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The Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary (€4,000, Oscar® qualifying) went to Austrian Ivette Löcker for Our Time Will Come, while the Special Jury Award (€2,500) was won by Kristina Nikolova for In Hell With Ivo. In the CineLink professional programme, Laurentiu Garofeanu’s LOST AND FOUND: Romania’s Hidden Adoption Market won the Think-Film Impact Production Award (€20,000 in-kind).

The full programme of Flanders Film Days, the relaunch of the annual international showcase for films from Flanders, was unveiled August 23. A total of 24 Fund-supported doc projects - at pitch, work-in-progress or completed stage - will be presented over the course of two days by their creators, comprising established filmmakers as well as talented newcomers. Flanders Film Days will take place 7-8 October, on the eve of (and in close collaboration with) Film Fest Gent.

For International Pitch, organisers are looking for doc projects in production or post-production around which an impact campaign is being developed. For Swiss Focus Pitch the festival seeks projects whose campaign will be implemented - either in part or entirely - in Switzerland. FIFDH (March 6-15 2026) also invites completed films with a current or ready-to-launch impact campaign for further assessment and refinement, and for introduction to partners outsider the doc sector. Submission deadline: September 19.

“One of the most important voices in Polish documentary cinema, he evolved from critical analysis of the communist system to intimate reflections on the human condition, always with an unquestionable talent for discovering truth hidden beneath the surface of reality,” the festival writes of Marcel Łoziński, who passed away on August 20 2025.

The 82nd Venice FF will host the first Golden Globes Impact Prize for Documentary. The winning doc will be selected based on its social importance, journalistic integrity, artistic creativity, and narrative disruption. Nominations include Kabul Between Prayers (Aboozar Amini), Nuestra Tierra (Lucrecia Martel), and Cover-Up by Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus. The 82nd Venice FF runs August 27 to September 9.

A Song Without Home by Georgian director Rati Tsiteladze, Land of Fire by Czech director Nikola Klinger and Armenian-Swiss co-production Flying Cows by directors Vahagn Khachatryan and Aren Malakyan were announced as Docu Talent Award winners August 18 in Sarajevo. Additionally, Ji.hlava IDFF unveiled its Emerging Producers for 2026, with Sub-Saharan Africa named as Guest Region.

Semaine de la Critique jury members Stéphane Gobbo (Switzerland) Mala Reinhardt (Germany) and Simonetta Sommaruga (Switzerland) handed out this year’s awards August 16 to Dennis Harvey and Lars Lovén for Celtic Utopia (Sweden/Ireland) and to Gaetano Crivaro, Silvia Perra, Ferruccio Goia and Alberto Diana for In the Penal Colony. The 78th Locarno FF ran August 6 to 16.

Docs are squarely in the frame at the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival and its accompanying CineLink Industry Days. Documentary Competition includes 20 feature-length and short films, while the professional programme includes the Docu Rough Cut Boutique and Docu Talents from the East pitch events, the latter organised by Ji.hlava IDFF. Additionally, CineLink Works-in-Progress includes two doc projects. Plus talks and panels. Sarajevo Film Festival kicks off 15 August, running to August 22.

Representatives of Doc Alliance, which unites seven of Europe’s major docfests, will partake in 3 industry panels at this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival, presenting results from the network’s ongoing research project. For several years, the network has been collecting information about all member festivals, “focusing on the key areas of new technologies, inclusive programming, sustainability, emerging talents and educational practices.’ The panels will be held August 18.

Paris-based distributor Astrea has acquired international rights to the VR title A Long Goodbye, directed by Kate Voet & Victor Maes. The animated interactive film tells the story of Ida, a 72-year-old pianist living with dementia, and will celebrate its world premiere in Venice Immersive competition. “A Long Goodbye is a poetic experience about the impact of dementia, but above all it is about love,” write the filmmakers.