Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (CPH DOX, March 11-22) has selected 74 films for its competition sections, including 53 world premieres, 17 international premieres and a quartet of European premieres.
World premieres for the festival’s 23rd edition include Georgian director Rati Tsiteladze’s A Song Without Home, about a young transgender woman from a Georgian village who flees to Vienna. Tsiteladze and Olga Slusareva of Georgian film production company ArtWay Film have produced the film.
Scroll down for the full line-ups of the five competitions
A Song Without Home will screen as part of the main Dox: Award competition, which consists only of world premieres for the fourth consecutive year. The 12 films are in the running for a €10,000 prize, sponsored by Politiken Fonden, chosen by a jury.
Tsiteladze’s project was selected for several international work-in-progress programmes, including the festival’s financing and co-production event CPH Change in 2025, then named Whispers of Womanhood.
Further competition films include British-Romanian filmmaker Rachel Taparjan’s Something Familiar, about the filmmaker’s international search for her own missing sisters. That search unearths a legacy of abuse and silences and ponders how the act of telling her story can help rewrite the past.
Also screening in Dox: Award is Mexican filmmaker Otilia Portillo’s sci-fi doc Daughters Of The Forest Mycelium Chronicles. The film follows two young scientists from indigenous communities living in symbiosis with mushrooms from their regions in Mexico, and the challenges the communities face amid deforestation, lack of opportunity and the part the fungi play in their lives and culture.
World premieres in the 18-strong New Vision competition – which aims to celebrate artists’ films and boundary-pushing cinematic experiments – include Hong Kong-born filmmaker Ka Ki Wong’s I Heard That They Are Not Going To See Each Other Anymore. A Taiwan-Hong Kong-Turkey-UK co-production, the film is set in Taipei’s dreamscape and is a hybrid docu-drama that follows the stories of Tao and Melih and their lives, loves and travels. Ping-chia Chen and Ka Leung Ng produce for Taiwan’s Ping Film Production.
Prizes
CPH DOX has six juried competition sections: Dox: Award, New Vision, Next Wave, Nordic Dox, F Act and Human Rights. All films will be in the running for the €10,000 audience award, sponsored by Danish broadcaster DR.
Additionally, this year’s edition will also introduce CPH: DOX’s first Fipresci award for the DOX: Award selection.
CPH DOX is also presenting a selection of the films nominated for the 2026 Doc Alliance award, in collaboration with the seven European festivals in the Doc Alliance network.
“We are living through a period in which the frameworks that once felt stable, political, moral, even cognitive, are shifting beneath our feet,” said the festival’s artistic director Niklas Engstrøm. “Institutions are tested, conflicts intensify, and new technologies challenge our understanding of perception and agency. In such a moment, documentary cinema becomes more than observation; it becomes a space for sustained attention.”
CPH DOX head of programme Mads K. Mikkelsen says the competition titles “critically and creatively reflect the troubled times we live in.”
”Documentary is an art form, and our selection explores the possibilities of 21st century cinema in a spirit of humanism, solidarity and poetry, with great trust in their audience,” he added.
The full festival programme and juries will be unveiled on February 18. The event will open with Pieter-Jan De Pue’s Ukraine documentary Mariinka, playing in the Dox Award strand.
Shot on 16mm and nine years in the making, Mariinka is the second feature documentary by Belgian filmmaker and photographer de Pue following the much-lauded The Land Of The Enlightened, which played at Sundance in 2016.
