On Friday, Dongnan Chen’s Whispers in May won the top prize at Copenhagen’s documentary film festival CPH:DOX. The award, known as the Dox:Award, carries a cash prize of 10,000 euros ($11,555).
In May Whispers, 14-year-old Qihuo and his two best friends from the remote Liangshan region of China go on a journey to buy skirts for their rite of passage.
The jury said in a statement: “It’s a talent to tell mythical stories about hidden worlds. It’s a talent to give breadth and depth to everyday moments. It’s fascinating to interweave a cinematic format with a resonance of reality. In the end, we were captivated by the girl’s journey. This director, who has survived the last days of childhood, has managed to share a modern fairy tale that pays attention to both monsters and factories.”
The special award went to Nolwen Hervé’s “The Cord.” The film follows Carolina, who helps impoverished women in Venezuela secure basic maternity care. The jury said: “As a metaphor for physical resistance, this new voice, which gave space to a decent birth, captivated us with its humanity, tenacity and empathy.”
“code”
The Fipresci Award, given by the International Federation of Film Critics, was won by Nathan Grossman’s Amazonia. The film reexamines footage from a 1996 film by a Swedish journalist who ventured deep into the Amazon to meet the Kolubo tribe. The jury said: “We would like to recognize a film that brings a contemporary and thought-provoking perspective on the intrusive culture clash. This film is a story about the loss of innocence, the complex colonial legacies of the human gaze, and the devastating effects of capitalism. In an age of visual overload, this film offers the possibility of revisiting, reconsidering and, hopefully, relearning.”
The F:Act Award, given to a film that bridges the gap between filmmaking and investigative reporting, went to Just Look Up, directed by Emma Wall and Betsy Hershey. The award carries a cash prize of 5,000 euros ($5,779). The film focuses on young activist Michael Greenberg, a leader of the climate change movement Climate Defiance.
The jury said: “A film about a topic that is so often overlooked, yet so urgent and important. It is funny, uplifting and even hopeful. We are honored to have given this award to this well-crafted and beautifully observed story of young people trying to save the world from self-destruction.”
“Just look up.”
Delivering Final Cut for Real
The special award went to “The Great Experiment,” directed by Stephen Mayne and Eric Daniel Metzger. The jury said, “Special recognition will be given to remarkable works of art that capture historical turning points in the political landscape that affect us all. With cinematic precision and emotional depth, this film exposes the deep rifts in American society, making it an important witness not only to this moment but to the future that will inevitably shape it.”
The Next:Wave Award, which spotlights up-and-coming filmmakers and “new cinematic trends,” selected Irene Bartholome’s “Dream of Another Summer.” The film has been described as a “dreamlike exploration of Beirut as a state of mind.”
The jury said: “The Next:Wave award is given to a film that, through a rigorous formal approach and a conscious gaze, draws us into a suspended space where the scars of the past, the consciousness of the present, and the dreams of the future collide with each other. The city of Beirut is the center of this meditative journey, but the film goes beyond the local and becomes an existential reflection on the fragility of the human condition.”
The special award went to director Tom Ajibi’s “This is Not a French Film.” This film is a satirical documentary about the struggle of a Belgian-Beninese director to make his debut film. The jury said: “We would like to give a special award to a film that continues to surprise us from start to finish with its playful format and engaging narrative that unfolds at the intersection of fiction and documentary. The film follows a courageous and clumsy filmmaker who gathers his friends and colleagues to confront his experiences of racism in the Belgian film industry, highlighting the complexities of identity and expression in a completely vulnerable and humorous way.”
The Nordic:Dox award, which recognizes outstanding documentaries from the Nordic region, went to Shakiba Adil and Elina Hirvonen’s The Secret Book Club of Kabul. A group of young women risk their lives to form a secret reading circle in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The prize comes with a cash prize of 5,000 euros ($5,779).
The jury said: “This film exposes the brutal dismantling of women’s rights under a dictatorship. In doing so, it affirms the power of documentary film to make injustice visible and give voice to the oppressed. We are grateful for this poignant call from the prison-turned-homes of Afghanistan. We hear you. You are not forgotten.”
The special award went to “Homesick,” directed by Taecyeon Tanja In Wol Sorensen. The director frames her experiences growing up in a Danish family as an adopted child from South Korea.
“With great precision and resilience, the director created an echo chamber in which the voices of silenced children could circulate freely,” the jury said.
The Human:Rights Award, which focuses on stories defending human rights, went to Maryam Ebrahimi’s The Phantom Pain of Rojava. The film focuses on the life of a wounded Kurdish guerrilla fighter living in northern Syria. The award carries a cash prize of 5,000 euros ($5,779).
The judge said: “Winner of the Human Rights Contest is a film that lyrically depicts the bonds that exist between a group of brave, mostly female warriors who find a way to see the beauty in their environment.”
An evolving companion born from their battles. And while their human rights continue to be threatened by new developments in modern warfare, the director strikes the perfect balance between their continued instability and a continued model of dignity and dedication to their cause. The filmmaker weaves together the current fight not just for the land, but for the women who live on it. ”
The special award went to “American Doctor,” directed by Po Si-ten, which follows three doctors who strive to save as many lives as possible at a hospital in Gaza.
The jury said: “By highlighting the systematic killing of health workers and children in Gaza and depicting the lasting impact on those working to alleviate the suffering of the victims, the filmmakers provide an urgent account of the human rights violations that are still unfolding before our eyes.”
The New:Vision Award, which honors artists’ films and boundary-pushing cinematic experiments, went to Rico Wong’s Compact Disc. In this film, the director and his friends reflect on their shared youth, shaped by incarceration. The award carries a cash prize of 5,000 euros ($5,779).
The jury said: “The film is a deeply moving portrayal of a group of young friends who come together to reflect on their participation in recent protests. The film utilizes a variety of lo-fi techniques to collectively reconstruct their fragmented memories. Interrogation footage from their incarceration is played from compact discs on laptops and re-shot with a handheld camera. A close-up camera lingers on their bodies, recreating their skin as a uniquely patterned map.”
“Shot in close quarters, the film brings blurred images back to subject matter. In the act of reminiscence, mirroring, animating, and layering, we find not only a record of what has been endured, but a way to move forward with it. Among its many qualities is its experimental use of low-tech pixelated media and authentic storytelling that brings a range of emotions to the surface without glossing over all-too-recent events and their current resonances or ending in a cathartic way.
The special award went to Thulapop Senjaroen’s “Local Sensations,” which moves from room to room in an “exploration of places, architecture, and monuments.” The jury said: “A truly astonishing and beautifully crafted cinematic essay on how to avoid becoming a shrine. Shot in black and white 16mm and combining digital footage with animation, this film reimagines monuments as fluid and unfixed. An architectural film without buildings, it explores and interconnects diverse poetic examples of Thai society, asking the question, “What if monuments could question history instead of sanctifying it?”
The Inter:Active Exhibition Award and cash prize of 10,000 DKK ($1,547) went to Sacha Wares’ Inside: The Childhood of an Artist. The film is “a provocative, multi-sensory biography that captures the moment when artist Judith Scott’s life changed forever.”
The special award went to “Dark Rooms” by Mats Damsbo and Laurits Frenstead-Jensen. It “prompts an intimate exploration across virtual spaces where real stories of sexual awakening ask us to confront taboos.”
