AceShowbiz - The winners of the prestigious industry awards at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, known as CPH:DOX, were announced on Thursday evening in Copenhagen, Denmark. The accolades celebrated talented filmmakers whose previous works have garnered significant attention and acclaim on the global documentary stage.

Among the notable recipients is director Asmae El Moudir, recognized for her 2023 award-winning feature The Mother of All Lies. The film intricately weaves personal and national histories as El Moudir undertakes a probing exploration of truth within her family background, blending intimate storytelling with broader socio-political contexts. This innovative approach has earned her substantial recognition in documentary circles.

Another key winner is director Kathryn Ferguson, known for her compelling Sinéad O’Connor documentary Nothing Compares as well as the BAFTA-nominated short film Nostalgie. Ferguson's work continues to push the boundaries of nonfiction storytelling, combining artistic vision with substantive subject matter.

The CPH:DOX Industry Awards also included three honors specifically dedicated to immersive nonfiction projects, highlighting the festival’s commitment to innovative and sensory documentary experiences.

The Eurimages New Lab Outreach Award, valued at €30,000 (approximately $34,755), was awarded to Haut et Court Doc for the CPH:ROUGHCUT project Don't Let the Sun Go Up on Me, directed by El Moudir and produced by Emma Lepers. The jury praised the project’s “audacity to shine a light on the bright colors of darkness” and its unique artistic vision. The film centers on a community of young adults living with xeroderma pigmentosum, a rare genetic disorder that makes exposure to sunlight potentially fatal. These individuals travel to Norway to experience the polar night, creating a poetic and haunting narrative rooted in resilience.

The Eurimages New Lab Innovation Award, with a prize of €20,000 (around $23,170), was granted to Anna Lena Films for the CPH:FORUM project Cosmofonia, directed by Véréna Paravel and produced by Florence Cohen. The jury highlighted the project’s groundbreaking approach, which expands documentary presentations beyond traditional cinema spaces. The film offers an immersive exploration of the inaudible and unseen worlds of animals and plants by filming from their perspectives or immediate environments. It delves into infrasonic vibrations, seismic noises, interspecies communication codes, and acoustic traces of ecological collapse and survival, pushing the boundaries of human perception and documentary art.

The Sandbox Films Science Pitch Prize, worth $25,000, was awarded to the CPH:FORUM project Matrescence, directed by Kathryn Ferguson and produced by Rosie Crerar and Elanor Emptage. The jury commended the film for shedding light on an urgent and underexplored scientific realm, describing it as a blend of artistic expression and rigorous scientific inquiry. Matrescence is a genre-defying cinematic documentary based on the influential book by Lucy Jones, exploring the transformative journey of motherhood. The film combines powerful visual storytelling with scientific research and personal narratives from diverse contributors, aiming to spark critical conversations about how contemporary Western societies treat mothers and to propose meaningful change.

The Al Jazeera Documentary Channel Co-Production Award, valued at €15,000 (approximately $17,380), was given to the CPH:FORUM project Everything Is Red and Grey, directed by Shourideh C. Molavi and Shrouq Alaila. The jury expressed particular admiration for the strength of the filmmaking team, the focused creative point of view, and the project’s urgency. The documentary follows a group of young Palestinian filmmakers in Gaza who, after the tragic death of their friend, use their creative talents as a form of resistance. They document their community’s experiences of genocide beyond the often reductive colonial imagery of destruction, rubble, and poverty.

Additionally, two projects received the ARTE Award, which includes consultations with Rough Cut Services valued at €2,500 ($2,900) each. One recipient was Everything Is Red and Grey, while the other was We Are Volcanoes, directed by Sharon Yeung and Natalie Chao. No immediate synopsis was provided for the latter.

The Jacob Burns Film Center Award, encompassing a stipend and residency with access to editing and post-production facilities valued at approximately $10,000, was awarded to the CPH:FORUM project The Calling by Beniamino Barrese. The jury described the project as a singularly exploratory endeavor focusing on the complex relationship between a father and son. The narrative promises to navigate themes of collaboration and confrontation, celebration, and familial reckoning. The synopsis reveals an artist who persuades his son to create a film about him, but as their creative visions diverge, the project evolves into a meditation on masculinity, the desire to be seen, and cinema's elusive promise of redemption from haunting pasts.

The Rise and Shine Award went to the CPH:FORUM project My Father the Iceman directed by ?ukasz Kowalski. The jury remarked that this project elicited a powerful emotional response, describing it as a unique story that resonates universally. The documentary focuses on Ewa, who lives under the shadow of her father’s crime—the assassination of an anti-Apartheid leader in South Africa. Despite this, she fights for his release. When he returns to Poland after 30 years and becomes affiliated with the far right, Ewa is compelled to confront him directly, navigating complex family and political dynamics.

The Unifrance & Titrafilm Doc Award, which includes benefits valued at €5,500 ($6,370), went to Roman ?uriš for the CPH:FORUM project Children of the Moonland. The jury praised the film for its heartfelt portrayal of friendship and resistance. Set in a devastated Slovak town poisoned by magnesite mining, the documentary follows six Roma children who refuse to accept their grim reality. Instead, they find solace in imagination, friendship, and dreams, which become their acts of resistance against a broken and uncertain world. While powerful technology companies talk of building colonies on the moon, these young minds are creating their own “moon land.”

Finally, the Onassis ONX Award was presented to the CPH:LAB project Still Point, Turning World, led by artist Ben Joseph Andrews and producer Emma Roberts. This prize provides tailored curatorial, technical, and business consultancy, along with studio access at the Onassis Ready facilities in Athens. The project is described as an intimate audio-visual performance that explores the infinite complexity and interconnectedness of our ever-moving world. It draws inspiration from the chronophotography of Étienne-Jules Marey and lived experiences, promising a deeply immersive artistic journey.

This year’s CPH:DOX Industry Awards highlighted a diverse range of documentary projects that push the boundaries of storytelling, technology, and artistic expression. From intimate family histories to immersive explorations of natural worlds and urgent political narratives, the awarded films and projects showcase the vitality and innovation at the heart of contemporary nonfiction cinema.