23 May, 2023
DokuFest proudly announces its inclusion among the seven leading documentary festivals in Europe to nominate one feature-length film and one short film for the highly anticipated 2023 Doc Alliance Awards. DokuFest is also pleased to have been chosen to host the ceremony of this prestigious event in Prizren during the 22nd edition of the festival (4 – 12 August) . Furthermore, the nominated films will be featured as part of the festival's program, providing an opportunity for its audiences to experience these remarkable cinematic works.
Every year, the programmers and artistic directors of all seven festivals nominate one short film and one feature-length film (CPH:DOX, Doclisboa, DOK Leipzig, FIDMarseille, Ji.hlava IDFF, Millennium Docs Against Gravity FF and Visions du Réel). A jury of leading European journalists and film professionals then select the winning films in both categories from the list of nominated films. This year, DokuFest has been invited as a guest festival to contribute its nominations to this esteemed process.
The two films which DokuFest has nominated are ‘Disturbed Earth’(2021) directed by Kumjana Novakova and Guillermo Carreras-Candi - as the Best Feature nominee, and ‘Adjusting’ (2021) directed by Dejan Petrović - as the Best Short nominee. The Doc Alliance Award winners are granted 5,000 EUR (Best Feature) and 3,000 EUR (Best Short) for the filmmakers to spend on their next projects. In addition, each of the festivals in the network shows at least three films from the selection at its next edition.
The Doc Alliance, established in 2008, is a collaborative venture among seven European documentary film festivals: CPH:DOX, Doclisboa, Docs Against Gravity FF, DOK Leipzig, Marseille Festival of Documentary Film, Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, and Visions du Réel Nyon. Headquartered in Prague, the organization's primary objective is to advance and promote the documentary genre.
The Doc Alliance’s annual competition focuses on first and second feature films by emerging filmmakers to support their film careers by recognizing the vitality and originality of their work. This competition serves as a crucial support system, helping emerging talents secure financial backing for future films and expand their audience both locally and internationally.
DokuFest is thrilled to participate as a guest festival in this prestigious event, which serves as recognition of the festival's ongoing progress being acknowledged by audiences internationally.
See the full list of the nominated films below:
Full list of Best Feature nominees:
a-B-C-D-e-F-G-H-i-JONESTOWN, Czech Republic, director: Jan Bušta, nominated by Ji.hlava IDF
Christina (Kristina), Serbia, director: Nikola Spasic, nominated by FIDMarseille
Death of a City (A Morte de uma Cidade), Portugal, director: João Rosas, nominated by Doclisboa
Disturbed Earth, Bosnia and Herzegovina/ North Macedonia/ Spain, directors: Kumjana Novakova and Guillermo Carreras-Candi, nominated by DokuFest
Nights Gone By (Antier noche), Switzerland/ Spain, director: Alberto Martín Menacho, nominated by Visions du Réel
Polish Prayers, Poland/ Switzerland, director: Hanka Nobis, nominated by Millenium Docs Against Gravity
Silent Sun of Russia (Vi er Rusland), Denmark, director: Sybilla Tuxen, nominated by CPH:DOX
Three Women (Drei Frauen), Germany, director: Maksym Melnyk, nominated by DOK Leipzig
Full list of Best Short nominees:
07:15 – Blackbird, France, director: Judith Auffray, nominated by Ji.hlava IDFF
Adjusting (Prilagodjeni), Serbia, director: Dejan Petrović, nominated by DokuFest
Darkroom, Turkey, director: Asli Baykal, nominated by Visions du Réel
May the Earth Become the Sky (Face-s-ar pământul cer), Belgium/ Hungary/ Portugal/ Romania, director: Ana Vîjdea, nominated by Doclisboa
Nothing Runs Like a Deere, Sweden, director: Max Göran, nominated by CPH:DOX
The cervix pass (Le passage du col), France, director: Marie Bottois, nominated by FIDMarseille
Waking up in silence, Germany/ Ukraine, directors: Mila Zhluktenko and
Daniel Asadi Faezi, nominated by Millenium Docs Against Gravity
Why my mum loves Russel Crowe, Netherlands, director: Emma van den Berg, nominated by DOK Leipzig
*The Doc Alliance network cordially invites European documentary film festivals to apply as guest festival 2024. The guest festival will be part of the network & will co-select the nominations for the Doc Alliance Award. Applications can be sent to [email protected]. More information about the nominated films: Doc Alliance Award Nominations: https://www.docalliance.org/award/2023/