Doc Alliance

Eight feature-length documentaries, eight distinctive artistic voices — and one award. 🏆 Today in one week, the Doc Alliance Award will be presented at @cannes.docs , and the excitement is building. We can’t wait to see which film will take it home! Take a moment to explore the nominated feature films — which one has your heart? 👀 🌟 A Song Without Home – Rati Tsiteladze 🌟 Afterlives – Kevin B. Lee 🌟 Fantasy – Isabel Pagliai 🌟 Holler For Service – Ole Elfenkaemper, Kathrin Seward 🌟 Imago – Déni Oumar Pitsaev 🌟 Minimum Love – Maja Penčič 🌟 The Case Against Space – Graeme Arnfield 🌟 Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest – Viv Li The Doc Alliance Awards promote emerging talents in European documentary film. Each of the seven partner festivals in Doc Alliance nominated one short and one feature: @cphdox , @doclisboa.iff , @dokleipzig , @fidmarseille , @jihlava_idff , @millenniumdocsagainstgravity , @visionsdureel . @goldenapricotiff has joined the network as a guest for this year.

Short and sweet — with a lasting impact. ❤️ In two weeks from today, the Doc Alliance Award will be presented at @cannes.docs ! Take a glimpse into the nominated short documentaries — and get a feel for their stories, tones, and unique perspectives. Which ones are you rooting for?🤞 ✨ Amma, Do Giraffes Cry? – Kartikeya Saxena ✨ Apocalypse Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, and the Day After Tomorrow – Anastasiia Bonadyha ✨ Cold Call – Stefanie Schroeder ✨ Conversations and Dreams – Melanya Hamasyan ✨ Errabonda – Emma Harris ✨ Some of You Fucked Eva – Lilith Grasmug ✨ The Divided City of Mitrovica – Marko Grba Singh ✨ The Interpreter – Mohamad Hafeda The Doc Alliance Awards promote emerging talents in European documentary film. Each of the seven partner festivals in Doc Alliance nominated one short and one feature: @cphdox , @doclisboa.iff , @dokleipzig , @fidmarseille , @jihlava_idff , @millenniumdocsagainstgravity , @visionsdureel . @goldenapricotiff has joined the network as a guest for this year.

Say hello to this year’s Doc Alliance Award Jury! 👋 The award winners will be revealed in May at Cannes Docs – and these three film experts will make the call: 👁️ Wouter Jansen is the founder of the sales company Square Eyes and an expert for Locarno Open Doors and First Cut Lab. He regularly engages in selection committees for funding bodies and industry programmes. 🎞️ María Palacios Cruz is a film curator, writer and educator. She has been the director of Open City Documentary Festival in London since 2021, is a co-founder of The Visible Press and regularly writes on artists’ moving image and avant-garde cinema. ✍️ Mark Peranson is a programmer, writer, producer, filmmaker and former editor/publisher of Cinema Scope magazine. He is currently producing a series of short films for the Museo Nationale di Cinema in Turin, and curating a screening series and writing a book on films and museums. Which films will stand out from this year’s selection of 16 European documentaries? 🌿 Find out on 19 May at @cannes.docs ! Supported by @creative.eu #DocAlliance #CannesDocs #FilmFestival #CreativeEurope #documentaryfilm

🏆Discover the nominated short films for the Doc Alliance Award 2026 ✨🎬 Eight films are competing for the BEST SHORT FILM AWARD! 👉 Swipe through to explore the full selection. In order of appearance: 🎥 Amma, Do Giraffes Cry? – Kartikeya Saxena 🎥 Apocalypse Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, and the Day After Tomorrow – Anastasiia Bonadyha 🎥 Cold Call – Stefanie Schroeder 🎥 Conversations and Dreams – Melanya Hamasyan 🎥 Errabonda – Emma Harris 🎥 Some of You Fucked Eva – Lilith Grasmug 🎥 The Divided City of Mitrovica – Marko Grba Singh 🎥 The Interpreter – Mohamad Hafeda Congratulations to all the filmmakers and their teams! 👏 Read more about each film via the link in bio. Who will take home the award? We’ll find out at @cannes.docs on 19 May 2026 👀 The Doc Alliance Awards highlight emerging talents in European documentary film. Each of the seven partner festivals nominates one short and one feature: @cphdox @doclisboa.iff @dokleipzig @fidmarseille @jihlava_idff @millenniumdocsagainstgravity @visionsdureel . This year, @goldenapricotiff joins as guest festival. #DocAlliance #DocAllianceAwards #ShortDocs #DocumentaryFilm #cannesdocs

