Nick Cunningham

The winners of the international competitions at CPH:DOX 2025 were announced during the March 28 award show in Copenhagen. The competition line-up included a total of 71 films across 6 different categories, featuring 56 world premieres. The DOX:AWARD went to Always by Deming Chen. The F:ACT AWARD ‘2000 Meters to Andriivka by Mstyslav Chernov; the HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD to 9-MONTH CONTRACT by Ketevan Vashagashvili, and the NORDIC:DOX AWARD to Walls – Akinni Inuk.

The Eurimages Outreach Award of €30,000 was won by Becoming Lucien, directed by Lucien Pin & Alex Haugmard and produced by Thibault Elie. The Eurimages Innovation Award of €20,000 went to A Sanctuary of Stuff by Francesca Tremulo & Eszter Várhidi. The $25,000 Sandbox Films Science Pitch Prize went to Metropolis by Anupama Srinivasan & Anirban, while the first Rise and Shine Award went to House No.7, directed by Rama Abdi and produced by Hazar Yazji. All awards…

It is rare that a film about death can be so life-affirming, but Thomas Balmès’ story of 39-year-old Amandine - who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer - and the relationship she strikes up with a horse named Peyo, is just that. “The film started as a documentary on the horse in the hospital, and ended being a film about that question of what to do with your life when you know that the time you have left is short, how you are dealing with your kids, with your husband, with your family, to prepare them for your death,” the director tells BDE.

Tommy Gulliksen’s film is about Jens Stoltenberg’s final year as Nato secretary general, and the prize makes the film eligible for nomination for the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Film. Other winners include Alina Simone's Black Snow (Activist Lens); Kamay by Ilyas Yourish and Shahrokh Bikaran (Justice Frame); Home Game by Lidija Zelovic (Dutch Focus); and Man Number 4 by Miranda Pennell (Shorts). Marianna Brennand’s Manas won the Grand Jury Fiction Award.

The screening of Andres Veiel’s film, about arguably the 20th Century’s most controversial filmmaker, coincides with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. “The documentary reminds us of the seductive power of images and narratives, while posing a crucial question: what is the artist's responsibility?” says DocsBarcelona Artistic Director Maria Colomer. The festival, which runs May 8 to 18, will feature Germany as its guest country and pay tribute to German producer and distributor Heino Deckert.

“From the beginning I wanted to address one of the problems that concerns me most at the moment, something that affects us all,” comments Natxo Leuza, director of the feature doc Black Water, about the flooding of much of Bangladesh as a result of climate change. “However, it was always clear to me that the story should focus on the characters. I wanted them to carry the weight of the film, representing the millions of people who will have to leave their homes.”

In addition to the strong Swiss selections in the Visions du réel programme, VdR–Industry announces 15 new Swiss projects participating within the RTS and SWISS FILMS pitch sessions, as well as in the official VdR–Pitching showcase. In addition, VdR–Industry announces a new partnership with Unifrance to welcome France as the Country of Focus, while also offering up a showcase of diverse new documentaries from Norway.

Set against a backdrop of a city (Mosul, Iraq) devastated both by war and ISIS occupation, The Lions by the River Tigris tells a story both of stubbornness and regeneration as Fakhri, a passionate collector of artefacts, sets his heart on a marble doorframe owned by fisherman Bashar. But Bashar won't sell – even if the house that surrounds it is in ruins. “I've been very lucky in this film…because each time I was in Mosul there was something else that shaped the whole story, opened the doors and give me a new layer,” director Zaradasht Ahmed tells BDE.

The Finnish industry delegation features five producers, “each with a unique vision and a slate of projects ready to captivate global audiences.” Additionally, the Finnish Film Fund has just invested 656,000 euros in production support; and at the Jussi Film Awards (March 21), the feature doc Once Upon a Time in a Forest won The Nordisk Film Award, worth 20,000 euros, as well as Documentary of the Year and Cinematography of the Year Awards.

The Polish doc industry is enjoying a busy CPH:DOX with the co-pros My Dear Théo and The Ground Beneath Our Feet in DOX:AWARD and NORDIC:DOX respectively. Words We Never Say, the new project by Agnieszka Zwiefka is selected for Forum, while a delegation of five female producers will also attend CPH:INDUSTRY. “This is very gratifying because it proves that the goal we set ourselves when we started Polish Docs has been achieved,” says Head of Polish Docs PRO Katarzyna Wilk. “Producers and filmmakers from Poland are becoming more and more aware of their strong position in the international industry.”