Save the Date: the 22nd ZagrebDox Film Festival Starts This Sunday

ZagrebDox Pro – a five-day programme dedicated to project analysis, tailored feedback and development strategies – further consolidates its international position through a series of novel and ongoing partnerships with leading European documentary markets and industry platforms. We have established a robust collaboration with the Spanish Euro-Mediterranean MEDIMED (Sitges) film market, and our new partners include Portugal’s Doclisboa festival through its industry programme Nebulae, as well as the Czech Ji.hlava New Visions program. The distribution company Impronta Films will advance the partnership inaugurated last year, as will the Rab Film Festival (RAFF), which once again awards two RAFF Residency Prizes to projects from the Slow Pitch program. Over the course of five days, four experiences mentors – Marc Isaacs, Vanja Jambrović, Lucie Kon and Cecilia Lidin – will devote their full attention to eight selected projects and their authors. When required, the program removes participants from all external distractions, allowing both filmmakers and mentors to fully engage with the developing projects.

The 2026 DoXXL Talk Program has been carefully curated by film critic and ZagrebDox selector Dina Pokrajac. Audiences eager to deepen their understanding of the films and engage in discussions on the broader social issues they tackle can expect a comprehensive and timely discursive programme at Dokukino KIC. In collaboration with Restart, the programme features two masterclasses by leading documentary filmmakers and four DoXXL panels with guest filmmakers and experts from various fields.

On Tuesday, 21 April at 15:30, this year’s Honorary Seal recipient Christian Frei will host a masterclass titled “Magnification That Will Endure.” Paraphrasing Ernest Hemingway’s literary credo, Frei will outline the key elements of a documentary capable of withstanding the test of time while authentically exploring the complexities of human nature. At 17:00, the DoXXL panel “Stay Outside of Politics: Cinema, Censorship, and Challenging Opression” will address censorship, artwashing and boycotts, the work of film collectives, and documentary film as a tool of everyday resistance. Participants include producer Martin Herring and director Mike Lerner (The Gaza Collective), cultural theorist and activist Marta Baradić (Kino Katarina, Za K.R.U.H. / Strike for Gaza), and director Vlad Petri.

At 15.30 on Wednesday, 22 April, directors Corinne van Egeraat and Petr Lom (The Coriolis Effect) will honor the International Earth Day with a masterclass titled “Non-Anthropocentric Cinematography and Storytelling,” exploring how to tell stories that do not center on human beings. At 17:00, the panel “Change My Mind: Documentary vs. Fake News” will engage director Robin Kvapil (Change My Mind), journalist Melita Vrsaljko (Faktograf) and psychology professor Andrea Vranić in a discussion about the layered relationships between fake news, propaganda, investigative journalism, and documentary filmmaking. On Thursday, 23 April at 17:00, a panel titled “Balkan, My Balkan: How to Film Rural Areas?” will examine how to avoid ethical missteps, autocolonial urges, and exoticism when documenting rural life and isolated regions. The discussion will feature documentary filmmakers Jadran Boban (Feast of the Wolf) and Petra Seliškar (The Mountain Won’t Move), alongside anthropology professor Tomislav Pletenac. The discursive programme concludes on Saturday, 25 April at 15:30 with the panel “No Mercy: Female Gaze and the Film Industry.” Film scholar Petra Belc Krnjaić, directors Maja Prettner and Isa Willinger, film critic Iva Rosandić, and director and producer Jamilla Van der Hulst will discuss gender dynamics and the position of women on and off screen.

All DoXXL programmes will be held in English, and admission to all events is free. The 22nd ZagrebDox International Documentary Film Festival takes place at Kaptol Boutique Cinema from 19 to 26 April 2026. ZagrebDox is supported by the City of Zagreb, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Croatian Film Directors’ Guild and the Zagreb Tourist Board. All updates and information are available on the offical website and the festival’s social media channels.