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The 32nd edition will take place from 18 - 23 June 2025 with ‘lightning’ discount Industry Pass rates now available through to October 16. Additionally, the festival is looking to appoint a new Chair of Trustees to take over from Alex Cooke who will be stepping down later this year, after supporting the festival through 5 editions. The deadline for applications is September 6.

The 5-member international jury who will select the Best Film in AJB DOC Competition comprises Deborah London-Harrington, documentary filmmaker and Head of Production Management at Dogwoof; Namik Kabil, film director and writer; Mila Turajlić, documentary filmmaker; Francesco Montagner, documentary filmmaker, and Myriam Francois, journalist and documentary filmmaker. The 7th AJB DOC FF will take place in Sarajevo from September 13-17.

The 28th edition of Baltic Sea Docs doc pitching forum is set to take place in Riga, 1-8 September. This year, the forum will feature the presentation of 26 film projects, alongside screenings for local audiences in Riga and various regional towns across Latvia. Baltic Sea Docs is dedicated to showcasing feature-length creative documentary projects that originate from or focus on the wider Baltic Sea region, Eastern Europe and Caucasus.

At the close of the 30th Sarajevo FF (August 16- 23) the Best Film Award in Documentary Competition went to A Picture To Remember (Ukraine, France, Germany) by Olga Chernykh, while the Human Rights Award was picked up by Your life Without Me (Hungary/Switzerland) by Anna Rubi. The Special Jury Award was won by What We Ask of a Statue Is That It Doesn’t Move (Greece/France) by Daphné Hérétakis. All documentary awards…

The 22nd CineLink Industry Days took place during 30th Sarajevo Film Festival, where projects in different formats and stages of development from Southeast Europe and the MENA region were presented. These included the Docu Rough Cut Boutique and Docu Talents from the East projects. On August 22, CineLink awarded prizes totaling €130,000 and €73,500 in-kinds across all sections, both documentary and fiction. Doc awards follow.

12 feature-length docs have been chosen for the Documentary Film section of the upcoming European Film Awards 2024. The selection honours “the greatest achievements in European cinema,” the Academy writes. Based on the subsequent votes of all members, the nominations will be made public on 5 November 2024, before the winner is announced on 7 December in Lucerne during the European Film Awards ceremony.

Global streamer Netflix announced August 21 at the Edinburgh Television Festival that its Documentary Talent Fund will return for its third year in a bid to provide opportunities for under-represented filmmakers in the UK and Ireland. Five teams to each receive a budget of £30,000 to make a short doc. Deadline for applications closes 27th September. Completed documentaries to be launched in June 2025.

Nordisk Film & TV Fond announced August 20 this year’s nominees for the Nordic Council Film Prize. Doc noms are the Greenland production Twice Colonized (Sundance 2023, Grand Jury World Cinema Doc nominee), directed by Lin Alluna; and the Danish doc The Son and the Moon by Roja Pakari and Emilie Adelina Monies, which won NORDIC:DOX Award at CPH:DOX 2024. The €40,000 prize will be awarded October 22.

Amidst the desolation of war in Ukraine, nature stands as a silent witness, absorbing and beginning to heal from the scars of conflict. “This is observational meditative journey which contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images, music and sound design,” says Ukrainian producer Polina Herman. “A slow moving camera leads the viewer from harmonious nature to war and its consequences, and nature's attempt to recover."

The prizes followed the August 18 presentation of eight new projects from Central and Eastern Europe. During the ceremony, the representatives of Ji.hlava IDFF also revealed the names of the Emerging Producers 2025, a programme aimed at promoting talented European documentary film producers and providing them with a range of networking, educational and promotional support throughout the year.