The 23rd edition of CPH:DOX, Copenhagen’s International Documentary Film Festival, is full of new docs for you to discover. The competition’s six juried sections alone include 74 films, including 53 world premieres and 17 international premieres. Meanwhile, Here, Now, Right highlights human, civil and international rights, while new Brainwaves line-up delves into the mysteries of the human mind.
In addition, there are sections such as Science, Artists and Authors, Sound and Vision and Urgent Matters. Copenhagen’s ‘Highlights’ program promises to showcase ‘festival songs and front-page stories’, including the likes of Karlovy Vary Award winner Miro Remo. It’s better to go crazy in the wildCapitalism and Ethics by Sinead O’Shea It’s all about moneyAnd Werner Herzog’s nature film Ghosts of elephants.
So, local audiences and industry visitors alike have plenty to choose from during CPH:DOX, which begins on Wednesday, March 11 and runs until Sunday, March 22.
“From the Arctic to the Amazon, from Gaza to Greenland, from Kiev to the Kremlin, CPH:DOX 2026 covers the entire alphabet of a changing world,” said Niklas Engstrom, the festival’s artistic director, while unveiling the program for this year’s edition. “The festival combines breaking reporting from the world’s geopolitical boiling points with critical investigations into AI disruption, Big Tech, oligarchy, and the battle for free expression, while also addressing the accelerating climate crisis, the ethical limits of neurotechnology, and the fragile state of democracy itself.”
Before what looks like a feast for documentary fans in Copenhagen, Engstrom spoke to THR About his focus on expanding the idea of what documents can be, “tearing down” the walls between the screening room and the real world, how his team manages the huge volume of submissions, why CPH:DOX sees itself as a bridge between the US and Europe in a time of tensions, and why Copenhagen wants to encourage curiosity, nuance, conversation and critical discussion to create “big rooms” in the age of social media echo chambers.
I’ve noticed how different the themes of this year’s films are, but also how different the forms of documentaries that CPH:DOX 2026 offers are, including hybrid formats. Can you talk a little about the importance of showcasing such innovation in documentation?
From the very beginning of the festival in 2003, we have always believed in the mission of CPH:DOX to be a festival that should explore and expand the concept of documentary cinema. This is the main principle that guides us through everything we organize. Our goal is to offer the most diverse programme, covering cultures, countries, forms of storytelling, as well as social perspectives. I feel like this year’s lineup reflects that commitment, perhaps more than ever before. Our goal is also always to bring together established and emerging sounds, challenging traditional forms.
I noticed you used the word “diverse” as a point of pride at a time when some parts of the world seem to see less value in diversity.
Yes, diversity has become a somewhat controversial phrase, not least in the United States. But to me, it’s really valuable, and it’s so much more than just inclusion and equality. It is much more than representation or geography. It is fundamentally about creating dialogue through cinematic practices and lived experiences.
CPH:DOX programs more immersive experiences and events in addition to traditional films. How important is it for you to look beyond the screen we all know and love?
It’s very important that film shows and everything we do are in close contact with the real world. We actually try, as much as we can, to tear down the walls between the screening room and the reality outside. For example, for musical films, if we can bring musicians to the festival, we try to bring them.
I’ve heard that there are a lot of people coming to Copenhagen for the Documentary Festival from outside Europe. Can you talk a little about the role you see for CPH:DOX on the global map?
I think it is more important today than ever, with rising tensions between the United States and Europe, to create a festival that bridges the gap. I believe this will become even more important in the world we live in today. We have an ethos that this festival should be a shared space to engage with all the complexities of today’s crazy world through documentary art.
Our political frameworks are changing. We have intensifying conflicts. We have perception blurring technology. Therefore, this role seems more urgent than ever. We are driven by curiosity. We want to explore the boundaries of documentary cinema. We want to open conversations about human rights and geopolitical ambiguity, and we want to do so without simplification, insisting on nuance and resisting easy answers. I think this is more important than ever for festivals like ours right now.