CPH DOX 2026 Competitions
DOX: Award
A Song Without Home (Georgia - US) dir. Rati Tsiteladze, prod. Rati Tsiteladze, Olga Slusareva
Amazomania (Swe-Den-Fr) dir. Nathan Grossman, prod. Cecilia Nessen
Arctic Link (Switzerland) dir. Ian Purnell, prod. Franziska Sonder
Christiania (Den) dir. Karl Friis Forchhammer, prod. Rikke Tambo
Daughters Of The Forest Mycelium Chronicles (Mex-US) dir. Otilia Portillo, prod. Paula Arroio, Elena Fortes
Little Sinner (Den) dir. Daro Hansen, Thomas Papapetros, prod. Thor Hampus Bank
Mariinka (Bel) dir. Pieter-Jan De Pue, prod. Bart Van Langendonck
Petrolheads (Den) dir. Emil Langballe, prod. Julie Walenciak, Claes Hedlund
Something Familiar (Rom- UK) dir. Rachel Taparjan, prod. Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, Elena Martin
The Cord (Fr) dir. Nolwenn Hervé, prod. Estelle Robin You
The Sandbox (Can) dir. Kenya-Jade Pinto, prod. Shasha Nakhai, Kenya-Jade Pinto
Whispers In May (China- Neth- S Korea-Swe) dir. Dongnan Chen, prod. Jia Zhao
F:Act Award
All Rivers Spill Their Stories To The Sea (UK) dir. Jeanie Finlay, prod. Charlie Phillips, Jeanie Finlay
Atlas Of Disappearance (Sp) dir. Manuel Correa, prod. Anna Giralt Gris, Jorge Caballero Ramos, Emil Olsen
Cambodian Beer Dreams (Den-Swe-Fr) dir. Laurits Nansen, prod. Malene Flindt Pedersen, Signe Skov Thomsen, Ove Rishøj Jensen, Valérie Montmartin
Hell’s Army (Ukr-Syria-Central African Republic- Lith-US) dir. Richard Rowley, prod. Atanas Georgiev, Richard Butler
In Full Agreement (Fin) dir. Panu Suuronen, prod. Susanna Lasarov
Intelligence Rising (UK) dir. Elena Andreicheva, prod. Elena Andreicheva, Sean Richard, Mandy Chang
Just Look Up (US-Den) dir. Emma Wall, Betsy Hershey, prod. Signe Byrge Sørensen, Natja Rosner
Kikuyu Land (US-Ken) dir. Andrew H. Brown, Bea Wangondu, prod. Andrew H. Brown, Moses Bwayo, Joseph Njenga, Bea Wangondu, Mike Morrisroe
Materia Prima (Ger) dir. Jens Schanze, prod. Jens Schanze, Thomas Tielsch
Techplomacy (Denmark) dir. Susanne Kovacs, prod. Good Company Pictures
The Great Experiment (US-Mexico) dir. Stephen Maing, Eric Daniel Metzgar, prod. Stephen Maing, Eric Daniel Metzgar, Farihah Zaman
Human Rights Award
American Doctor (US, Palestine, Malaysia, Den) dir. Poh Si Teng, prod. Kirstine Barfod, Poh Si Teng, Reem Haddad, Simon Kilmurry, Hamza Ali, Mohammed Sawwaf
Atlas of Disappearance (Spain) dir. Manuel Correa, prod. Anna Giralt Gris, Jorge Caballero Ramos, Emil Olsen
Burning Voice (Den-Iraq) dir. Anna Bruun Nørager, prod. Maria Stevnbak Westergren, Zahraa Ghandour
Gaza’s Twins, Come Back to Me (Palestine-Qatar-Netherlands dir. Mohammed Sawwaf, prod. Sylvia Sahawneh
Killing Anna (UK) dir. Sam Benstead, prod. Matt Cole, Charly Wai Feldman (UK)
Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie (US) dir. Alex Gibney, prod. Erin Edeiken, Sruthi Pinnamaneni, Alex Gibney
Let Our Mountains Live (Nor-Fin) dir. Håvard Bustnes, prod. Johannes Vang, Håvard Bustnes
Out of School (Morocco-Den) dir. Hind Bensari, prod. Vibeke Vogel, Alaa Eddine Alljem
Scarlet Girls (Dom Rep-Ger-Mex) dir. Paula Cury Melo, Paula Cury, prod. Samuel Didonato, Paula Cury
The Phantom Pain of Rojava (Swe-Nor) dir. Maryam Embrahimi, prod. Stina Gardell, Kristine Ann Skaret
Nordic:Dox award
A Sweetness From Nowhere (Swe-Nor) dir. Ester Bergsmark, prod. Anna-Maria Kantarius
Almost Forever (Swe-Fin) dir. Lia Hietala, Hannah Reinikainen, prod. Melissa Lindgren
Amongst the Birds (Ice) dir. Mika Kaurismäki, Ragnar Axelsson, Ingvar Þórðarson, prod. Ingvar H. Þórðarson
Birita (Faroe Islands) dir. Búi Dam, prod. Jón Hammer, Durita Sumberg, Mark Steele