🏆Meet the contenders for the Doc Alliance Award 2026! ✨🎬 16 remarkable documentary films have now been selected by our network’s festivals! We proudly present: The films in the running for this year’s BEST FEATURE AWARD! 👉 Swipe through to explore the full selection. In order of appearance: 🎥 A Song Without Home – Rati Tsiteladze 🎥 Afterlives – Kevin B. Lee 🎥 Fantasy – Isabel Pagliai 🎥 Holler For Service – Ole Elfenkaemper, Kathrin Seward 🎥 Imago – Déni Oumar Pitsaev 🎥 Minimum Love – Maja Penčič 🎥 The Case Against Space – Graeme Arnfield 🎥 Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest – Viv Li Big congrats to all the filmmakers and teams involved! Dive deeper into each film via the link in bio. Who will take this Doc Alliance award home? We’ll find out at @cannes.docs 2026, on 19 May! The Doc Alliance Awards promote emerging talents in European documentary film. Each of the seven partner festivals in Doc Alliance nominated one short and one feature: @cphdox , @doclisboa.iff , @dokleipzig , @fidmarseille , @jihlava_idff , @millenniumdocsagainstgravity , @visionsdureel . @goldenapricotiff has joined the network as a guest for this year. #docalliance #docallianceawards Supported by @creative.eu #documentaryfilm #cannesdocs #mdf26

👀 Already one month ago! We had a grand time at the @efm_europeanfilmmarket 's Doc Salon. After a croissant-laden breakfast, we dove into the interconnected ecosystems that film festivals may function as across Europe. What does that mean? Our research started with this idea: networks of film festivals can play a key role in advancing inclusive programming! If films, filmmakers and perspectives circulate across borders, markets and audiences, emerging and underrepresented voices can gain more visibility and sustainability. As a network, we can create important bridges between artistic visibility and professional continuity, supporting filmmakers' transition from early recognition to long-term careers. Food for thought? Certainly! Thank you all for an inspiring day and the manifold valuable input. We love to continue this conversation 🥰

✨ Feels like 2026 is about to start for real now: The Doc Alliance festival season kicks off next week with CPH:DOX and we can’t wait to meet you all soon.👋 Mark your calendars and save the dates for: 11–22 March 2026 🎞 CPH:DOX @cphdox 17–26 April 2026 🎞 Visions du Réel @visionsdureel 8–17 May 2026 in cinemas 19 May – 1 June online 🎞 MillenniumDocsAgainstGravity @millenniumdocsagainstgravity 7–12 July 2026 🎞 FIDMarseille @fidmarseille 12–19 July 2026 🎞 Golden Apricot, our guest festival @goldenapricotiff 15–25 October 2026 🎞 Doclisboa @doclisboa.iff 23 October – 1 November 2026 Ji.hlava IDFF @jihlava_idff 26 October – 1 November 2026 🎞 DOK Leipzig @dokleipzig Which documentary festival are you planning to attend this year? Tell us! 💬

Are you planning your @berlinale journey? Don‘t miss the chance to chat! We invite you to two events part of the @efm_europeanfilmmarket ! Meet festival members and find out what‘s going on in the alliance. 🥐💫14 February from 9:30–10:30: Start your day at the DocSalon right: with coffee, croissants and new connections with the international documentary community. Let's exchange ideas with the Doc Alliance and the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region 🗣️💫 14 February 10:30–12:30: Festivals as Engines of Inclusion and Talent Development Join us for a roundtable with representatives of Doc Alliance and the Network of Festivals of the Adriatic Region as we chat about the role of film festivals not only as individual exhibition platforms, but as interconnected ecosystems that shape cultural circulation, professional pathways and audience access across Europe. We'll talk about advancing inclusive programming and talent development in these networks. Save the date and be sure to stop by! We‘re looking forward to seeing you there and to hear your experiences and questions. 🙌 #DocAlliance was founded by @cphdox @doclisboa.iff @dokleipzig @fidmarseille @jihlava_idff @millenniumdocsagainstgravity @visionsdureel and is supported by @creative.eu #creativeeuropemedia

