Whispers in May, Dongnan Chen’s film exploring the rite of passage of a 14-year-old girl in rural China, won the top award at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen Friday night, automatically qualifying the documentary for Oscar consideration.
“Telling mythical stories about hidden worlds is a gift. Giving breadth and depth to quotidian moments is a talent,” the DOX:AWARD jury wrote. “Weaving cinematic forms while allowing reality to resonate is captivating. Ultimately, we were charmed by a young girl’s journey. Walking over the edge of the last days of childhood, this director has succeeded in sharing a modern-day fairytale that heeds monsters and factories, alike.”
Chen was on hand to accept the award. “Thank you for seeing the girls,” she said. “And thank you 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 festival’s “flagship competition, celebrating artistic excellence,” CPH:DOX notes, and comes with a €10,000 prize, sponsored by Politiken Fonden.
The five-member jury also awarded a Special Mention to The Cord, directed by Nolwenn Hervé, noting it marked her directorial debut. “This emerging voice captivated us with its humanity, tenacity and empathy,” jurors wrote.
Scroll for the full list of CPH:DOX winners.
The FIPRESCI Award, created this year by the International Federation of Film Critics, went to Amazomania, directed by Swedish filmmaker Nathan Grossman. His documentary plunges viewers into a 1996 expedition in Brazil to contact the isolate Indigenous Koruba people in the Amazon rainforest. Numerous journalists joined the expedition, including Swedish filmmaker Erling Söderström, who licensed his 1996 footage to Grossman to make the documentary. Amazomania examines fascination with remote tribes like the Koruba, and questions of agency and consent when it comes to filming groups who for cultural and historical reasons do not have notions of authorship, story rights, and “copyright law.”
Michael Greenberg in ‘Just Look Up’
Courtesy of Final Cut For Real
In the festival’s F:ACT AWARD competition, the winner was Just Look Up, directed by Emma Wall and Betsy Hershey. The film executive produced by Adam McKay looks at young activists who are using disruptive tactics to demand urgent action on climate change.
A Special Mention in that competition went to The Great Experiment, directed by Stephen Maing and Eric Daniel Metzgar. The film, shot across the U.S. from 2017-2020, explores intense ideological differences that are threatening to tear apart the fabric of the American republic.
‘Dream of Another Summer’
Colibrí Studio/Lemu Helu/The Attic Productions
Irene Bartolomé’s Dream of Another Summer won the NEXT:WAVE Award, a category for documentaries that take a more daring creative approach. Bartolomé invites viewers into the landscape of Beirut shattered by the 2020 chemical explosion that killed over 200 people and caused billions of dollars in damage, her approach notable for its evocative cinematography and use of quasi-fictional elements.
This Is Not a French Film, directed by Tom Adjibi, earned a Special Mention in that category.
The Phantom Pain of Rojava, directed by Maryam Ebrahimi, won the HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD. In that category, Poh Si Teng’s American Doctor earned a Special Mention.
The international competition lineups included a total of 74 films, “hand-picked from thousands of submissions from around the world,” the festival observes, featuring 53 world premieres, 17 international premieres, and 4 European premieres.
The winners of the international competitions of CPH:DOX 2026 are:
DOX:AWARD
Winner: ‘WHISPERS IN MAY’ by Dongnan Chen / Hong Kong, Netherlands, South Korea & Sweden / 2026 / World Premiere
Special Mention: ‘THE CORD’ by Nolwenn Hervé / France / 2026 / World Premiere
Sponsored by Politiken Fonden with a prize of €10,000, the DOX:AWARD is the festival’s flagship competition, celebrating artistic excellence.
FIPRESCI AWARD
Winner: ‘AMAZOMANIA’ by Nathan Grossman / Sweden, Denmark & France / 2026 / World Premiere
Introduced in 2026, the FIPRESCI Award is presented by the International Federation of Film Critics. The 12 films in the DOX:AWARD Competition were 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
Special Mention: ‘THE GREAT EXPERIMENT’ by Stephen Maing & Eric Daniel Metzgar / United States & Mexico / 2026 / International Premiere
Supported by International Media Support (IMS) and the Danish Union of Journalists with a prize of €5,000, the F:ACT Competition bridges filmmaking and investigative journalism.
NEXT:WAVE AWARD
Winner: ‘DREAM OF ANOTHER SUMMER’ by Irene Bartholomé / Spain & Lebanon / 2026 / World Premiere
Special Mention: ‘THIS IS NOT A FRENCH FILM’ by Tom Adjibi / Belgium & France / 2026 / World Premiere
The NEXT:WAVE Award spotlights emerging filmmakers and new cinematic currents, offering 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
Special Mention: ‘HOMESICK’ by Taekyung Tanja In Wol Sørensen / Denmark, South Korea & Finland / 2026 / World Premiere
The NORDIC:DOX Award honors standout documentaries from the Nordic region and includes a €5,000 prize.
HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD
Winner: ‘THE PHANTOM PAIN OF ROJAVA’ by Maryam Ebrahimi / Sweden & Norway / 2026 / World Premiere
Special Mention: ‘AMERICAN DOCTOR’ by Poh Si Teng / United States, Palestine, Malaysia & Denmark / 2026 / International Premiere
Sponsored by the Danish Institute for Human Rights with a prize of €5,000, the HUMAN:RIGHTS Competition highlights stories in defence of human rights.
NEW:VISION AWARD
Winner: ‘COMPACT DISC’ by Rico Wong / Hong Kong & United Kingdom / 2026 / World Premiere
Special Mention: ‘LOCAL SENSATIONS’ by Tulapop Saenjaroen / Thailand / 2026 / European Premiere
The NEW:VISION Award celebrates artists’ films 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 Experience / International Premiere
Special Mention: ‘DARK ROOMS’ by Mads Damsbo & Laurits Flensted-Jensen / Denmark, Germany & Taiwan / 2026 / Immersive VR Experience / Danish Premiere
CPH:DOX awards a 10,000 DKK cash prize to the top-selected INTER:ACTIVE work.
CPH:DOX will also hand out a prize of €10,000 Audience Award, sponsored by the Danish public service broadcaster, DR. The winner will be announced on March 26.
