Birds of War

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Impact Winner

The love story of a London-based Lebanese journalist and a Syrian activist and cameraman as told through 13 years of personal archives across revolutions, war, and exile.

STILL STANDING

On January 7, 2025, the Eaton fire destroyed over 9,000 structures in Altadena, California. Thousands more were left standing but contaminated with toxic ash. Residents face the impossible decision of whether they should risk their health to return home.

Closure

After his teenage son goes missing, Daniel scours the depths of the Vistula River, torn between the dread of a fatal leap and the hope that his son may still be alive.

Fing!

A demanding little girl and her parents, the Meeks, battle an outrageously entitled viscount to protect their rare, furry, one-eyed Fing from those fixated on exploiting this wondrous creature.

Kikuyu Land

As a Nairobi journalist probes a land battle entangling the local government and a powerful multinational corporation, covered wounds are revealed and family secrets are exposed.

The Oligarch and the Art Dealer

Yves Bouvier brokers masterpieces, from da Vinci to Rothko, into the private collection of Dmitry Rybolovlev until Bouvier is accused of a billion-dollar betrayal. Rising ambitions, frayed relationships, and bruised egos fuel a decade-long all-out war between the Swiss art dealer and the elusive Russian oligarch.

Some Kind of Refuge

On the shifting edge of the Mississippi River in New Orleans, the spirit of a fading outsider community endures through its two oldest residents.

To Hold a Mountain

In the remote highlands of Montenegro, a shepherd mother and daughter proudly defend their ancestral mountain from the threat of becoming a NATO military training ground, stirring memories of the violence that shattered their family.

La Tierra del Valor (The Home of the Brave)

During a summer of grief and fear brought on by immigration raids in Los Angeles, one small act of bravery gives a community hope.

All About the Money

A son of one of America’s wealthiest families creates a communist revolutionary base in rural Massachusetts as a means of disrupting the capitalist system he grew up in but has now come to despise. It’s the starting point of an astonishing journey.

One In A Million

Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary | Itab Azzam & Jack MacInnes

Filmed over 10 years, one girl’s epic journey from Syria to Germany and back again. She and her family navigate war, exile, and heartbreak in a foreign land, illuminating the complexities of the refugee experience.