List of documentary film festivals

Documentary film festivals are film festivals devoted solely to documentary film, which is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality.

Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and digital productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a television series. Documentary, as it applies here, works to identify a "filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception" that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries.[1]

In many cities around the world, documentary film festivals are held annually to showcase documentaries made that year. Many of them are theme or genre specific.

Name Est. City Country
10 Under 10 Film Festival 2002 Austin, Texas United States United States
Academia Film Olomouc 1966[2] Olomouc Czech Republic Czech Republic
AFI Docs 2003 Washington, D.C. United States United States
Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival 2018 Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ambulante Documentary Film Festival 2006 Mexico MexicoMexico
Atlanta DocuFest 2005 Atlanta, Georgia United States United States
Belleville Downtown DocFest 2010 Belleville, Ontario Canada Canada
Berlin Documentary Forum 2010 Berlin Germany Germany
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival 2003 Missoula, Montana United States United States
Camden International Film Festival 2005 Camden, Maine United States United States
Chagrin Documentary Film Festival 2010 Chagrin Falls, Ohio United States United States
Chicago International Documentary Festival 2003 Chicago, Illinois United States United States
China Screen 2007 Paris France France
Cine Pobre Film Festival 2002 La Paz, Baja California Sur Mexico Mexico
Cinéma du Réel 1978 Paris France France
Copenhagen International Documentary Festival - CPH:DOX 2003 Copenhagen Denmark Denmark
Development Film Festival 2005 Chennai India India
DMZ International Documentary Film Festival 2009 Gyeonggi-do South Korea South Korea
Doc LA - Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival 2010 Los Angeles, California United States United States
Doc NYC 2010 New York City United States United States
Docaviv International Film Festival 1998 Tel Aviv Israel Israel
Dockanema 2006 Maputo Mozambique Mozambique
Doclisboa 2003 Lisbon Portugal Portugal
Documentary Edge Festival 2005 Auckland and Wellington New Zealand New Zealand
Docville 2005 Leuven Belgium Belgium
Dok Leipzig 1955 Leipzig Germany Germany
Dokufest 2001 Prizren Kosovo Kosovo
DORF 2007 Vinkovci Croatia Croatia
Dox Box 2008 Damascus Syria Syria
DOXA Documentary Film Festival 1998 Vancouver Canada Canada
EBS International Documentary Festival 2004 Seoul South Korea South Korea
Encounters Festival South Africa 1999 Cape Town and Johannesburg South Africa South Africa
Encuentros del Otro Cine EDOC 2002 Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Manta, Ibarra, Portoviejo Ecuador Ecuador
Flashpoint Human Rights Film Festival 2010 Mumbai India India
Freedom Film Fest 2003 Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 1998 Durham, North Carolina United States United States
Gimme Some Truth Documentary Festival 2008 Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada Canada
Gran Paradiso Film Festival 1984 Cogne Italy Italy
Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival 2003 Guangdong China China
Guelph Film Festival 1984 Guelph, Ontario Canada Canada
Hádoc 2012 Leiria Portugal Portugal
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 1993 Toronto Canada Canada
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 1992 Hot Springs, Arkansas United States United States
Imagine International Film Festival 2004 Clearwater, Florida United States United States
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 1988 Amsterdam Netherlands Netherlands
International Wildlife Film Festival 1977 Missoula, Montana United States United States
Io Isabella International Film Week 2005 Italy Italy
Jeevika: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival 2003 New Delhi India India
Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival 1997 Jihlava Czech Republic Czech Republic
Junction North International Documentary Film Festival 2013 Sudbury, Ontario Canada Canada
Krakow Film Festival 1961 Kraków Poland Kraków
London International Documentary Festival 2007 London United Kingdom United Kingdom
Marda Loop Justice Film Festival 2006 Calgary, Alberta Canada Canada
Margaret Mead Film Festival 1977 New York City United States United States
Marseille Festival of Documentary Film 1989 Marseille France France
Millennium Docs Against Gravity 2004 Warsaw  Poland
Montreal International Documentary Festival 1998 Montreal Canada Canada
New Haven Documentary Film Festival 2014 New Haven, Connecticut United States United States
New Media Film Festival 2009 Los Angeles, California United States United States
New Orleans Film Festival 1989 New Orleans, Louisiana United States United States
Northwestfest 1983 Edmonton, Alberta Canada Canada
Open City Documentary Festival 2011 London United Kingdom United Kingdom
One World Film Festival 1999 Prague Czech Republic Czech Republic
Portland Documentary and Experimental Film Festival 2001 Portland, Oregon United States United States
Portland Film Festival 2013 Portland, Oregon United States United States
Pravo Ljudski Film Festival 2006 Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina
Punto de Vista. International Documentary Film Festival of Navarra 2005 Pamplona Spain Spain
Sheffield Doc/Fest 1994 Sheffield United Kingdom United Kingdom
San Francisco Documentary Festival 2001 San Francisco, CA United States United States
DOCUTAH International Documentary Film Festival 2010 Utah United States United States
Taiwan International Documentary Festival 1998 Taipei Taiwan Taiwan
Telluride Mountainfilm 1979 Telluride, Colorado United States United States
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 1999 Thessaloniki Greece Greece
True/False Film Festival 2004 Columbia, Missouri United States United States
United Nations Association Film Festival 1998 Palo Alto, CA United States United States
ViBGYOR International Film Festival 2006 Thrissur India India
Visions du réel 1969 Nyon Switzerland Switzerland
VIVA Film Festival 2015 Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina
Wakefield Documentary Film Festival 2005[3] Wakefield, Quebec Canada Canada
World Community Film Festival 1990 Courtenay, Duncan, Kelowna and Nanaimo, British Columbia Canada Canada
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 1989 Yamagata Japan Japan
Yogyakarta Documentary Film Festival 2002 Yogyakarta Indonesia Indonesia
ZagrebDox 2005 Zagreb Croatia Croatia

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Nichols, Bill (1998). "Foreword". In Grant, Barry Keith; Sloniowski, Jeannette (eds.). Documenting The Documentary: Close Readings of Documentary Film and Video. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-2639-8.
  2. ^ "History | AFO | Academia Film Olomouc". www.afo.cz. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
  3. ^ "Wakefield Doc Fest! - Theatre Wakefield". Retrieved 2024-11-10.