Nick Cunningham

For the 40th edition of DOK.fest Munich, new director Adele Kohout will be sharing executive duties with outgoing director Daniel Sponsel who is standing down after the festival. “What is our mission? It is basically to create dialogue, to be open and propose ideas, propose perspectives, and to stay in touch with all different fragments of society, especially when it comes to the democracy issues that we are all being challenged right now,” Kohout tells BDE.

World-premiering May 9 in International Competition of the 40th DOK.fest Munich, In Hell with Ivo follows Bulgarian queer artist and songwriter Ivo Dimchev who transforms personal and social hardship into provocative public and intimate private spectacles, boldly exploring sexuality, identity, faith, and activism in a liberating celebration of queer visibility.

Still Pushing Pineapples is described as “a melancholy yet heartfelt look” into the story of Dene Michael, the former singer of UK pop outfit Black Lace. The festival also announced Professor Brian Cox as Guest Speaker. Additionally, award-winning producers Norma Percy & Lucy Hetherington will talk with UK journalist Nina Hossain. The 32nd Sheffield DocFest will run June 18-23.

The Norwegian Film Institute has awarded NOK 6.5 million (approx. €551,500) in production funding to three documentary films. The largest grants go to new projects from two of Norway's most prominent documentary filmmakers; Benjamin Ree, whose Ibelin was short-listed for the 2025 Oscars, and Margreth Olin, whose Songs of Earth was Norway’s submission for Best International Feature (also 2025).

Taking place Thursday 19 & Friday 20 June 2025, MeetMarket is part of a marketplace programme of talent development, pitches, roundtables and conferences designed to connect new projects with industry partners that runs across the festival. The selection includes 49 doc projects in development, production, and at rough cut stage, to be pitched in one-to-one meetings to UK and International industry representatives and experts.

“There are three kinds of people, the living, the dead, and those that go to sea,” wrote Aristotle over two millennia ago. As evidenced within Virginia Tangvald’s highly personal and tragic feature doc Ghosts by the Sea, the siren call remains as clear and dangerous as ever. As is the sea's tendency to intoxicate or instil a sense of madness in those who dedicate their lives to sailing on its turbulent surface. The director explains more to Business Doc Europe. (Canadian Spectrum)

The second Dokumentale will kick off in style June 11 with Glanz & Widerstand (Glamour & Resistance) - an immersive foray into the life of Marlene Dietrich, presented in association with the Berlin Ballet Company. Dedicated to documentary storytelling across different media, Dokumentale 2025 will present 40 documentary films, ten of which will be competing for the Grand Prize, from 12-22 June.

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) announced April 29 the appointment of Isabel Arrate Fernandez as its new Artistic Director. In her new role, Arrate Fernandez will “bear the final responsibility for the creative direction and policy of the organization, as well as the organization of the festival program, including the industry, talent and education programs, and the program of the newly opened Het Documentaire Paviljoen in Vondelpark,” the festival writes.

The Doc Alliance network of European documentary festivals has selected 8 feature-length and 8 short docs, with prize monies of €5,000 and €3,000 to support the future projects of the winners. The Doc Alliance Award will be presented during the Doc Day Lunch held at the Marché du Film on March 20. This year’s jury members are film critic Fernando Ganzo; Gerald Weber (sixpackfilm), and producer Caroline Kirberg (CEO of pong film).

Hot on the heels of a very busy Visions du Réel, NFB (National Film Board of Canada) attends its home festival of Hot Docs with six new films, five of which are world premieres. Distribution, Marketing and Communications topper Nathalie Bourdon talks to BDE about the appeal of Canadian doc output. “First of all, our stories and our documentaries are always best quality, that's for sure. Because we take the time to do things well, the industry and audience know that the directors won't be muzzled. They [our filmmakers] tell their story the way they want to tell it.”