The last edition of the Berlinale was full of conflict and controversy. What do you think about that and what does it mean for film festivals, including CPH:DOX?
Each festival had to reflect on questions that have been asked over the past few years, with the terrible wars going on in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere, and with so many political movements emerging around them, and with so much political pressure on cultural events, including film festivals. So I think we were all thinking carefully, including in Berlin. I would just say that what happened in Berlin this year was, in a way, a continuation of conversations that have happened in Berlin and elsewhere over the past few years. I think the important thing is that we continue those conversations even when it’s difficult, and not try to shut them down – whether that’s by boycotting or by politicians overstepping the way they should be and pulling the rug out from under the feet of festival directors.
At CPH:DOX, we firmly believe that our understanding of documentaries can add to the understanding of the complexities of today’s world. For me, it’s interesting that we can find a balance between different points of view in our program and also start conversations about those films, also with people who might have a completely different point of view. We’re a documentary festival, and that means we’re very invested in the real world, and we’re very invested in art, but not art for art’s sake. We know that every filmmaker at our festival is interested in and deeply involved in the real world, and we want to engage people in the real world. So, we support every filmmaker in the program, but we also very much support critical conversations about those films that they make.
Not only do we organize a program of films, we also organize a program of panels and discussions around those films, where we can take those conversations and have difficult discussions. I think a festival like ours should be safe, but it shouldn’t be a safe place in the sense that your views can’t be challenged. It should be an open space where we can discuss the toughest questions.
I heard your conference list includes a talk that basically asks if we’re talking about Gaza…
For me, it’s very important for us to facilitate conversations. I know that right now, of course, with some conflicts, it’s almost impossible. But we’re still trying. We have a very critical film by the Palestinian-Danish director Omar Sharqawi, who criticizes the Danish media coverage of the Gaza war, and was also very critical of the festival last year, and we listened to it. We listen to what our critics say. We invited him inside with his new film, Unwanted PalestinianWe also invited people he criticizes. So there will be a media representative[inMartinKrasnikeditor-in-chiefofthemagazine[inMartinKrasniktheeditor-in-chiefofWeekend]In a conversation with him. They’ve had a really big fight about this, and we’re going to invite them on stage to have a conversation.
To me, that’s the most important thing a festival like ours can do: not create an echo chamber, but build big rooms where you can hear other people and other voices. t your votes.
Let me ask you more about Copenhagen programming. How have submissions to CPH:DOX been trending in recent years?
This year, we had about 3,000 applications. This is up from about 2,000 just three years ago. In fact, our programming team counted the total running time for everything submitted, which adds up to a full 112 days of film. This means about four months of watching movies 24 hours a day. This work is done by human beings, and every movie that is watched seriously and debated about is a huge undertaking. So, we simply had to find a way to hire more programmers over the past two years, and fortunately, we were able to come up with the budget to do so. I think this trend really speaks to the expanding global reach of documentaries, but also to the expanding reach of CPH:DOX.
Are there any new sections or programming offerings at the festival this year?
Yes, this year, we sponsored a program called Brainwaves, a major new thematic direction we will continue over the next few years, exploring the brain, consciousness, and how our inner selves and inner world order are rapidly changing, including the emergence of artificial intelligence and new neurotechnologies.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I see the festival as a space to think together, and this need seems more urgent than ever right now. This is also why we no longer show films only in Copenhagen. This is one of the great divisions in today’s societies, the division between urban elites and people elsewhere and in the countryside. So, for me, the most important development for the festival in the last five years has actually been our national program, DOX:Danmark, which is now in about 60 municipalities across Denmark, out of 98. We started that five years ago with nine municipalities, so it’s really evolved a lot.
The first 20 years of CPH:DOX, we spent trying to get the gospel of documentary to people in Copenhagen, and now we’re trying to get the gospel to everyone in Denmark. It’s really encouraging to see the fans. They actually come in droves to shows in small towns all over Denmark.
