Cannes 25

The May 18 showcase will comprise “four cinematic, personal and political films” by CIRCLE alumni. CIRCLE Doc Accelerator is an annual training programme, open to up to 10 women and gender-expansive directors and producers who are developing documentary projects with strong international appeal. “Together we work to expand the notion of a safe space we co-created together, inspired by new possibilities and technologies,” says Biljana Tutorov, program director.

Swedish master Widerberg is on the verge of rediscovery and reappraisal. That is certainly the hope of renowned Swedish film critic Jon Asp and industry veteran Mattias Nohrborg (founder of arthouse distributor TriArt Film). “The relevance of the films today is fascinating,” Nohrborg tells Business Doc Europe. “His films seems so new and fresh and modern.”

This week, MIA (Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo) unveiled new partnerships and programmes for its 11th edition, to be held in Rome, October 6 to 10 2025. Core to proceedings was a discussion on Scenari Transalpini - an initiative of Institut Français Italia in partnership with MIA, Villa Medici and Cinecittà. Documentary and non-fiction at MIA revolve around the Doc Co-production Market & Pitching Forum (deadline for submissions June 19) and the Italians Doc It Better programme.

The Austrian-produced Militantropos, made by Ukrainian filmmakers Smith, Gorlova and Mozgovyi, attempts to capture the human condition through the fractured realities of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is the first part of an eventual trilogy. “The first film [is] about the transformation of a human within the war. The second film will speak much more about death and how death influences society, and the third will be about the connection between the war in Ukraine and the world outside,” Gorlova tells BDE.

In an industry saturated with submissions and shifting audience behaviours, selecting documentaries for 'non-doc specific' film festivals remains an intricate craft — a fact that emerged during the May 20 'Real Talk panel organised for this year’s Cannes Docs. The conversation featured insights from Pamela Biénzobas (Locarno Film Festival), Paul Grandsard (Festival de Cannes), Michael Stütz (Berlinale), and Ania Trzebiatowska (Sundance Film Festival), under the moderation of Eric Hynes, Director of Film Curation and Programming at the Jacob Burns.

Dutch immersive doyenne Corine Meijers (Studio Biarritz) talks to Business Doc Europe about her Cannes selection Lacuna, which she produced together with fellow Dutch Ilya Kok of Copper Views Film Productions. In the VR, the elderly Sonja has no memory of the moment that saved her life - the separation from her parents in 1943 - but the discovery of three silver napkin determines the directors to prompt her more about her past…

At the close of Cannes Docs 2025, section chief Pierre-Alexis Chevit hosted the Docs-in-Progress Awards Ceremony during which this year’s winners were announced. Over the past days, eightshowcases of docs-in-progress from around the world were presented, forming a total of 32 new creative documentary projects. The IEFTA Award went to Asphalt by Hamza Hamideh [Palestine Showcase] while the Al Jazeera Documentary Award went to Everybody to Kenmure Street by Felipe Bustos Sierra [Scotland Showcase]. All awards…

On 20 May, in front of a live audience gathered on the Main Stage of Cannes, filmmaker Viv Li described her experiences as a first-time documentary director. “I’m honoured to represent the voices of first-time filmmakers at Cannes,” she said, before launching into a keynote that felt less like a formal talk and more like an audacious one-woman performance — in equal parts confession, stand-up and manifesto.

Déni Oumar Pitsaev’s feature doc Imago was awarded May 21 the French Touch prize of the Critics Week jury. In the film, when director Déni inherits a small patch of land in the wild, beautiful valley of Pankissi, he sees a chance to finally build the house in the trees that he's dreamed of since he was a boy. But nothing in the rugged Caucasus is ever simple…

At the close of Cannes Docs 2025, section chief Pierre-Alexis Chevit hosted the Docs-in-Progress Awards Ceremony during which this year’s winners were announced. Over the past days, eightshowcases of docs-in-progress from around the world were presented, forming a total of 32 new creative documentary projects. The IEFTA Award went to Asphalt by Hamza Hamideh [Palestine Showcase] while the Al Jazeera Documentary Award went to Everybody to Kenmure Street by Felipe Bustos Sierra [Scotland Showcase]. All awards…