Fire, Water, Earth, Air (Den-Swe-Nor-Faroe Islands) dir. Phie Ambo, Phie Ambo, Ewa Cederstam, Janne Lindgren, Rógvi Rasmussen, prod. Rikke Tambo Andersen, Stina Gardell, Jón Hammer
Homesick (Den-South Korea-Fin) dir. Taekyung Tanja In Wol Sørensen, prod. Rikke Tambo Andersen, Sona Jo, Virpi Suutari
In Defense of Self (Nor) dir. Linn Helene Løken, prod. Linn Helene Løken
King Hamlet (US-Den) dir. Elvira Lind, prod. Sara Stockmann, Sofia Sondervan
Let Our Mountains Live (Nor-Fin) dir. Håvard Bustnes, prod. Johannes Vang, Håvard Bustnes
The Arctic Circle Of Lust (Fin-Ger-Swe) dir. Markku Heikkinen, prod. Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen, Dirk Manthey, Fredrik Lange
The Lives Of My Father (Nor) dir. Magnus Skatvold, prod. Hilde Håbjørg, Kristian Karlsen
The Secret Reading Club Of Kabul (Fin-Nor) dir. Shakiba Adil, Elina Hirvonen, prod. Marko Talli, Johanna Raita)
Next:Wave
Becoming Ema (Den-Sp-Slov) dir. Patricia Drati, prod. Maria Helga Stürup, Sidsel Lønvig Siersted
Dream Of Another Summer (Sp-Leb) dir. Irene Bartolomé, prod. Pere Marzo, Elie Kamal, Irene Bartolomé
I Heard That They Are Not Going To See Each Other Anymore (Taiwan-HK_Turkey-UK) dir. Ka Ki Wong, prod. Ping-chia Chen, Ka Leung Ng
If Luck Will Come (Den) dir. Camille Bildsøe, prod. Sofie Husum Johannesen
Last Movies (UK) dir. Stanley Schtinter, prod. Stanley Schtinter
Like Any Other Mortal (Neth-Sp) dir. Maria Molina Peiró, prod. Manon Bovenkerk, Carlota Coloma, Adrià Lahuerta
Matter Of Britain (UK) dir. Peter Treherne, prod. Peter Treherne, Jane Urquhart, Anna Thompson
Social Landscapes (Switz) dir. Jonas Meier, prod. Niels Vije
The Calf Doll (Ind) dir. Ankur Hooda, prod. Ankur Hooda, Radha Rani
The Way Elsewhere (Gre) dir. Eirini Vourloumis, prod. Leonidas Liambeys
The Mother Age (Nor) dir. Irene Kaltenborn, prod. Irene Kaltenborn, Marco Peegel
This is Not A French Film (Bel-Fr) dir. Tom Adjibi, prod. Walid Bekhti, Clothilde Bunod
Where the Silence is Heard (Chile-Sp) dir. Gabriela Pena, prod. Picho García, Gabriela Pena, Gabriela Sandoval, Efthymia Zymvragaki
New:Vision award
Aerial (Den-It) dir. Aida Berisha, prod. Ryan Sherman, Federica Vegnani
Boy Cried Wolf (Ger-Swe) dir. Max Göran, prod. Max My Göran
Compact Disc (HK-UK) dir. Rico Wong, prod. Hau Chun Chan, Jessie Yang
City Of Light (Fr) dir. Joséphine Privat, prod. Odile Mendez Bonito
Fallen Noon (Fr-Viet) dir. Kieu Anh Phuong Nguyen, prod. Le Fresnoy - Studio national des arts contemporains
here and not here (Pal-UK) dir. Andrea Zimmerman, prod. Andrea Luka Zimmerman
Jirapo (Col-Port) dir. María Rojas Arias, prod. Andrés Jurado
Local Sensations (Thailand) dir. Tulapop Saenjaroen, prod. Kardpol Nitipisanon
Nurses Come And Go, But None For Me (UK) dir. Ed Atkins, Steven Zultanski, prod. Pinky Ghundale
Pacífico (Fr-Col) dir. Daniel Duque, prod. Daniel Duque
Penkelemes (Nig-UK) dir. Onyeka Igwe, prod. Onyeka Igwe, Odunayo Odeyotin
Phantoms (Neth-Thai) dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, prod. Julia Kozakiewicz, Pinky Ghundales
The Futora (China-UK) dir. Yuqing Lin, prod. Yuqing Lin
The Park (Dancing On The Rubble Of Empire) (UK) dir. Arwa Aburawa, Turab Shah, prod. Turab Shah, Arwa Aburawa
They (no Longer) Remember (Pakistan) dir. Hira Nabi, prod. Hira Nabi
This Suffocating Now (Ger) dir. Vika Kirchenbauer, prod. Vika Kirchenbauer
ti y l tt e dr ps ff sp c (Den) dir. Anne Gry Friis Kristensen, prod. Anne Gry Friis Kristensen
Your Cards Are Bleeding (Den) dir. Kåre Frang, prod. Ali Khurshid, Kåre Frang
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