The shortlist features 12 documentary films from 16 countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Among them are two Russian productions: Valeria Gai Germanika’s documentary about emotions that transcend the boundaries between people, and a film about a production by the Nizhny Novgorod Youth Theatre inspired by the story of a deafblind child, where art and reality become inseparable.
► 32 Meters, dir. Morteza Atabaki
[Turkey – Iran – Qatar, 2025, 83 min.]► In the Sea of Strange Thoughts, dir. Jeongdan Choi
[South Korea, 2025, 115 min.]► Djeliya, Memory of Mandingo, dir. Boubacar Sangaré
[Burkina Faso – Côte d’Ivoire – Mali – Senegal – France, 2026, 112 min.]► A Long Way Home, dir. Zheng Xusong
[China, 2025, 93 min.]► Vanishing Tracks, dir. Hamed Zolfaghari
[Iran – France – Norway – South Korea – Qatar, 2026, 93 min.]► Kabul, Between Prayers, dir. Aboozar Amini
[Netherlands – Belgium, 2025, 99 min.]► Maria, dir. Valeria Gai Germanika
[Russia, 2025, 79 min.]► My Name is Kabutar, dir. Arman Gholipour Dashtaki
[Iran, 2026, 48 min.]► The Flight of the Stork, dir. Soumaya Hidalgo Djahdou, Berta Vicente Salas
[Spain – Qatar, 2025, 70 min.]► Subtle Meanings, dir. Anton Belousov, Alexandra Andronova
[Russia, 2026, 80 min.]► Fantastique, dir. Marjolijn Prins
[Belgium – France – Netherlands, 2025, 71 min.]► Whispers In May, dir. Dongnan Chen
[Hong Kong – Netherlands – Sweden – South Korea, 2026, 96 min.]
