One of the world’s key gatherings for non-fiction is gearing up for another expansive edition, bringing filmmakers, industry professionals and audiences to Copenhagen for nearly two weeks of premieres, debates and cross-disciplinary events.

CPH:DOX 2026 (11-22 March) will bring more than 200 new films to Copenhagen, including 86 world premieres, confirming the Danish event’s status as one of the world’s leading documentary showcases. Alongside a wide-ranging programme of talks, concerts and exhibitions, the festival will once again shine a spotlight on Nordic non-fiction through its dedicated NORDIC:DOX Award competition.

The festival’s main DOX:AWARD competition includes several high-profile world premieres, among them Pieter-Jan De Pue’s opening film Mariinka, along with Nordic entries such as Nathan Grossman’s Amazomania, Daro Hansen and Thomas Papapetros’ Little Sinner, Karl Friis Forchhammer’s Christiania and Emil Langballe’s Petrolheads.

Special premieres include James Jones’ Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare, Omar Shargawi’s Palestinian Unwanted, Michael Loeken and Ulrike Franke’s Watching People Watching Birds, and Dan Vernon’s The Spy Next Door, while Daniel Roher’s The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist arrives as an anticipated international premiere.

Nordic talent will once again feature prominently across the programme and industry activities, with professionals gathering in large numbers in Copenhagen. The festival is also set to welcome a strong line-up of international guests, including HBO cult figure John Wilson, who will present his debut The History of Concrete, French actress-director Juliette Binoche with In-I In Motion, British docmaker Louis Theroux with his latest effort The Settlers, and other established auteurs such as Maite Alberdi, Alisa Kovalenko and Biljana Tutorov.

Beyond its competitions, CPH:DOX 2026 is structured around two major thematic strands. Right Here, Right Now revisits questions of human and civil rights through 30 films linked to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, accompanied by debates and a dedicated Human:Rights Award. Meanwhile, the newly launched Brain Waves programme explores the frontiers of neuroscience and technology through titles examining AI, consciousness and mental health.

“Documentary film helps us slow down and grasp complexity in a world dominated by speed and distraction,” says artistic director Niklas Engstrøm, describing the programme as a “double look” at both geopolitical upheaval and the changing inner landscape of the human mind.

The festival hub at Kunsthal Charlottenborg will once again host exhibitions and immersive works, including the INTER:ACTIVE showcase on the theme “Hypervigilance”. Nationwide outreach initiative DOX:DANMARK will expand to a record 61 municipalities, with more than 400 screenings across the country, while a curated online selection will stream on the PARA:DOX platform after the physical event.