Searching for Amani, directed by Nicole Gormley and Debra Aroko, won the Dokumentale Competition prize, valued at €20,000, as doors closed on the festival’s inaugural roll-out. Ten films, including nine German premieres and one international premiere, were nominated for the award.
The international competition jury, consisting of Marie Erbs Ørbæk (CPH:DOX), Mara Prohaska Marković (Beldocs), and director Ibrahim Nash’at (HOLLYWOODGATE), commented: “Searching for Amani is a multi-layered film that begins with journalistic investigations into the death of Simon Ali’s father and then seamlessly transitions into a story that addresses culture, tradition, identity, and the climate crisis, which affects all of us – though some more directly than others. Through Simon Ali, whose personality seems to leap off the screen, we are drawn into his search for justice and peace. At the same time, he shows us how the drought caused by climate change has devastating effects on people like him and his family.”
Additionally, the jury recognized the work of directors Jennifer Wickham, Michael Toledano, and Brenda Michell with a Special Mention for their film Yintah. Yintah which powerfully portrays the Wet’suwet’en people in northern Canada as they protest land seizures and the construction of a pipeline.
Awards were also given in other areas of documentary storytelling. Origen was recognized as the best VR work. The jury, consisting of Katharina Haverich, Sergey Prokofyev, and Fernanda Parente, explained their decision: “Origen stands out as a truly remarkable work, both artistically beautiful and technically masterful.” The first part of Emilia Sánchez Chiquetti’s VR trilogy immerses users into the Amazon through mythological creatures. The VR experience highlights the ecological consequences of human intervention.
This year, the curators of the Dokumentale also honoured two outstanding non-fiction works in the fields of books and podcasts. The non-fiction book ‘Café der Freiheit’ stood out for “its personal narrative style and its ability to address complex topics like migration and integration in a touching way,” while the podcast ‘Springerstiefel’ impressed with its “investigative research and its clear stance against right-wing extremism. Both works are important contributions to current debates and showcase the diversity of topics covered by the Dokumentale.”
The first Dokumentale ran October 10-20. Selected films from the program are also available to stream online until October 31.
