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
