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Submissions for the 41st DOK.fest München are now open, with organisers looking for “stirring, moving, curious, impressive and relevant documentary films,“ both international and national. From 6 to 17 May 2026, the selected documentary films will be presented in Munich cinemas and special venues, and from 11 to 24 May 2026, they will be shown exclusively @home on the festival‘s digital screen throughout Germany.

LDNDOCS has published the programme for its inaugural Documentary Showcase, running November 21-23 at the Curzon Bloomsbury Cinema in London. Ten new, acclaimed documentary features and one short film programme will be presented, with the majority of screenings followed by a post-screening Q&A with attending directors, producers, and special guests.

The 29th edition of DocsBarcelona will be held May 7 to 17 2026, comprising six competitive sections and offering €20,000 in prizes. “As usual, DocsBarcelona will bring audiences the best of the world's documentary production through a committed and stimulating program focused on contemporary challenges, debates, and conflicts,” write organisers. The final deadline for film submissions is November 15.

The Irish Film Festival, organised by Irish Film & Television UK (IFTUK), returns to London 12–16 November for “five days of cinematic discovery,” organisers write. Documentary highlights include Aoife Kelleher’s Testimony, about an extraordinary group of women who take their battle to hold the Irish government accountable for the abuses of the Magdalene Laundries all the way to the UN; and Andrew Gallimore’s In the Opinion of the Censor, about the wholesale massacre of classic films over the past century by the Irish censor.

The 2025 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), which runs November 7 to 23, will showcase docs in both International and Baltic Competitions. For the first time, Baltic documentaries and feature films will compete in separate programmes. “The films in Doc@PÖFF programme open a restless world where bold, author-driven works captivate with their search for balance and understanding — and demonstrate that documentaries can be even more engaging than fiction,” says doc curator Marianna Kaat.

Running March to October 2026, the main objectives of the programme are to enhance the artistic and financial development of film projects, to improve know-how in terms of international co-production and company management, and to reinforce the set of continuously evolving skills a career in independent production requires. “EURODOC has been empowering and connecting documentary film producers for 26 years,” the organisation writes. Deadline for applications: November 26 2026.

The 68th edition of the documentary and animated film festival DOK Leipzig came to a close on Sunday, having attracted a total of 53,000 attendees this year. More than 2,000 accredited guests attended the film screenings and events. “The fact that so many festivalgoers and accredited guests once again flocked to the cinemas, to DOK Neuland and to the DOK Industry events continues to show how great the demand is for artistic engagement with global political issues and diverse lifestyles,” concludes festival director Christoph Terhechte.

In Adam’s Tooth, which won a Most Promising European Project award at Ji.hlava IDFF, two Georgian archaeologists find a 1.8 million year old tooth, as well as the ancient skeleton of a wolf. But the Minister of Culture “arrests” the tooth, and bans any further digging, forcing the archaeologists to make a last-ditch attempt to free the artefacts from the Ministry’s grip. “Though Adam's Tooth begins with archaeology, it's really about human existence. [It’s] about time, absurdity, and the freedom to act within the limits of our own stage,” says co-director Nik Voigt.

Five top industry professionals - Martijn te Pas, Cecilie Bolvinkel, Inka Achté, Maarten Schmidt (Belgium) and Iris Olsson - have come together to form Doc Shelter, a consultancy collective dedicated to supporting filmmakers at every stage of the documentary journey. “In just a few months, we’ve grown into a close-knit team with a shared vision and mission, committed to being generous, fair, and approachable,” says co-founder te Pas.

The awards of the 68th edition of DOK Leipzig were announced November 1 2025, with seven Golden and two Silver Doves handed out to winners, as well as several Partnership Awards. In International Doc Comp Doc, the main winner was Ivan Ramljak for Peacemaker (Croatia). The Silver Dove Feature-Length Film, awarded to the best feature-length doc film by an emerging director, went to Swiss Gregor Brändli for Elephants & Squirrels (Switzerland). The Best German Doc award went to Yulia Lokshina for Active Vocabulary. All awards…