Whispers in Might, Dongnan Chen’s movie exploring the ceremony of passage of a 14-year-old lady in rural China, received the highest award at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen Friday evening, mechanically qualifying the documentary for Oscar consideration.
“Telling legendary tales about hidden worlds is a present. Giving breadth and depth to quotidian moments is a expertise,” the DOX:AWARD jury wrote. “Weaving cinematic kinds whereas permitting actuality to resonate is fascinating. Finally, we have been charmed by a younger lady’s journey. Strolling over the sting of the final days of childhood, this director has succeeded in sharing a modern-day fairytale that heeds monsters and factories, alike.”
Chen was readily available to simply accept the award. “Thanks for seeing the ladies,” she mentioned. “And thanks for seeing us.”
Director Dongnan Chen (holding mic) accepts the DOX:AWARD at CPH:DOX. Behind her are members of the jury.
Matthew Carey
The DOX:AWARD is the competition’s “flagship competitors, celebrating inventive excellence,” CPH:DOX notes, and comes with a €10,000 prize, sponsored by Politiken Fonden.
The five-member jury additionally awarded a Particular Point out to The Twine, directed by Nolwenn Hervé, noting it marked her directorial debut. “This rising voice captivated us with its humanity, tenacity and empathy,” jurors wrote.
Scroll for the total listing of CPH:DOX winners.
The FIPRESCI Award, created this yr by the Worldwide Federation of Movie Critics, went to Amazomania, directed by Swedish filmmaker Nathan Grossman. His documentary plunges viewers right into a 1996 expedition in Brazil to contact the isolate Indigenous Koruba folks within the Amazon rainforest. Quite a few journalists joined the expedition, together with Swedish filmmaker Erling Söderström, who licensed his 1996 footage to Grossman to make the documentary. Amazomania examines fascination with distant tribes just like the Koruba, and questions of company and consent on the subject of filming teams who for cultural and historic causes wouldn’t have notions of authorship, story rights, and “copyright legislation.”
Michael Greenberg in ‘Simply Look Up’
Courtesy of Ultimate Minimize For Actual
Within the competition’s F:ACT AWARD competitors, the winner was Simply Look Up, directed by Emma Wall and Betsy Hershey. The movie government produced by Adam McKay appears at younger activists who’re utilizing disruptive ways to demand pressing motion on local weather change.
A Particular Point out in that competitors went to The Nice Experiment, directed by Stephen Maing and Eric Daniel Metzgar. The movie, shot throughout the U.S. from 2017-2020, explores intense ideological variations which can be threatening to tear aside the material of the American republic.
‘Dream of One other Summer time’
Colibrí Studio/Lemu Helu/The Attic Productions
Irene Bartolomé’s Dream of One other Summer time received the NEXT:WAVE Award, a class for documentaries that take a extra daring inventive strategy. Bartolomé invitations viewers into the panorama of Beirut shattered by the 2020 chemical explosion that killed over 200 folks and triggered billions of {dollars} in injury, her strategy notable for its evocative cinematography and use of quasi-fictional parts.
This Is Not a French Movie, directed by Tom Adjibi, earned a Particular Point out in that class.
The Phantom Ache of Rojava, directed by Maryam Ebrahimi, received the HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD. In that class, Poh Si Teng’s American Physician earned a Particular Point out.
The worldwide competitors lineups included a complete of 74 movies, “hand-picked from 1000’s of submissions from all over the world,” the competition observes, that includes 53 world premieres, 17 worldwide premieres, and 4 European premieres.
The winners of the worldwide competitions of CPH:DOX 2026 are:
DOX:AWARD
Winner: ‘WHISPERS IN MAY’ by Dongnan Chen / Hong Kong, Netherlands, South Korea & Sweden / 2026 / World Premiere
Particular Point out: ‘THE CORD’ by Nolwenn Hervé / France / 2026 / World Premiere
Sponsored by Politiken Fonden with a prize of €10,000, the DOX:AWARD is the competition’s flagship competitors, celebrating inventive excellence.
FIPRESCI AWARD
Winner: ‘AMAZOMANIA’ by Nathan Grossman / Sweden, Denmark & France / 2026 / World Premiere
Launched in 2026, the FIPRESCI Award is introduced by the Worldwide Federation of Movie Critics. The 12 movies within the DOX:AWARD Competitors have been nominated for this new mark of distinction.
F:ACT AWARD
Winner: ‘JUST LOOK UP’ by Emma Wall & Betsy Hershey / United States & Denmark / 2026 / World Premiere
Particular Point out: ‘THE GREAT EXPERIMENT’ by Stephen Maing & Eric Daniel Metzgar / United States & Mexico / 2026 / Worldwide Premiere
Supported by Worldwide Media Assist (IMS) and the Danish Union of Journalists with a prize of €5,000, the F:ACT Competitors bridges filmmaking and investigative journalism.
NEXT:WAVE AWARD
Winner: ‘DREAM OF ANOTHER SUMMER’ by Irene Bartholomé / Spain & Lebanon / 2026 / World Premiere
Particular Point out: ‘THIS IS NOT A FRENCH FILM’ by Tom Adjibi / Belgium & France / 2026 / World Premiere
The NEXT:WAVE Award spotlights rising filmmakers and new cinematic currents, providing a prize of €5,000.
NORDIC:DOX AWARD
Winner: ‘THE SECRET READING CLUB OF KABUL’ by Shakiba Adil & Elina Hirvonen / Finland & Norway / 2026 / World Premiere
Particular Point out: ‘HOMESICK’ by Taekyung Tanja In Wol Sørensen / Denmark, South Korea & Finland / 2026 / World Premiere
The NORDIC:DOX Award honors standout documentaries from the Nordic area and features a €5,000 prize.
HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD
Winner: ‘THE PHANTOM PAIN OF ROJAVA’ by Maryam Ebrahimi / Sweden & Norway / 2026 / World Premiere
Particular Point out: ‘AMERICAN DOCTOR’ by Poh Si Teng / United States, Palestine, Malaysia & Denmark / 2026 / Worldwide Premiere
Sponsored by the Danish Institute for Human Rights with a prize of €5,000, the HUMAN:RIGHTS Competitors highlights tales in defence of human rights.
NEW:VISION AWARD
Winner: ‘COMPACT DISC’ by Rico Wong / Hong Kong & United Kingdom / 2026 / World Premiere
Particular Point out: ‘LOCAL SENSATIONS’ by Tulapop Saenjaroen / Thailand / 2026 / European Premiere
The NEW:VISION Award celebrates artists’ movies and boundary-pushing cinematic experiments with a €5,000 prize.
INTER:ACTIVE EXHIBITION AWARD
Winner: ‘INSIDE: THE CHILDHOOD OF AN ARTIST’ by Sacha Wares / United Kingdom / 2026 / Multisensory VR Expertise / Worldwide Premiere
Particular Point out: ‘DARK ROOMS’ by Mads Damsbo & Laurits Flensted-Jensen / Denmark, Germany & Taiwan / 2026 / Immersive VR Expertise / Danish Premiere
CPH:DOX awards a ten,000 DKK money prize to the top-selected INTER:ACTIVE work.
CPH:DOX may also hand out a prize of €10,000 Viewers Award, sponsored by the Danish public service broadcaster, DR. The winner shall be introduced on March 26.
