CPH: Doxthe documentary film Festival based from Copenhagen in Denmark, has revealed the jurors for its 2025 edition. Audience awards will be announced in April.
More than 90 feature films were shown in Copenhagen this past week, including the European premiere of Sundance favorites such as “The perfect neighbor“Directed by Geeta Gandbhir, whose Bodycam-based documentary about an illegal killing in Florida 2023 is positioned as one of Netflix’s upcoming top awards this year. Bending in Copenhagen was Amy Berg’s music document”It’s never over, Jeff Buckley“Amber Fares portrait of Israeli comedian Noam Shuster-Elassi with”Samexistence, my ass!“David Osit’s”Predator“If the increase and case of NBC’s controversial documentary TV series” To Catch A Predator “, also bent on CPH: Dox and will be released by MTV later this year.
But CPH: Dox, which has been going on since 2008 and gradually becomes a first stop for documentary premiere before Festivals Like Toronto’s Hot Docs and Doc NYC in New York and Idfa in Amsterdam in November, also the World Exhibition 56 titles. Twelve were entitled to the DOX: Award in the main competition, with lawyers including Rikke Tambo Andersen (producer), Max Kestner (producer), Nicolas Rapold (journalist), Adele Tulli (director) and Raul Niño Zambrano (creative manager of Sheffield Docfest).
The top prize went to Deming Chen’s “Always” from China, a strikingly photographed black and white portrait of an eight-year-old boy in Hunan Province who discovers a passion for poetry. (Earns on Danish newspaper Ekko’s Review Grid this yearI liked the film, which is contemplative and shows the filmmaker’s affinity to form proximity to his subjects and showing his family edits.) A special mention went to Monica Strømdahl’s “Flophouse America”, an honest devastating portrait of a 12-year-old boy’s attempt to raise with his poor and alcohol. Only a European director could come so close with so little sentimentality to its American subjects – I expect this emotionally powerful documentary to find a home in the United States.
Q: ACT Award, with a jury under the direction of Alexis Bloom, Mikala Krogh and Steffi Niederzoll, went to MStyslav Chernovs ”2000 meters to Andriivka“A Sundance premiere PBS has the rights to. The intense you-are the film is told entirely through bodycam images by Ukrainian soldiers who fight in the front lines in a particularly brutal counter-offensive against Russia. Chernov won previously 2024 best documentary function OSCAR.
Ketevan Vashagashvili’s “9-month agreement” won Human: Rights Award, from a jury led by Mohamed Saïd Ouma, Tomáš Poštulka and Birgitte Stærmose. It is a portrait of the surrogate motherhood in Tbilisi and is looking for an American distributor; Vashagashvili formed a close relationship with her subject, a desperate single mother from Georgia who sees no other way to give her teenage daughter a better life.
Other prizes awarded included Nordic: Dox Award (“Walls”, about women seeking justice in Greenland), Next: Wave Award (“Abode of Dawn”, about a recently dismantled but still traumatizing Christian Cult in Siberia) and The New: Vision, Award (Julite LECENIRA’s Israel’s Israel’s Israeli. Palestin, December 201 “.
See the full list of winners from CPH: Dox below.
DOX: Award
Winner: ‘Always’ by Deming Chen / US, FR & CN / 2025 / World Premiere
Special mention: ‘FLOPhouse America’ by Monica Strømdahl / NO, NL & USA / 2025 / World Premiere
Sponsored by politics and the politics fund with a price of € 10,000 is the DOX: Award Festival’s Main Competition, honor films with artistic quality, cultural relevance and strong personal expression.
The jury consisted of Rikke Tambo Andersen, FIFA -VM Russia 2017 2017.
Q: Act Award
Winner: ‘2000 meters to Andriivka’ by MStyslav Chernov / UA / 2025 / European Premiere
Special mention: ‘The Perfect NeighBour’ by Geeta Gandbhir / US / 2025 / International Premiere
With the support of International Media Support (IMS) and the Danish Union of journalists with a prize of EUR 5,000, the F: Act recognize films that mix documentary and investigative journalism.
The jury consisted of Alexis Bloom, Mikala Krogh and Steffi Niederzoll.
Human: Rights Award
Winner: ‘9-month contract’ by Ketevan Vashagashvili / GE, BG & DE / 2025 / World Premiere
Special mention: ‘The Encampments’ by Michael T. WORKMAN & KEI PRITSKER / US / 2025 / World Premiere
Awarded for the second year in a row, Human is sponsored: Rights Award by the Danish Institute for Human Rights with a price of € 5,000 and focuses on films about human rights.
The jury will consist of Mohamed Saïd Ouma, Tomine possible and Birgitte -Sperts.
Nordic: Dox Award
Winner: ‘Walls – Akinni Inuk’ by Nina PaninNGUAQ Skydbjerg & Sofie Rørdam / GL / 2025 / World Premiere
Special mention: ‘The Ticest Men On Earth’ by Josefine Exner & Sebastian Gerdes / DK / 2025 / World Premiere
The Nordic region: DOX Award (5,000 €) Excellent documentaries from the Nordic region.
The jury consisted of Butheina Kazim, Dario Oliveira and Roja Pakari.
Next: Wave Award
Winner: ‘Abode of Dawn’ by Kristina Shtubert / de / 2024 / International Premiere
Special mention: ‘Who witnessed Temple Fall’ by Lucía Selva / SP / 2025 / World Premiere
Next: Wave Award (5,000 €) highlights new and new filmmakers.
The jury consisting of Sissel Morell Dargis, Sona Karaphosyan and María Palacios Cruz.
New: Vision
Winner: ‘Ramallah, Palestine, December 2018’ by Juliette Le Monniyer / Be / 2025 / World Premiere
Special mention: ‘Scrap’ by Noémie Lobry
Fr / 2025 / World Premiere
The New: Vision Award (€ 5,000) celebrates art films and border flushing experiments.
The jury consisted of Mason Leaver-Yap, Jeppe Lange and Marina Kožul.
Inter: Active Award
Winner: ‘Constantinopoliad’ by Sister Sylvester & Nadah El Shazly / UK / Installation / 2025 / International Premiere
Special mention: ‘The garden says …’ by Uri Kranot, Michelle Kranot, Sara Topsøe Jensen, Sarah John & Marieke Breyne / DK / XR perfomance installation / 2025 / World Premiere
The award winner will receive a winning package including two free industry accreditations for Sunny Side of the Doc, two full access accreditations for the industry days for New Images Festival, 6 hours of legal consultation on European IP team and a cash price of 1000 euros.
The jury consisted of Irene Campolmi, David Adler and Carl Emil Carlsen.
