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Described as Scotland’s leading documentary talent development scheme, and supported by Screen Scotland and Northern Ireland Screen, the 29th edition of Bridging the Gap will enable 12 talents from Scotland and Northern Ireland to develop their documentary ideas and take the next steps in their practices. The flagship programme “combines professional development, production funding, and international festival distribution to launch emerging careers in documentary filmmaking,” organisers write.

International sales company Odd Slice Films, which is handling the EFA shortlisted title, La belle année, has brought Linda Venturini on board as festival manager and acquisitions consultant, less than a year after the company’s launch by Martina Droandi. Venturini brings experience from Cinema Troisi in Rome, where she was Head of Talents and Partnerships, and from Be For Films, where she was Festival Manager from 2023 to 2025.

The shortlists for the 39th European Film Awards, which take place 16 January 2027, were unveiled October 14 by the European Film Academy. These include 15 films that will compete for the Best Documentary award, joining the 45 films that are selected for the fiction shortlist, and eight on the animation shortlist. “Together, they celebrate the excellence, diversity and creativity of European cinema, reflecting its many cultures, languages and perspectives while exploring some of today’s most pressing issues, from migration and cultural clashes to minority communities, gender and political freedom,” writes the EFA.

The top-level panel invited documentary experts and filmmakers to share their experiences of handling artistic and production challenges in their use of archival footage. Moderated by Sheffield DocFest Creative Director Raul Niño Zambrano, the panel comprised Nanette Burstein, director of Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff; Rafael Guendelman, director of Az Zeeb; Simon McCallum, producer (Archive & Industry) at the BFI National Archive, and Theo Rollason, director of Queer Edward II.

Led by Artistic Director Anita Piotrowska, the KFF selection team is looking for the "most compelling productions from around the world,” with around 200 titles set to make it into the festival programme. The upcoming edition will also deliver an important new addition. For the first time, the festival will host the International Documentary Debut Competition. ”We are very happy that Krakow will become a place even more open to documentary debuts,” says Piotrowska.

One of the largest docfests in the world, and included on the list of Academy Award® qualifying events, Millennium Docs Against Gravity is now accepting submissions for its 24th edition running May 7-16 2027 in cinemas, and from May 18-31 online at mdag.pl. “It is a place for world, international, and European premieres of the most acclaimed and important documentary films,” says MDAG. “Every year, it also becomes a meeting space for filmmakers and audiences, as well as film industry representatives working on new projects, which they present during pitches at MDAG Industry.”

The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) announced October 13 the main competition line-ups for its 39th edition, running November 12 to 22. Newly unveiled selections include the International and Envision Competitions, Luminous, Frontlight, the IDFA DocLab competition selections, and the nominations for all cross-section awards. The IDFA 2026 official selection includes 253 titles from 80 countries and opens with the world premiere of White Tiger Column by Robert Mentov, Dwight Jantzi and Bryan Dickie.

Organisers of Impact Days, the professional programme of the Geneva-based International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH), announced October 13 the twelve projects selected for the event's 9th edition, running March 7 to 9 2027. Over the coming months, teams will be coached online on all matters impact, before the projects' presentation to international impact professionals and human rights organisations.

The festival’s 30th edition will showcase 350 films across its competitive and non-competitive sections, including 106 world premieres, 28 international premieres and 8 European premieres. Alongside the latest films from the Czech Republic and abroad, the programme includes the Films That Changed the World section and a retrospective of Vietnamese-American filmmaker and theorist Trinh T. Minh-ha. Selections for the Ji.hlava’s Short Joy competition is now available free of charge on DAFilms.com, where audiences can also vote for the winner.

DOK Leipzig has unveiled its competition line-up for the 69th edition (26 Oct to Nov 1). A total of 76 films, including 30 world premieres, are competing for Golden and Silver Doves across the four competitions, three of which are documentary-oriented, the fourth animation. “Many of this year’s competing films focus on Central and Eastern Europe. Giving more space to films and filmmakers in these countries is not only a key concern of DOK Leipzig, but also something I care deeply about personally,” says Ola Staszel, incoming festival director.