CPH:DOX returns to Copenhagen March 11–22 2026 for its 23rd edition, presenting more than 200 new films alongside debates, live talks, concerts, exhibitions and special events. 86 world premieres, 25 international premieres and 10 European premieres are featured in this year’s festival, of which 63 are feature-length films. Key figures coming to Copenhagen include HBO cult icon John Wilson, French actress and director Juliette Binoche and acclaimed documentarian Louis Theroux, amongst many others.
This year’s film programme features six competition categories, judged by international juries: DOX:AWARD, F:ACT AWARD, NORDIC:DOX AWARD, NEXT:WAVE AWARD, NEW:VISION AWARD, HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD and the new FIPRESCI Award.
The 2026 DOX:AWARD main competition line-up features strongly anticipated world premieres, such as the festival’s opening film by Pieter-Jan De Pue, MARIINKA, Amazomania by Nathan Grossman and Whispers in May by Dongnan Chen amongst many other important titles, the festival notes.
The festival further flags up Special Premieres which include world premieres by James Jones (Fukushima), Omar Shargawi (Palestinian Unwanted), Michael Loeken and Ulrike Franke (Watching People Watching Birds) and Dan Vernon (The Spy Next Door), including anticipated international premieres such as Daniel Roher’s The AI Doc: How I Became an Apocaloptimist.
Special guests coming to this year’s festival include John Wilson with his debut feature The History of Concrete alongside Juliet Binoche with her directorial debut In-I In Motion and Louis Theroux with his latest film The Settlers, 2026 Sundance World Cinema Grand Jury Prize winner Biljana Tutorov To Hold A Mountain, Sara Dosa (Time and Water), Sébastien Lifshitz (A Very Good Boy), Bea Wangondu (Kikuyu Land), Maite Alberdi (A Child of my Own), Alisa Kovalenko (Traces) along with many others.
CPH:DOX 2026: A DOUBLE TAKE ON A WORLD GONE MAD
“From the Arctic to the Amazon, Gaza to Greenland and Kyiv to the Kremlin, CPH:DOX 2026 spans the full alphabet of a world in flux. The festival converges urgent reports from the world’s geopolitical boiling points with critical inquiries into AI disruption, Big Tech, oligarchs, and the battle for freedom of expression, while also tackling the accelerating climate crisis, neurotechnology’s ethical frontiers, and the fragile state of democracy itself,” the festival writes.
At the centre of this year’s programme are two main thematic programmes: ‘RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW’, which examines human and civil rights in a world where rules and freedoms are increasingly contested, and ‘BRAIN WAVES’, which explores the brain, consciousness, and the ways technology is reshaping human experience.
Artistic Director Niklas Engstrøm comments: “In a world spinning out of control, where speed and distraction dominate, documentary film is more essential than ever – because it slows us down, helps us see complexity, and allows us to grasp what matters. At CPH:DOX 2026, we take a double look: at the outer world order, under political and social upheaval, and at the inner world order of our brains, reshaped by AI, algorithms, and neurotechnology. Check out the full CPH:DOX 2026 programme.
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
The major thematic programme ‘Right here, Right now’ returns with a focus on human rights, civil rights and international rights “in a world where the rules suddenly seem negotiable,” the festival notes. The programme consists of 30 films representing the 30 human rights, alongside a major exhibition at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, the thematic stage SOCIETY:CINEMA at Pressen (Politikens Hus), and a large debate and event programme. As part of the theme, CPH:DOX presents a Human:Rights Award to a new film with a special focus on human rights. Read more about the Right here, Right programme.
NEW SCIENCE-THEMED FOCUS: BRAIN WAVES
CPH:DOX 2026 introduces ‘BRAIN WAVES’, a major thematic programme exploring the brain, the mind and consciousness at a time when technology is reshaping what it means to be human.
The programme features world premieres such as Intelligence Rising, in which technologists, generals and philosophers engage in a bold wargame to explore how AI might reshape global power; Conscious, a reflective investigation into awareness and dementia research; Menopause Mystery, a personal and revealing exploration of women’s mental health and hormonal change; and the live-documentary performance Brains in the State of Suspension, a provocative work challenging notions of embodiment and intelligence.
The line‑up also includes contributions from internationally-recognised researchers such as Professor Anil Seth and Dr Nicholas Wright. ‘BRAIN WAVES’ invites audiences to engage with some of the most profound questions of the 21st‑century mind. Read more about the BRAIN WAVES thematic programme.
SOUND & VISION: PLENTY OF MUSIC AT CPH:DOX 2026
CPH:DOX once again presents a dedicated music programme for film and music lovers, combining documentaries with live experiences. This year’s selection includes portrait documentaries about Nick Cave, Marianne Faithfull, Judas Priest, Boy George & Culture Club, Sun Ra Arkestra, and Danish artist Lydmor, alongside more genre-driven films about funk, folk, Arctic music traditions, postcolonial Irish music, and classical child musicians. Read more about the Sound & Vision thematic programme.
EXHIBITIONS AT CPH:DOX
Kunsthal Charlottenborg serves as CPH:DOX’s long-standing festival centre, with screenings, debates, industry activities and social events. There, guests of the festival can experience the CPH:DOX 2026 INTER:ACTIVE exhibition focusing on immersive non-fiction under the theme ‘HYPERVIGILANCE’, curated by CPH:LAB’s Head of Studies, Mark Atkin (March 11–22).
Visitors of Kunsthal Charlottenborg can also experience the solo exhibition by Polish artist and activist Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Pani, so tradeł / Water that Wanders (12 March–16 August 2026), curated by Henriette Bretton-Meyer.
CPH:DOX also presents three main stages that spotlight society, science and art: SCIENCE:CINEMA at Nørrebro Teater (March 13–15), SOCIETY:CINEMA at Pressen, Politikens Hus (March 17–19), and ART:CINEMA at SMK – Statens Museum for Kunst (March 20–22).
CPH:DOX 2026 OUTSIDE OF COPENHAGEN
During the festival, films and events take place across Copenhagen and nationwide through the festival’s long-standing initiative, DOX:DANMARK, which in 2026 includes 61 municipalities – a record number of municipalities. DOX:DANMARK also presents more than 400 screenings around the country from March 10–25, with many screenings accompanied by talks, filmmaker visits, shared dinners, community events and more.
After the physical festival, CPH:DOX continues online on the festival’s own streaming platform PARA:DOX on paradox.dk from March 20–April 5, where a curated selection of films can be rented individually (geo-blocked to Denmark).
