Currently taking place at the Kaptol Boutique cinema till 26 April 2026, the festival opened on 19 April 2026 with the screening of the British documentary Synthetic Sincerity directed by Mark Isaacs and selected for the International Competition.
“At a time when over five million hours of video are published daily on YouTube alone, when an entire modest documentary film can cost as much as an Oscar ceremony, when newspaper editorial offices decide day after day which global war hotbed they can afford to cover, and when the line between artificial and real is becoming increasingly opaque, programming a documentary festival is more demanding than ever. But it is precisely then that we realise: we are only pre-selectors. Because, fortunately, we have an audience that not only believes in what we do but also knows how to recognise, choose and judge it for itself. And that, in fact, makes things easier," said Nenad Puhovski, the artistic director of the festival at the opening ceremony.
The festival is also organising a Retrospective of Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei, while the Special Events are this year the talks Balkan, My Balkan: How to Film Rural Areas?; Change My Mind: Documentary vs. Fake News; No Mercy: Female Gaze and the Film Industry; and Stay Outside of Politics: Cinema, Censorship, and Challenging Opression.
From 20 - 25 April 2026, ZagrebDox Pro, the industry segment of the festival, combines analysis of submitted projects, recommendations and suggestions for their further development. The programme includes case studies, group and individual discussions with industry experts, master lectures, special film screenings and round tables. Lecturers, experts and guests of ZagrebDox Pro are some of the most important European authors, producers and presenters.
The best project, by the jury's decision, will be provided with one-year online mentoring, while two projects, also by the jury's decision, will be given the opportunity to participate in the residential module of ZagrebDox Pro, in cooperation with the Rab Film Festival in August 2026. This year’s Slow Pitch Programme also awards selected projects in collaboration with partner festivals. Ji.hlava New Visions (Czech Republic) provides a professional accreditation, MEDIMED Doc Market (Spain) guarantees one project a spot at its Pitching Forum, and Nebulae–Doclisboa (Portugal) grants accreditation for its industry programme.
ZagrebDox Pro: Slow Pitch is supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), the City of Zagreb, and the Croatian Film Directors’ Guild (DHFA). ZagrebDox PRO takes place free of charge and is supported by the City of Zagreb, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Croatian Film Directors’ Guild, and Kultura nova Foundation.
International Competition:
2000 Meters to Andriivka / 2000 метрів до Андріївки (Ukraine)
Directed by Mstyslav Chernov
A Fox under a Pink Moon / Roobah va Mah soorati (Iran)
Directed by Mehrdad Oskouei, Soraya Akhlaghi
All My Sisters / Sé Khâhar (Austria, France, Germany, Iran)
Directed by Massoud Bakhshi
Better Go Mad in the Wild / Raději zešílet v divočině (Slovakia, Czech Republic)
Directed by Miro Remo
Closure (Poland, France)
Directed by Michał Marczak
Confessions of a Mole /一颗痣的自白 (China, Poland)
Directed by Mo Tan
Cutting through Rocks / اوزاک یوللار, (Iran, the Netherlands, USA, Germany, Qatar, Chile, Canada)
Directed by Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni
Divia / Дівія (Poland, Ukraine, the Netherlands, USA)
Directed by Dmytro Hreshko
Flana (Irak, France, Qatar)
Directed by Zahraa Ghandour
Memory (France, the Netherlands)
Directed by Vladlena Sandu
New Beginnings / Les recommencements (Belgium, France)
Directed by Vivianne Perelmuter, Isabelle Ingold
One in a Million (UK, USA)
Directed by Itab Azzam, Jack MacInness
Paleontology Lesson (the Netherlands)
Directed by Sergei Loznitsa
Past Future Continuous (Iran, Norway, Italy)
Directed by Morteza Ahmadvand, Firouzeh Khosrovani
Seablindness (Slovakia)
Directed by Tereza Smetanová
Silver (Poland, Norway, Finland)
Directed by Natalia Koniarz
Synthetic Sincerity (UK)
Directed by Mark Isaacs
The Men’s Land / კაცების მიწა (Georgia, Hungary)
Directed by Mariam Bakacho Khatchvani
The Wind Blows Wherever It Wants (Georgia, USA)
Directed by Ivan Boiko
Walls - akinni inuk (Greenland)
Directed by Sofie Rørdam, Nina Paninnguaq Skydsbjerg
Regional Competition:
A Few Chunks of Cheese / За няколко бучки сирене (Bulgaria)
Directed by Nikola Boshnakov
Asparagus Bear / Medo u šparugama (Croatia)
Directed by Ivan Grgur
A Train Passes Every Day and It Never Stops / În fiecare zi trece același tren și nu oprește niciodată (Romania)
Directed by Vlad Petri
Does the Horse Have to Work, too? / Muss das Pferd auch arbeiten? (Austria)
Directed by Leonhard Pill
Fragments of Belonging (Croatia, Germany, the Netherlands)
Directed by Tatjana Božić
Goats! / Koze! (Croatia, France)
Directed by Tonći Gaćina
Greetings from the Secretariat / Pozdrav iz sekretarijata (Croatia)
Directed by Ivan Ramljak
Lavender / Lavanda (Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary)
Directed by Mateja Raičković
Meant to Be / Ez így volt szép (Hungary)
Directed by Olivér Márk Tóth
Melt (Austria)
Directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter
No Mercy (Germany, Austria)
Directed by Isa Willinger
Omama (Hungary, Belgium, Portugal)
Directed by Martin Herr
Remember My Song / Sjeti se moje pjesme (Croatia, Serbia)
Directed by Jelena Bosanac, Tanja Brzaković
Serene Valley / Mirna dolina (Croatia)
Directed by Sebastijan Borovčak
Slet 1988 (Germany, France, Serbia)
Directed by Marta Popivoda
The Feast of the Wolf / Vučja gozba (Croatia, Serbia)
Directed by Jadran Boban
The Mountain Won’t Move (Slovenia, North Macedonia, France)
Directed by Petra Seliškar
This Desirable Device / Овај пожељни строј (Serbia, Germany)
Directed by Mina Simendić
ZagrebDox Pro Selected Projects:
Through the Process / Kroz proces 10-6-93 (Croatia)
Directed by Marina Petković Liker
Produced by Četveroruka
Here Before Us Stands a Man / Pred nami stoji mož (Slovenia)
Directed by Igor Vrtačnik
Produced by Film Horizont (https://filmhorizont.org/)
Beautiful Death / Brīnišķīgā nāve (Latvia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy)
Directed by Andris Gauja
Produced by Riverbed
Coproduced by AGITPROP, Film Tower, Mammut Film
Transformation Stories from Akbelen Forest / Akbelen Ormanı'ndan Dönüşüm Hikayeleri (Turkey)
Directed by Selen Çatalyürekli
Warrriors’ Whispers / Les murmures des combattantes (Switzerland, Kosovo)
Directed by Elena Avdija
The Square of Silence / Trg svibanjskih žrtava (Croatia)
Written by Ines Mrenica
Produced by 4 Film
Turning the Tide (UK)
Directed by Louisa Rechenbach
Hell Has No Fire Escape (South Africa, UK, Australia)
