The selection of films competing for this year's Doc Alliance Award has been revealed. Each of the seven European documentary film festivals that form the Doc Alliance network, along with this year‘s guest festival Punto de Vista, has nominated one short and one feature-length documentary film from their past programmes.
Scheduled for 20 May in Cannes, the Doc Alliance Award will be presented during the Doc Day Lunch, held at the Marché du Film. A jury of three distinguished film professionals—film critic Fernando Ganzo (Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Cahiers du Cinéma), Gerald Weber (Deputy Managing Director at sixpackfilm), and producer Caroline Kirberg (CEO of pong film)—will determine the winning films. Endowed with 5,000 EUR for Best Feature and 3,000 EUR for Best Short, the award provides financial support for the filmmakers' future projects.
Doc Alliance Award 2024 Ceremony | René Kubášek (Ji.hlava IDFF), James Berclaz-Lewis (Visions du Réel),
winner Camille Vigny, jury member Marko Grba Singh | Photo: Serhii Khandusenko
As part of their presence in Cannes, representatives of the Doc Alliance network will also present their research packages at the Marché du Film. In a long-term research project, the network has been collecting information about all of the member festivals, focusing on the key areas new technologies, inclusive programming, sustainability, emerging talents and educational practices. The Doc Alliance presentation will take place on Monday, 19 May at 3 pm at The Viewpoint.
The Doc Alliance network of documentary film festivals supports emerging talents in European documentary film. Each of the seven festivals (CPH:DOX, Doclisboa, DOK Leipzig, FIDMarseille, Ji.hlava IDFF, Millennium Docs Against Gravity and Visions du Réel) as well as this year’s guest festival Punto de Vista have nominated one short and one feature-length documentary film from its past programme. Only debut or second feature-length films by directors qualify for the Best Feature Film category. Each festival in the network commits to screening at least three films from the selection at its next edition.
Full list of Best Feature nominees:
A Want in Her, Ireland/ UK/ Netherlands, director: Myrid Carten, nominated by Millennium Docs Against Gravity
WATCH FILM AT MDAG!
Flophouse America, Norway, director: Monica Strømdahl, nominated by CPH:DOX
WATCH FILM AT MDAG!
An Oscillating Shadow (Una sombra oscilante), Argentina/ Chile/ France, director: Celeste Rojas Mugica, nominated by FIDMarseille
Aurora, Brazil/ Portugal/ France, director: João Vieira Torres, nominated by Visions du Réel
Grey Zone (Šedá Zóna), Slovakia, director: Daniela Meressa Rusnoková, nominated by Ji.hlava IDFF
Moria Six, Germany, director: Jennifer Mallmann, nominated by DOK Leipzig
The Shards (Oskolky), Georgia/ Germany, director: Masha Chernaya, nominated by Doclisboa
Volver a casa tan tarde, Spain, director: Celia Viada Caso, nominated by Punto de Vista
Full list of Best Short nominees:
Can you hear me? (Czy Ty mnie słyszysz?), Poland, director: Anastazja Naumenko, nominated by Millennium Docs Against Gravity
WATCH FILM AT MDAG!
Fear Fokol, Sweden, director: Tuva Björk, nominated by CPH:DOX
WATCH FILM AT MDAG!
Sixty-Seven Milliseconds (Soixante-sept millisecondes), France, director: Fleuryfontaine, nominated by Visions du Réel
WATCH FILM AT MDAG!
23:23 (Život jedna báseň, není peříčko), Czech Republic, director: Kateřina Dudová, nominated by Ji.hlava IDFF
Bamssi, Belgium/ Tunisia, director: Mourad Ben Amor, nominated by Punto de Vista
Unstable Rocks (Pedras Instáveis), Portugal/ Germany, directors: Ewelina Rosińska and Nuno Barroso, nominated by Doclisboa
Shuruuk, France/ Germany, director: Amie Barouh, nominated by FIDMarseille
We Had Fun Yesterday, Belgium, director: Marion Guillard, nominated by DOK Leipzig
The 22nd MDAG will take place from May 9 to 18, 2025, in cinemas in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Bydgoszcz, and Łódź, and from May 20 to June 2 online at mdag.pl! The festival’s title sponsor is Bank Millennium (https://www.bankmillennium.pl/).
