Nick Cunningham

Irish-UK producer and former European Film Academy Chairman Mike Downey was honoured September 26 with the Batumi International Art-House Film Festival (BIAFF) in Georgia. The Award acknowledged his contribution to World Cinema as a producer and European Cinema as former chair of EFA and current President of the LUX Prize of the European Parliament.

Lightdox has swept up world sales rights to Patrick Wally’s ‘My Home of Wind and Sand’, a decade-long portrait of Sahrawi activist Najla Mohamed Lamin, ahead of its world premiere at the 22nd Zurich Film Festival on September 29, where it screens in Documentary Competition. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg will attend the premiere and join Lamin, the film’s protagonist, for a post-screening discussion.

Leading film and executive producer Michael Ryan and BAFTA-nominated producer Farah Abushwesha join Irish Film & TV UK as the organisation celebrates 15 years of championing Irish screen talent in the UK. “IFTUK is dedicated to developing and encouraging new talent, as well as promoting established Irish talent, and having such eminent experts as patrons from all areas of the global film & tv business will help us to achieve this,” comments IFTUK Chair, Carey Fitzgerald.

Fourteen Dutch documentary projects, twelve of which are at advanced stage, will be presented during the second edition of NLWave (September 30 to October 2), an initiative of the Netherlands Film Fund and presented in co-operation with SEE NL. The 2026 showcase comprises a who’s who of top Dutch creative and business talent, and presents a wealth of fascinating stories that span the globe. Simone van den Broek, Head of Documentary and Fiction at the Netherlands Film Fund, guides Business Doc Europe through this year’s selection.

The €3000 prize went to director Anna Antsalo and producer Venla Hellstedt for their feature project about a man (Olli) who, in the borderlands of Finland, attempts to preserve the natural dark nights, as light pollution an severely affect our physical and mental wellbeing. “The filmmaker's connection to her character and his passion shows us a world that is very unique and at the same time universal,” the jury commented.

Odd Slice Films has sold French rights to Tom Adjibi’s debut feature This is Not a French Film to DFF (Decolonial Film Festival), following the film’s Grand Prix in the National Competition at the Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF). For DFF, the acquisition marks the organisation’s first wide theatrical release. “This is Not a French Film embodies what we strive for with the DFF: making political discussions accessible through creative cinema,” says Sam Leter, founder of DFF.

DOK Leipzig has announced the full DOK Industry programme for the 69th edition of the festival edition running 26 October – 1 November. This year, the DOK Industry Programme offers “a vibrant mix of formats and activities that engage with key industry topics, foster creative exchange, and provide filmmakers with a space to showcase their work and build lasting connections within the international community,” the festival writes.

The Brazilian It’s All True documentary festival has put out the call for submissions for its next edition running April 8-18 2027. Submissions close on November 30 2026. Winners of the Brazilian and International Feature/Medium-length and Short Film categories automatically qualify for Academy Award nomination consideration in the Best Feature and Best Short Doc categories.

The anniversary edition will present outstanding new films from the Czech Republic and around the world, an extensive section entitled Films That Changed the World, and a retrospective of renowned Vietnamese-American filmmaker and film theorist Trinh T. Minh-ha. The Inspiration Forum will welcome British archaeologist David Wengrow as well as Iranian-Australian architect and Forensic Architecture member Samaneh Moafi. The 30th Ji.hlava IDFF will take place from October 23 to November 1, 2026.

The Institute of Documentary Film (IDF) has announced the nine projects selected for the first edition of its new training initiative, Docs Beyond: Audience, Impact & AI, running 6 October to 11 December 2026. Throughout Autumn 2026, the selected teams will work with experienced international professionals to develop either an impact campaign or an audience design & outreach strategy for their films.