Doc.Boston Concludes Sixth Edition and Announces 2026 Award Winners

Seven films recognized across feature, short, U.S., experimental, extremely short, New England and Connecting Cultures categories

BOSTON — Doc.Boston has announced the award winners of its sixth edition, which concluded this past weekend after four screenings of documentary cinema. The 2026 official selection brought together 21 films from around the world, showcasing urgent, intimate and formally adventurous approaches to nonfiction storytelling.

“This past weekend reminded us why documentary cinema remains one of the most vital art forms of our time. Across every category, we saw filmmakers confronting difficult truths with remarkable courage and compassion. This year’s award winners explore communities rebuilding after oppression, survivors reclaiming their voices, people finding hope amid addiction, workers demanding safer conditions, and individuals whose resilience challenges us to see the world differently. While these stories come from different countries and cultures, they share a profound belief in truth, empathy and human dignity. We are deeply grateful to the filmmakers who entrusted us with their work, to our jury for its thoughtful deliberations, and to the audiences who embraced these films so enthusiastically. The sixth edition of Doc.Boston was a powerful reminder that documentaries do more than record our world—they can help change it.” — Kris De Meester, Festival Curator

2026 Award Winners

Best Feature Documentary Film

Prophet Town (United States), directed by Dan Howlett

Best Short Documentary Film

To the Embers (France), directed by Morgane Ambre

Best US Documentary Film

The Next Right Thing (United States), directed by Bill Wells

Best Experimental Documentary Film

Después del silencio (Canada), directed by Matilde-Luna Perotti

Best Extremely Short Documentary Film

Kev (United Kingdom), directed by Mike Bennion

Best New England Documentary Film

Safe Sets: Dying to Work in the Film Industry (United States), directed by Paul Heinzelmann

Best Connecting Cultures Film

Shepherd Boy (Portugal, Qatar), directed by Joao Queiroga

Streaming Selection

The Doc.Boston Streaming Selection remains available through August 17, 2026. For program details and viewing information, visit doc.boston/streaming.

Doc.Boston congratulates all of this year’s filmmakers and extends its heartfelt thanks to the guests, jury members and audiences who made the sixth edition possible. The festival looks forward to welcoming everyone back for its seventh edition next year.

Official Selection / winners of The Tarkovski Grant

Prophet Town (United States) by Dan Howlett

Tainted by the Visual (United Kingdom) by Laura Calzada

Push The Machine (Australia, France, United Kingdom) by Max Ward

My Body Eats Me  (Lebanon) by Stephanie Tadros

Hyodo's Paradise (United States) by Jacque Rabie

Faustyna (Poland) by Natalia Dutkiewicz

Kev (United Kingdom) by Mike Bennion

Safe Sets: Dying to Work in the Film Industry (United States) by Paul Heinzelmann

Manya (Portugal) by Faebitha Rahiman, Camila Amado Restrepo, Mariia Ivashchenko, Jean Jurado

I Wanted To Hear Your Voice (United States) by James Pellerito

Después del silencio (Canada) by Matilde-Luna Perotti

Shepherd Boy (Portugal, Qatar) by Joao Queiroga

Choy: The Making Of (United States) by Maxwell Johnson

To the embers (France) by Morgane Ambre

The Next Right Thing (United States) by Bill Wells

Island of Dreams (Colombia, United States) by Alvaro Jimenez, Cliff Orloff

Shiringa. Genocide and Resistance in the Amazon (Peru) by Wilton Martinez

60 Pounds of Home (Germany) by Michael Eibl

Anchor Points (Canada) by Victor Quijada, Samuel Greffe

Ujvala Jupalli: Asterisk Athlete (United States) by Josephine Harrison

Dowsing (United States) by Tim Feeney

https://www.doc.boston