Posted: October 7
Since we last checked in back in May, our documentaries have been travelling the festival circuit at a remarkable pace, earning nine awards, landing selections at dozens of festivals across more than 20 countries, and premiering before audiences everywhere from the historic screens of Italy to the bustling cinemas of South Korea. It’s been a season full of proud moments, and we’re excited to share some of the highlights with you below.
Atlas of Disappearance had a remarkable run in Spain, winning four awards. At Docs Barcelona 2026 it took both the Jury Prize and the Amnesty International Award. At Documenta Madrid 2026 it received the Fugas Award for innovation and a willingness to cross borders, as well as the Audience Award.
Zelensky continues its award-winning journey. It won the Grand Prize at the DOCK International Historical Documentary Film Festival in Bulgaria, where it screened in competition on 20th September. This prize followed the Special Jury Award it received earlier this year at the Master of Art Film Festival.
Arne Focketyn’s Eat More Trees received the Special Prize of the Estonian Roundtable for Development Cooperation, with a €1,000 grant, at the Matsalu Nature Film Festival 2026 in Estonia. The film has also travelled widely: it had its Italian premiere at the Riviera International Film Festival in May and its Norwegian premiere at a special screening at the regenerative farm Gulli Gård in Ås, organised by Polarhagen during Norway’s Økouka (Eco Week). The film will have its US premiere at the United Nations Association Film Festival in October, followed by a screening at COP 17 in Yerevan.
Killing Time: The Science of Boredom won the European Spotlight Award at AFO 61 – Academia Film Olomouc in the Czech Republic, the international festival of science documentary films. The jury praised the film’s creative visuals, engaging contributors and psychology experiments, calling it “anything but boring”! It then screened at the Prague Science Film Fest in September.
Two more titles were recognised. Until Proven Otherwise received a Special Mention in the Human Rights Feature Documentaries category at the Life After Oil International Film Festival in Sardinia. The Forbidden Call: Women Priests won the Leslie J. Sacks Grand Prize for Best Documentary Feature at the Women’s Voices Now Film Festival.
Cuba & Alaska has had a busy summer, with over 20 further festival selections and various special screenings across North America, Europe and Australia. It screened at Docs Barcelona, the European Film Festival of Atlanta (Georgia premiere) and the Seattle International Film Festival, where it was part of the Documentary section, eligible for the audience-voted Golden Space Needle Award. It also had a Cyprus premiere at the Film Festival on Diversity, a Dutch premiere at Promin’ Festival in Haarlem, and an Australian premiere at the Ukrainian Film Festival Australia, with screenings in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. It then went on to the ASN World Convention Documentary Festival, Promin’ Festival Lisbon and a fundraising screening in Portland, Oregon, organised by 50 States for Ukraine.
Our human rights and current affairs titles had a strong season: Iran, Israel & the Bomb was selected for the Golden Nymphs at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, screened at the Palestine Arts Filmfestival in Zurich, and was selected in the Investigative Long category at the DIG Awards in Modena; The Revolution Will Be Televised: The Men Who Made Berlusconi had its Italian premiere in the Special Events section at Biografilm Festival; Defending Europe screened at the International Human Rights Film Festival Albania, and Wake Up, Serbia! Pumpaj: The Student Uprising at the Human Rights Film Festival of Umeå in Sweden; Shrinking Space was part of the Signs of the Night festival in Bangkok; Dissidents was the focus of a screening and debate in the Democracy on Screen series, held with NYU’s Washington DC campus.
This season also gave us plenty of reasons to celebrate women’s stories, with three of our films championing female perspectives at festivals in Germany, France and beyond. Women of Sin screened at Doxumentale in Berlin, Kabul Beauty at Le Temps des Femmes on the island of La Réunion, and The Social Trap: 5 Women vs The Big 5 at the feminist documentary festival Femmes en Résistance in Arcueil.
Our environment and science strands were as vital as ever. Ojos de Agua: Freeing the Waters of Chile screened at FIFES in Cannes and had its Asian premiere at the Seoul International Eco Film Festival, where 9/11: Reclaiming Ground Zero had its World Premiere. Climate Refugees: A Global Challenge was selected for the Filmtage Globale Perspektiven in Germany and the BNP Paribas Green Film Festival in Kraków. Meanwhile, Women on Mars and Flash Wars is travelling to countries across several continents as part of the Science Film Festival, which runs until 20th December.
Following on from the busy summer period, our autumn calendar is already full: Born in Gaza: We Are Still Here has its French premiere on 4th October at Cinespaña in Toulouse; Cuba & Alaska heads to Poznań, Turin, Lithuania, Los Angeles and New York; Eat More Trees and Climate Refugees: A Global Challenge will both be at UNAFF in the US; Women of Sin screens at the Brussels International Women Film Festival, The New Slavery at the Global Human Rights Defence Festival, and Outgrow the System at the Workers Unite Film Festival in New York.
We couldn’t be prouder of the talented filmmakers and production companies we work with, and we owe a huge thank you to the juries, programmers and audiences who keep championing these films. Here’s to an exciting autumn, and we hope to see you at a festival soon!