Nick Cunningham

The Central European Documentary Co-production Market (June 3 – 5) is held every year during the Krakow Film Festival in Poland. Building on its Central European location, CEDOC nurtures a cooperation between East and West, North and South with a special focus on Central European projects and talents. The event, organized since 2015, is part of the DOC LAB POLAND and KFF INDUSTRY program, which consists of workshops, consultations and pitchings of Polish documentary projects (DOCS TO START and DOCS TO GO).

Ji.hlava IDFF has repeated its call for the next Emerging Producers programme that will run 2026 through 2027. Every year the festival selects 18 talented producers (17 European and one representing a guest country, this year Japan), which it provides with educational, networking and promotional support. The applications deadline is March 31.

Traces by Alisa Kovalenko & Marysia Nikitiuk, and Morad Mostafa's Aisha Can't Fly Away win the festival’s Grand Jury Awards. Other winners include Cutting Through Rocks by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni (Activist Lens); This Is My Body by Jérôme Clément-Wilz (Justice Frame); Between Brothers by Tom Fassaert (Dutch Focus); and Rahhala: Hayya ala Hayya by Lujain Jo (Shorts).

The Greek Documentary Association has repeated its call to the international doc community to sign a petition over the restriction of cultural content on Greek Public Television, and in particular over the transformation of ERT2 into a channel for exclusively sports-oriented programming. “We invite you, as members of the global documentary community, to stand with the Greek Documentary Association in defending a fundamental principle: that culture, documentary storytelling, and the free expression of creative voices must remain at the heart of public broadcasting,” the organisation writes.

Visions du Réel returns for its 57th edition (17 – 26 April 2026) with a programme featuring 164 films from a record 75 countries. While the representation of women continues to increase (44 %) compared to 39% in 2025, the Festival will also feature 7% co-directed films, as well as 1% directed by non-binary people and 48% by men. Among the 128 new films presented, 83 are world premieres and 8 international premieres. 58 first films, including 36 first feature-length films, complete the picture, with no fewer than 26 Swiss (co)productions.

The NEFTi International Short Film Comp and Movies That Matter Festival announced March 23 a new partnership to support displaced filmmakers living in the European diaspora and across the African continent. The organisations have together launched the 2026 NEFTi Competition, aimed at identifying and supporting emerging filmmakers whose perspectives are shaped by global displacement.

Dutch Bart van den Aardweg discusses his dynamic new documentary, shot in both Belgium and The Netherlands, which addresses alienation and how youths may resort either to criminality or radicalisation as an outlet. “I wanted to explore the mind of somebody on the so-called wrong path further and deeper, and to create an interior monologue, to connect their thoughts to the physical shape I had used before. And I knew that I had to live amongst my characters to catch the real story, make them talk to me.”

Director Eva Strating discusses her new documentary, co-directed with Roxanne Herder, both about Dutch women who are coerced into forced marriages by their own families, and the human rights activist Shirin Musa who is tirelessly working in their interests. The directors had, of course, heard about arranged marriages, “but we never knew that it's still actually something that takes place here, among girls born and raised in The Netherlands,” stresses Strating.

The winners of the international competitions of CPH:DOX 2026 were announced March 20. The international competition line-up included a total of 74 films, hand-picked from thousands of submissions from around the world, featuring 53 world premieres, 17 international premieres, and 4 European premieres. The main prize, the DOX:AWARD, was awarded to ‘Whispers in May’ by Dongnan Chen.

The winners of the CPH:INDUSTRY Awards 2026 were announced March 19, with the Eurimages New Lab Outreach Award, valued at €30,000, going to Don’t Let The Sun Go Up On Me by director Asmae El Moudir and producer Emma Lepers. The Sandbox Films Science Pitch Prize 2026, worth $25,000, went to Matrescence by Kathryn Ferguson. produced by Eleanor Emptage, Rosie Crerar. All awards…