REDLIGHT TO LIMELIGHT wins this year’s Doxumentale Award for Best Documentary Film. The award for Best Non-Fiction Book goes to Paranoia in Hollywood, while Stories from the Beauty Parlor wins Best Podcast and Less Than 5Gr of Saffron wins Best VR Experience.
Berlin, 4 June 2026 - On Thursday evening, Doxumentale announced the winners of its competitions, honoring outstanding documentary works. "The juries repeatedly highlighted the power of these works to create empathy. This is exactly what we experienced at the festival: people coming into conversation with one another through stories," says Anna Ramskogler-Witt, Festival Director.
The award for Best Documentary Film goes to REDLIGHT TO LIMELIGHT. The film, which celebrated its German premiere at Doxumentale, follows sex workers in Kolkata’s red-light district who set up their own film production company. As they stage their own lives, the boundaries between reality and fiction begin to blur.
"REDLIGHT TO LIMELIGHT does what only the best documentaries can do: it gives the story back to the people who live it," stated the jury, consisting of Ado Hasanović, Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, Fredrik Gertten and Loraine Blumenthal. The jury also gave special mentions to TRADE SECRET by Abraham Joffe and MISS JOBSON by Amanda Sans Pantling.
With Paranoia in Hollywood, the non-fiction book jury, consisting of Yvonne de Andrés and Tobias Milbrandt, honours a work that combines historical research with strong social relevance. The book tells the story of the McCarthy era in Hollywood and raises questions that remain relevant today. The jury particularly praised its "sensitivity to ambivalence" and the book’s ability to make political control, solidarity and exclusion visible in their simultaneity.
The award for Best Podcast goes to Stories from the Beauty Parlor. The series takes listeners into beauty salons around the world and tells the stories of women whose everyday lives are shaped by social and political conflicts. The jury - Peter Drössler, Marie Eickhoff and Dina Elsayed - particularly praised the combination of journalistic research and personal intimacy, describing the podcast as "an invitation to feel and to learn."
Less Than 5Gr of Saffron was awarded Best VR Project. The immersive work explores memory, loss and the experience of displacement among Iranian migrants, using a visual language reminiscent of a graphic novel. The jury - Julia Bruton, Anna Desponds and Nico Nonne - especially highlighted the project’s emotional power and praised its ability to translate personal experiences into a compelling visual universe.
The 3rd edition of Doxumentale, which continues until 7 June in Berlin neighbourhood cinemas and open-air venues, shows that interest in documentary storytelling remains strong. Highlights taking place over the weekend include:
REDLIGHT TO LIMELIGHT, 6 June, 8.25 PM, b-ware! Ladenkino
MISS JOBSON, 7 June, 6.30 PM, Sputnik, Q&A
TRUCK MAMA, 7 June, 9 PM, Sputnik Kino, Q&A
MARIINKA, 6 June, 9.30 PM, Archenhold Observatory, Q&A
In addition, the festival can be experienced beyond the cinema screen: the award-winning VR experience Less Than 5Gr of Saffron will tour Berlin cinemas from 5 June, readings by the nominated non-fiction authors are available online on YouTube, and all podcasts remain available to listen to.
Until 30 June, 21 films are also available via Doxumentale’s video-on-demand programme for €5 each. With the Stream-On Pass, viewers receive access to all available online titles.
Here you can find the Doxumentale program and tickets.
About Doxumentale
Doxumentale (27 May - 7 June 2026) is an international Berlin-based festival for documentary storytelling. At the intersection of documentary film, non-fiction literature, podcasts and new media, the festival presents formats that bring filmmakers, journalists, authors, artists, scientists and audiences into conversation with one another.
Doxumentale is organised by The Good Media Network and made possible in large part by funding from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
Press Contact
For further information, material requests or interview inquiries, please contact Marie Ketzscher at press@doxumentale.de or +49 176 20730333.
