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Despite the politically charged atmosphere covering the region, the Syrian audience was never held back from going to Al Kindi and Zahraa cinema halls in the middle of Damascus, to follow up with DOX BOX’ public activities, the festival that’s organised by PROACTION FILM.
DOX BOX is an exceptional, non-governmental activity that’s far away from all that’s formal, touristic, and propaganda-like, to bring us closer to the mood and spirit of the creative documentary cinema that’s being celebrated.

Ibrahim Haj Abdi – Al Hayat Newspaper

 
DOX BOX organizers are trying to restore the idea of a “cinema club”, for what DOX BOX stands for is patrol Cinema screenings, training activities, providing academic information about creative documentary cinema for anyone interested, and support the emerging young filmmakers with production funds for their doc projects. They’re also trying to create a non- profit, independent foundation.
So, they’re trying to look for unconditional funding from several institutions.
worthy to mention that the local supporters are many; like the French Cultural Centre in Damascus, Goethe institute and the Danish Cultural House, as well as the Secretariat for the «Damascus Arab Capital of Culture».

Rashed Issa, al Safir


Four years ago; DOX BOX International Documentary Film festival started, with the fear of so many  of not being able to continue, like many other independent cultural initiatives that took place in Syria, but the fourth edition of DOX BOX-which will be open after tomorrow- comes to prove that such young adventure is entering today its maturity.
The festival that’s being directed by Orwa Nyrabia and his friends has reached the safe shore today, and has turned into one of the important dates on regional calendar, for being the only festival that’s concerned with introducing creative documentary cinema in the middle east.

Anas Zarzar, Al Akhbar

A perfect interaction the Syrian capital Damascus is witnessing during DOX BOX International Documentary Film Festival, but this edition seems to be more mass, that you find the cinema hall crowded with cinema fans although the film would have started minutes ago, despite such hard, new genre of films.
Some of the audience left the film early after some minutes of silence at the beginning of the film; knowing  that DOX BOX’ main significance is the relying on the escalation of the cinematic image and monitoring the human emotions reflected on the screen; as if the characters roaming in their filmed stories tell their secrets to someone who’s going to hide them for ever, but after a while, the observer realizes that the importance  of telling the story of this character or that is the humanistic view, so that everyone will get to know it through the gate of cinema of reality, that dives in daily life details, which can be easily forgotten if not documented.

Omar al Sheikh, al Nahda



Three minutes talk is enough to launch a new edition of DOX BOX, no need for rhetoric speeches,  and a stylish language that defines all Damascene formal festivals.
Like this; comes the fourth edition of DOX BOX, to ensure that the festival is a model for the independent initiatives. This year, DOX BOX presents for us new experiences from the latest international creative documentary cinema productions.

Wissam Kana’an, Al Akhbar


Since my first meeting with them last year, and before the first screening of the very first edition of DOX BOX, these young people assured me that after three years of hard work, it’s now the time to announce the  experience publically, and 100 % sure there’s no holding back now, because the journey has started, and this is just the first step.
What caught my attention in that meeting, was the strong belief the organizers had in the importance  of the creative documentary cinema, for being a special cinematic creature that holds its uniqueness elements, and not only a first stage that some go through before starting with the fiction filmmaking experience.
In the second edition, that came to be firmer and more matured, we were “like the first edition” watching films from the latest international documentary film productions, as well as back to back films; which is a message the organizers were keen to deliver: that the art of documentary cinema they’re presenting is a memory, it’s old and not incidental or new to the cinema.

Obada Takla, Thara Magazine

The achievement these young people made by creating this film festival, with their hard work and determination; to devote and establish a fertile promising space in the miserable Syrian cinema scene, deserves support and appreciation from the local and international filmmakers, and cinema fans, deserves to stand by them to push this initiative forward to reach its goals, and continue to lit a candle in the darkness of the cinema scene in Syria.

Mohammad Malas, Syrian Filmmaker, al Akhbar



DOX BOX continues its progress for the third year, with no dragging, and with outstanding growth; celebrating the Creative Documentary Cinema locally and internationally, in three cities:
Damascus, Homs, and Tartous.

Yamen Mohammad, Al Jazeera Documentary