The winners of the Doc Alliance Award 2026 were announced today during the Doc Day Lunch, held at the Marché du Film in Cannes.

The Doc Alliance Award for Best Feature Film, endowed with 5,000 EUR, was presented to “The Case Against Space” (UK/France) by Graeme Arnfield. In the film, Arnfield reconstructs the world's first strike in space in 1973—based on transcripts of exchanges with the control center on Earth—and paints an iconoclastic portrait of the astronaut as overworked labourer.

“Whilst drawing on the filmmaker’s previous work with found footage, this film represents a step in an equally uncompromising new direction. Formally bold, it commits to a claustrophobic lo-fi aesthetic that foregrounds the human testimonies,” praised the jury.

The Doc Alliance Award for Best Short Film, endowed with 3,000 EUR, went to “Some of You Fucked Eva” (France) by Lilith Grasmug—the story of a typical cheerleader and the social and cultural landscape of an American high school, told through a montage of visual archives gathered from YouTube.

“All the images are sourced from pre-existing archive taken from the internet, and skilfully distorted and re-arranged to build an atmosphere steeped in teen angst. The film recalls cinematic conventions from high school movies to David Lynch, and manages to built a compelling and gripping story,“ stated the jury.

Beyond this, the feature-length documentary “Fantasy” (Fantaisie | France) by Isabel Pagliai was awarded a Special Mention by the jury in recognition of the director‘s “unique ability to create indelible and unforgettable images”.

This year’s jury brought together Wouter Jansen (CEO of Square Eyes), Maria Palacios Cruz (festival director of the Open City Documentary Festival), and film critic, filmmaker and producer Mark Peranson.

A selection of more than 30 films previously nominated for the Doc Alliance Award is available to stream worldwide on DAFilms.

The Doc Alliance network of documentary film festivals supports emerging talent in European documentary cinema. Each of the seven member festivals — CPH:DOX, Doclisboa, DOK Leipzig, FIDMarseille, Ji.hlava IDFF, Millennium Docs Against Gravity FF, and Visions du Réel — as well as guest festival Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival, nominated one short and one feature-length documentary from their recent programmes. Each festival will showcase at least three films from the Doc Alliance Award selection in its next edition. 

Full Jury Statements:

Best Feature Film

“The Doc Alliance Award goes to a film that combines extensive research with speculative interpretation. Whilst drawing on the filmmaker’s previous work with found footage, this film represents a step in an equally uncompromising new direction. Formally bold, it commits to a claustrophobic lo-fi aesthetic that foregrounds the human testimonies.”

Best Short Film

“We decided to award a film in which a character recalls a moment of collective hysteria at her high school. All the images are sourced from pre-existing archive taken from the internet, and skilfully distorted and re-arranged to build an atmosphere steeped in teen angst. The film recalls cinematic conventions from high school movies to David Lynch, and manages to built a compelling and gripping story.”

Special Mention

“An unconventional yet focused documentary portrait that immerses the viewer into a literally dark and psychologically disturbing reality, guided by a director with the unique ability to create inedible and unforgettable images.”

More information about the Doc Alliance Award: docalliance.org

More information about the guest festival 2026: Golden Apricot IFF

The films competing for this year’s Doc Alliance Award have now been announced. Each of the seven European documentary festivals that make up the Doc Alliance network, together with this year’s guest festival GAIFF, the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival, has put forward one short and one feature-length documentary from its previous programme.

The Doc Alliance Award will be presented on 19 May in Cannes during the Doc Day Lunch at the Marché du Film. The event is open to all accredited visitors to the Marché du Film.

The winners will be selected by a three-member jury consisting of Wouter Jansen (CEO of Square Eyes), Maria Palacios Cruz (festival director of the Open City Documentary Festival), and film critic, filmmaker and producer Mark Peranson. The award includes prize money of 5,000 EUR for Best Feature and 3,000 EUR for Best Short, offering financial support for the filmmakers’ future work.

Following the award presentation, representatives of the Doc Alliance network will present the Doc Alliance Research Handbook. As part of a long-term research project, the network has collected information on all member festivals, focusing on key areas such as new technologies, inclusive programming, sustainability, emerging talent, and educational practices.