🍑 MEET OUR GUEST FESTIVAL 2026: Welcome to the Golden Apricot IFF! Amidst Yerevan's walls, art-house films come alive. Founded 2004 in Yerevan, Armenia, @goldenapricotiff strives to be a “Crossroads of Cultures and Civilizations”, building bridges and fostering dialogue through cinema. Save the date: This year, the apricots shine golden from 12–19 July. ☀️ As our guest festival, GAIFF will participate in our joint events and meetings – we’ve already started to exchange experiences and ideas. 💫 And like all members of our network, Golden Apricot will also select a short and a feature-length film to be nominated for the upcoming Doc Alliance Awards. So stay tuned! We will announce the Doc Alliance Award nominees soon.👏 #DocAlliance #EuropeanFilm #DocumentaryFilm @cphdox @doclisboa.iff @dokleipzig @fidmarseille @jihlava_idff @millenniumdocsagainstgravity @visionsdureel supported by @creative.eu #creativeeuropemedia 📸: YantsImages/ Aram Nersesyan

As you know, we are part of @docalliance , a network that brings together seven wonderful European documentary film festivals. As part of this collaboration, we award a joint prize, organize meetings focused on event organization, research our audiences, and share knowledge. 💛 But that’s not all — together, we also develop new, user-friendly solutions that make it easier to produce new films and support networking among filmmakers. Now we proudly share with you information that Doc Alliance Network of Markets Digital Platform is live! The joint initiative of FIDLab (@fidmarseille ), Ji.hlava New Visions (@jihlava_idff ), MDAG Industry, and Doclisboa’s Nebulae (@doclisboa.iff ) brings all four markets’ projects together in one online space - markets.docalliance.org 🎬 Accredited film professionals can now: → Access projects from all four markets year‑round, → Chat directly with project teams, → Track updates, receive notifications, and explore the archive of previous editions, → Soon: enjoy new tools like Video Libraries and AI Matchmaking. This collaboration enhances the visibility and international reach of European documentary projects throughout the year. More at: markets.docalliance.org 💛

Calling all festivals in Europe 📣 Join the Doc Alliance for a year in 2026! We annually invite one documentary film festival to become a temporary member of our closely co-operating festival network, be part of joint presentations at selected major industry events and participate in the selections for the Doc Alliance Award.✨ Our call for applications is open until 15 September. Want to be next with your festival? Head to our website (link in bio🔗), read all about what you can expect as a Doc Alliance guest partner and fill in the application form. We’re looking forward to meeting you! Contact us now. 💌 Who's part of the Doc Alliance? @cphdox , @doclisboa.iff , @dokleipzig , @fidmarseille , @jihlava_idff , @millenniumdocsagainstgravity , @visionsdureel . @puntodevistafestival has joined the network as a guest for this year. #docalliance #docallianceawards Supported by @creative.eu

We’re going to @sarajevofilmfestival ! Join us at three panels, presenting three chapters of our research insights - all happening on 18 August as part of the CineLink Industry Days programmes. 🪡 “Year-Round Audience Engagement: From First Screen Encounters to Lifelong Loyalty” – held by Gabriela Šitek, @millenniumdocsagainstgravity 🌱 “Greener Festivals in a High-Footprint Business: What We Can (and Can’t) Control” – held by Marek Hovorka, @jihlava_idff 🧐 “Decoding the Documentary Industry: What Are Decision Makers Looking For?” – Helder Beja, @doclisboa.iff These panels are open to all accredited industry guests and co-presented with the Network of festivals in the Adriatic Region. See you there? 🥰