Berlinale 26

A deep dive into the wild and woolly filmmaking world of The Critics - a group of young would-be filmmakers working in a rough neighbourhood in the Nigerian city of Kaduna, also known as Crocodile City - Crocodile is a remarkable examination and celebration of a collective whose super low-budget sci-fi romps act both as a celebration of the films they love and the world they look to escape from.

At EFM 2026 Ji.hlava IDFF presented the current cohort of professionals partaking in its Emerging Producers programme, and put out the call for the next programme that will run 2026 through 2027. Every year the festival selects 18 talented producers (17 European and one representing a guest country), which it provides with educational, networking and promotional support. The applications deadline for the next programme is March 31.

The only documentary in 2026 Berlin Competition, YO (Love is a Rebellious Bird) is a paean to love and friendship, and told using puppets. It details the close relationship between director Anna Fitch and her best friend Yolanda Shea, 50 years her senior. “It feels good, and I feel like the process of bringing it [the film] to the world is very dynamic and alive, and Yo feels present in that too,” Fitch tells Business Doc Europe before the February 20 world premiere.

Around Paradise is a film of opposites and extremes, of myths, legends and beliefs. Set in a poor region of Paraguay, it is also a film about neo-colonialism, as practised by “settlers” from around the world [many of whom are German]. Meanwhile, locals such as students Will and Yoha are trying to eke out a living. “We were actually there to listen and to explore," director Lokshina tells BDE. "This is how we work in general... we are genuinely interested in understanding the dynamics of the places we are spending time in, getting an idea of what's driving the people who we interact with.”

At EFM 2026, a packed Café Connect saw a revealing conversation between German filmmaker Andres Veiel and Deadline’s Matt Carey. The 30-minute discussion, held on 17 February, ranged from Veiel’s latest feature Riefenstahl to questions of archival ethics, documentary responsibility and the renewed relevance of historical material in a tense global political climate.

On February 16, EFM hosted a candid roundtable that examined gaps and opportunities in international documentary co-production between Germany and Morocco. The Moroccan–German Non-Fiction Assembly, organised within the DocSalon strand in partnership with Morocco’s Cinematographic Centre (CCM) and FIDADOC Agadir, brought together producers, broadcasters, festival programmers and filmmakers to explore how ties between the two industries might be strengthened in practical terms.

BFI (British Film Institute) announced February 16 tat it will continue to prioritise dedicated support of the UK documentary filmmaking sector, thanks to National Lottery funding. As part of the BFI National Lottery Funding plan 2026-29, Doc Society will receive £7.2m over three years as BFI’s UK-wide delegate partner to distribute documentary funding across features, immersive, shorts and support talent development - an uplift of 20% from the previous three-year period. 

Two tragic stories are at the heart of What Will I Become? the new feature documentary from Lexie Bean and Logan Rozos (premiering in Generation 14plus and sold by Taskovski Films). Blake Brockington and Kyler Prescott were both young trans men. They were very different personalities. Blake was extrovert and charismatic, the “homecoming king” at his high school in North Carolina. Kyler was a quieter, more reflective personality, a poet and a musician. Both were to end up committing suicide. The directors discuss their film with BDE.

In his restrained yet devastating documentary, Belgian-Syrian filmmaker Tawfik Sabouni visits the prison where he was held under the Assad regime. Accompanied on his journey by four other survivors, this painful confrontation with personal and political history at the same time honours the ghosts of the past, which makes it not just informative and important, but an intense privilege to be allowed to witness their historic journey.

FIPRESCI and the Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival announced February 16 the nominees for the first FIPRESCI Documentary Grand Prix, whose winner will be announced at the Opening Ceremony of the 23rd MDAG in May 2026. Members of FIPRESCI from around the world will vote on the new award which will be given to the best documentary film of the year.