Jan 28, 2026
Berlinale Documentary Award Jury

The Berlin International Film Festival has long been committed to the diversity of documentary forms. A distinct award for the best documentary film was launched in 2017. The Berlinale Documentary Award is endowed with 40,000 euros in prize money, split between the winning film’s director and producer.

This year 16 documentary forms from the sections Competition, Berlinale Special, Panorama, Forum and Generation are nominated for the Berlinale Documentary Award.

The award will be presented during the official Award Ceremony at the Berlinale Palast on February 21, 2026.

A three-member jury will pick the winner: Lemohang Mosese (Lesotho), B Ruby Rich (USA) and Shaunak Sen (India).

More about the Berlinale Documentary Award Jury

The following films are nominated for the Berlinale Documentary Film Award:

Competition
Yo (Love is a Rebellious Bird) by Anna Fitch, Banker White

Berlinale Special
TUTU by Sam Pollard
WAX & GOLD by Ruth Beckermann

Panorama
Bucks Harbor by Pete Muller
Im Umkreis des Paradieses (Around Paradise) by Yulia Lokshina
The Other Side of the Sun by Tawfik Sabouni
Traces by Alisa Kovalenko, Marysia Nikitiuk
Tristan Forever by Tobias Nölle, Loran Bonnardot
Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest by Viv Li
Un hiver russe (A Russian Winter) by Patric Chiha

Generation
A Fabulosa Máquina do Tempo (The Fabulous Time Machine) by Eliza Capai

Forum
Effondrement (Collapse) by Anat Even
If Pigeons Turned to Gold by Pepa Lubojacki
Masayume by Nao Yoshigai
The Moths & the Flame by Kevin Contento
Was an Empfindsamkeit bleibt (Sometimes, I Imagine Them All at a Party) by Daniela Magnani Hüller

Press Office
January 28, 2026