The Doc Alliance network is dedicated to supporting emerging talent in European documentary filmmaking. Each of the seven member festivals—CPH:DOX, Doclisboa, DOK Leipzig, FIDMarseille, Ji.hlava IDFF, Millennium Docs Against Gravity and Visions du Réel—along with this year’s guest festival GAIFF, has nominated one short and one feature-length documentary from its past programme. For the Best Feature Film category, only debut or second feature-length works by directors are eligible. In addition, each festival commits to screening at least three of the nominated films at its next edition.

Full list of Best Feature nominees:

• A Song Without Home (სიმღერა სახლის გარეშე), Georgia/USA, director: Rati Tsiteladze, nominated by CPH:DOX

• Afterlives, Germany/Belgium/France, director: Kevin B. Lee, nominated by Doclisboa

• Fantasy (Fantaisie), France, director: Isabel Pagliai, nominated by FIDMarseille

• Holler For Service, Germany/USA, directors: Ole Elfenkaemper, Kathrin Seward, nominated by DOK Leipzig

• Imago, France/Belgium, director: Déni Oumar Pitsaev, nominated by Golden Apricot IFF

• Minimum Love (Minimum lásky), Czech Republic, director: Maja Penčič, nominated by Ji.hlava IDFF

• The Case Against Space, UK/France, director: Graeme Arnfield, nominated by Visions du Réel

• Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest, Germany/Netherlands, director: Viv Li, nominated by Millennium Docs Against Gravity

Full list of Best Short nominees:

• Amma, Do Giraffes Cry?, Czech Republic, director: Kartikeya Saxena, nominated by Millennium Docs Against Gravity

• Apocalypse Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, and the Day After Tomorrow (Apokalypsa včera, dnes, zítra a pozítří), Ukraine/Czech Republic, director: Anastasiia Bonadyha, nominated by Ji.hlava IDFF

• Cold Call, Germany, director: Stefanie Schroeder, nominated by DOK Leipzig

• Conversations and Dreams, Czech Republic/Armenia, director: Melanya Hamasyan, nominated by Golden Apricot IFF

• Errabonda, Denmark/Italy, director: Emma Harris, nominated by CPH:DOX

• Some of You Fucked Eva, France, director: Lilith Grasmug, nominated by FIDMarseille

• The Divided City of Mitrovica (Podeljeni grad Kosovska Mitrovica), Serbia/Kosovo, director: Marko Grba Singh, nominated by Doclisboa

• The Interpreter, UK, director: Mohamad Hafeda, nominated by Visions du Réel

More information about the Doc Alliance Award: docalliance.org
More information about the guest festival 2026: Golden Apricot IFF

The festival network Doc Alliance is happy to reveal this year’s guest festival. At the regular Doc Alliance meeting in December 2025, the seven partner festivals thanked the 2025 guest festival Punto de Vista for the fruitful collaboration and welcomed GAIFF, the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival, as their partner for 2026.

As the DA guest festival, GAIFF will participate in joint events and meetings at which the network members exchange experiences and ideas regarding topics such as educational practices, supporting emerging talents, XR programming, inclusive programming and sustainability. Furthermore, the festival will nominate one short and one feature-length film for the Doc Alliance Award and co-select this year’s jury.

Founded in 2004 in Yerevan, Armenia, the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival (GAIFF) is guided by the principle of being a “Crossroads of Cultures and Civilizations.” The festival’s mission is rooted in building bridges and fostering meaningful dialogue between cultures through cinema. GAIFF welcomes films from across the world that reflect diverse ethnicities, religions, and national identities, united by a shared exploration of the human experience. The festival’s programme brings together fiction and documentary films without distinction of form, and features International and Regional Competition sections, a short film programme dedicated to emerging Armenian filmmakers, as well as a range of non-competitive sections showcasing both contemporary works and classic masterpieces of world cinema.

The Doc Alliance network of documentary film festivals supports emerging talents in European documentary film. Each of the seven members (CPH:DOX, Doclisboa, DOK Leipzig, FIDMarseille, Ji.hlava IDFF, Millennium Docs Against Gravity FF and Visions du Réel) as well as the guest festival select one short and one feature-length documentary film to compete for the Doc Alliance Award.

The shortlisted films for the 2026 Doc Alliance Award will be announced in late April. The winners will be presented at Cannes Docs (Marché du Film, 12 – 20 May). 
 

More about Doc Alliance: Doc Alliance website

More about the guest festival 2026: GAIFF