as a result of a federal government reducing study permits. By 2026, according to The Runner, KPU’s tuition revenues from international students will have fallen to $63.8 million from $119.8 million in 2024.
KDocsFF’s Linkedin post did not make any connection between the postponement of the festival and the university’s financial challenges.
Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia and on Instagram @PancouverMedia. Follow Charlie Smith on Bluesky @charliesmithvcr.bsky.social.
