Doxumentale 2026: Opening Special "Homage to Berlin" + Competition + Festivalguests

• "Homage to Berlin" opens the 3rd Doxumentale on May 27 at Potsdamer Platz
• Ten international documentary films in competition
• A total of 53 documentary films will be shown, including the three world premieres SORRY FOR THE GENOCIDE, DAY TRIP: ESCAPING THE TALIBAN, and WOMEN OF SIN, one European premiere, and 21 German premieres

Berlin, May 12, 2026 – The 3rd Doxumentale opens on May 27 at Potsdamer Platz with a "Homage to Berlin." In a 60-minute program of readings, film, and music, the evening engages with the very place where it unfolds — from the Café Josty of the 1920s to the glass-clad present of the Atrium Tower. Author and actress Barbara Sotelsek takes the audience on an audiovisual journey through the many facets and eras of a place that has continually reinvented itself. Texts by Paul Boldt, Franz Kafka, and Erich Kästner meet film sequences from Kurt Krigar's DIE AUSSICHT and Walter Ruttmann's BERLIN: SYMPHONY OF A GREAT CITY.

The Competition: Ten Films from Around the World

The Doxumentale 2026 competition features ten international documentary films, including world and European premieres. The films address pressing social questions — from colonial trauma and female self-determination to punk, dance, and political resistance.

Documentary Jury 2026

The documentary jury brings together four internationally renowned filmmakers and producers: director Loraine Blumenthal (IM OSTEN WAS NEUES), Emmy-nominated producer and impact producer Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, Bosnian director and festival programmer Ado Hasanović (MY FATHER'S DIARIES), and Swedish documentary filmmaker Fredrik Gertten (PUSH, BIKES VS. CARS). The jury unites perspectives from Europe, Asia, and the Global South, standing for a diverse, socially engaged cinema with international reach.

Confirmed Guests at Doxumentale

• Ado Hasanović — Film Jury
• Amanda Sans Pantling — Director, MISS JOBSON
• Andrej Košak — Director, PUNK UNDER THE COMMUNIST REGIME
• Anna Kis — Director, 80 ANGRY JOURNALISTS
• Anna Negri — Director, TONI, MIO PADRE
• Anne Schröter — ECCHR
• Bipuljit Basu — Director, REDLIGHT TO LIMELIGHT
• Carmen Grey — Film Critic & Journalist
• Christian Beetz — Producer & Director
• Chris Leslie — Director, THE PARTISAN NECROPOLIS
• David Nez — Protagonist, OHO FILM
• Dea Gjinovci — Director, THE BEAUTY OF THE DONKEY
• Diana Kinnert — Author, Die Achtsamkeitsfalle
• Dongnan Chen — Director, WHISPERS IN MAY
• Dr. Peter Drössler — Production, WE HAVE TO SURVIVE
• Fredrik Gertten — Film Jury
• Gertrud Pinkus — Director, THE WOMEN'S GREATEST VALUE IS HER SILENCE
• Günther Krabbenhöft — Protagonist, OMEGA WANTS TO DANCE
• Jan Jekal — Author, Paranoia in Hollywood
• John Kampfner — Author, Braver New World
• Jonas Brückner — Author, Neon/Grau
• Julia Bruton — VR Women
• Julian Lautenbacher — Director, TO DANCE IS TO RESIST
• Justice Mvemba — Educator, Decolonial City Tour
• Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala — Film Jury
• Katharina Weiß — Reporters Without Borders
• Lorand Imre — Director, 80 ANGRY JOURNALISTS
• Lorena Gutiérrez — Protagonist, DEAR FÁTIMA
• Mahnaz Mohammadi — Director, ROYA, BEYOND THE LIES
• Maja Holand — Director, HEX
• Maren Pfalzgraf — Reporters Without Borders
• Marie Eickhoff — Podcast Jury
• Marjolijn Prins — Director, FANTASTIQUE
• Nuray Sahin — Director & Screenwriter
• Oier Plaza García — Director, ASHES
• Petra Seliškar — Director, THE MOUNTAIN WON'T MOVE
• Ramon Tort — Director, OMEGA WANTS TO DANCE
• Rieneke van Santen — Journalist / Producer
• Rodrigo Reyes — Director, DEAR FÁTIMA
• Roni Aboulafia — Director, DAY TRIP
• Susana Fernandez — Curator
• Theodora Shande — Director, SORRY FOR THE GENOCIDE
• Thor Pedersen — Director, THE IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY
• Toby Perl Freilich — Director, MAINTENANCE ARTIST
• Valentin Thurn — Documentary Filmmaker, Journalist & Author
• Vanessa Schlesier — Journalist & Documentary Filmmaker
• Zhanna Agalakova — Director, A LITTLE GRAY WOLF WILL COME
• Zoran Dževerdanović — Production, PUNK UNDER THE COMMUNIST REGIME

About the Doxumentale

The Doxumentale (May 27 – June 7, 2026) is an international Berlin festival for documentary storytelling. At the intersection of documentary film, non-fiction book, podcast, and new media, it presents formats that bring filmmakers, journalists, authors, artists, scholars, and audiences into dialogue with one another.

Dx'Hub: The Industry Program from May 28 to 31

From May 28 to 31, the Dx'Hub — Doxumentale's industry program — brings together international experts from film, media, culture, science, and civil society at the Atrium Tower at Potsdamer Platz. Panels, workshops, and networking events create space for interdisciplinary exchange and new collaborations. A highlight is The Good Media Pitch, Germany's first film and impact program, which connects selected projects with civil society experts for potential partnerships.

The Doxumentale is organized by The Good Media Network and made possible in large part through funding from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

Press Contact

For inquiries, material requests, or interview opportunities, please feel free to reach out anytime at press@doxumentale.de or +49 176 207 30333.