Nick Cunningham

In her feature doc world-premiering in International Competition at DOK.fest Munich, Maria Wischnewski profiles Helene Weigel, the great German actress, theatre manager and matriarch, and partner of Bertolt Brecht. “It is a strikingly modern story which, despite all its ambivalence, is far ahead of today’s feminist debates. In a time when we desperately need role models, there is still much to learn from her,” Wischnewski tells BDE.

During the May 7 Opening Ceremony of the 23rd Millennium Docs Against Gravity, the feature documentary Fiume o morte! by Igor Bezinović was awarded the inaugural FIPRESCI Documentary Grand Prix, following a vote by members of the International Federation of Film Critics from around the world. The film has already received the European Film Award for Best European Documentary and was recognized at the Rotterdam festival, where it won both the Tiger Award in the Main Competition and the FIPRESCI Jury Prize.

The 22nd edition of the Docu Talents from the East – a presentation of the most remarkable new documentary projects from Central and Eastern Europe – will take place August 16 during the Cinelink Industry Days at Sarajevo FF. “The Docu Talents has proven to be an event that effectively interconnects documentary film professionals with festival selectors and producers. Each year we see very tangible results both for the careers of the selected filmmakers and for their films,” adds Jarmila Outratová, head of Ji.hlava IDFF Industry. The deadline for submissions is May 31.

“We don’t separate cinematic quality from impact,” DocsBarcelona’s Èric Motjer tells BDE before doors open on the festival’s 29th edition. “We value both. We look for films that connect with the world we live in and that have cinematic value. I would say that giving value to the collective cinematic experience is central to how we think about the programme.” The festival runs May 7 to 17. Motjer is joined in interview by co-Artistic Director Maria Colomer.

The Polish feature documentary Closure tells the most desperate of personal stories, that of a dad searching for his lost son. “This film became one of the most challenging I’ve made on every level, because it required holding two impulses at once,” director Michał Marczak tells BDE. “On the one hand, I wanted to keep the crew minimal and intimate. On the other hand, I wanted the film to carry an epic scope, to convey emotion through images and atmosphere, through showing rather than telling.”

“I think there is no imperative for documentary films to change the world. But you can’t deny the fact that they do have an impact on our reality,” MDAG Artistic Director Karol Piekarczyk tells BDE, as he reflects on the global crises that have formed a grim backdrop to all our lives over the past years. The 23rd Millennium Docs Against Gravity docfest opens May 7 across seven Polish cities - Warsaw, Wroclaw, Gdynia, Poznan, Katowice, Lodz, Bydgoszcz - running 8 to 17 May 2026 in cinemas, before going online 19 May to 1 June.

DOKfest Munich boss Adele Kohout discusses her 2026 festival offer with BDE, at the same time reflecting on the heightened need for documentaries right now, and events such as hers to exhibit them. “The documentary is the best form of expression for our times,” she tells BDE. “I see the documentary as a magnifying glass, and its relevance is greater than ever. People have a need for the real, the authentic, especially when they…trust images less. And that is exactly what the documentary offers.” The festival runs May 6 to 18.

The ARTE European Talent Development Award is part of “a strategic alliance that strengthens the role of the professional market as a key space for promoting new documentary projects in the context of increasing complexity in sector financing,” the festival writes. The ARTE professional prize joins others offered by the of Al Jazeera Documentary and 3Cat. Total prize money at DocsBarcelona Pro this year exceeds €66,000, of which €52,500 is in cash.

The Audience Award for Best Canadian Doc was handed May 4 to American Doctor by Poh Si Teng, Kirstine Barfod and Reem Haddad. The Hot Docs Best International Feature Documentary award was handed earlier to the Dutch/Palestinian House of Hope (pictured) by Marjolein Busstra. The prize for Best Canadian Feature Doc was awarded to Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom by Kim Nguyen. All awards…

The section features docs on cinema and its history, highlighting major figures such as Bruce Dern, David Lean, Vittorio De Sica, and Chris Marker, as well as Mark Cousins’ latest episode in his continuing series on the history of documentary filmmaking, this time focusing on the 1970s. These films will compete for the L’Œil d’Or award presented during the awards ceremony of the 79th Festival de Cannes. All doc selections…