The Doc Alliance is a creative partnership of seven European documentary film festivals, including: CPH:DOX in Copenhagen; Doclisboa; Docs Against Gravity FF; DOK Leipzig; Marseille Festival of Documentary Film; Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival; and Visions du Réel Nyon. The organisation is based in Prague and was founded in 2008, with the aim of promoting the documentary genre. It is financially supported by the European Union's Creative Europe programme, Czech Filmfund and the Czech Ministry of Culture. Its slogan is "the New Deal for Feature Documentaries".
Distribution platform
The main project of the Doc Alliance is DAFilms.com, an online distribution platform for documentary and experimental films focused on European cinema, which hosts around 1700 films for streaming or download. The films include archive historical films and works by international filmmakers such as Ulrich Seidl, Jorgen Leth, and Chris Marker.
Doc Alliance Award
The organisations also presents an annual award for the Best European Documentary Feature Film. Each of the participating festivals nominates one film for the shortlist. The competition films are primarily creative documentary debuts by emerging filmmakers. The festivals also nominate representatives to the jury of experts, chosen from film critics from the festival countries. Since 2015 the award has been presented at an official ceremony at the Locarno Film Festival. As well as a commemorative plaque, the film director also receives a prize of 5,000 Euro to support their further projects.
2015
Winner: Homeland (Iraq Year Zero) – director: Abbas Fahdel
Walking Under Water – director: Eliza Kubarska
Stranded in Canton – director: Måns Månsson
Illusion – director: Sofia Marques
I Am the People – director: Anna Roussillon
Haunted - director: Liwaa Yazji
All Things Ablaze – directors: Oleksandr Techynskyi, Aleksey Solodunov, Dmitry Stoykov
2016
Winner: Gulîstan, Land of Roses – director: Zaynê Akyol
Jarocin - The Rise of Freedom - director: Lech Gnoinski, Marek Gajczak
Fragment 53 – director: Carlo Gabriele Tribbioli
Maybe Desert, Perhaps Universe - director: Miguel Seabra Lopes, Karen Akerman
Steam on the River - director: Filip Remunda, Robert Kirchhoff
Maestà, the Passion of Christ – director: Andy Guérif
Train to Adulthood – director: Klára Trencsényi
2017
Winner: Taste of Cement – director: Ziad Kalthoum
95 and 6 to Go - director: Kimi Takesue
Convictions - director: Tatyana Chistova
Childhood - director: Margreth Olin
Spectres Are Haunting Europe - director: Maria Kourkouta, Niki Giannari
Those Shocking Shaking Days - director: Selma Doborac
When Will This Wind Stop - director: Aniela Astrid Gabryel
2018
Winner: Srbenka''' - Director: Nebojša Slijepčević
Doel - Director: Frederik Sølberg
Granny Project - Director: Bálint Révész
The Limits of Work - Director: Apolena Rychlíková
Inside - Director: Camila Rodríguez Triana
Instant Dreams - Director: Willem Baptist
Southern Belle - Directed by: Nicolas Peduzzi
2021 A Black Jesus - Director: Lucca LucchesiThe Blunder of Love - Director: Rocco Di MentoGabi, Between Ages of 8-13 - Director: Engeli BrobergLooking for Horses - Director: Stefan PavlovićNative Rock - Director: Macià Florit CampinsTraces of a Landsacpe - Director: Petr ZárubaZaho Zay'' - Directed by: Maéva Ranaïvojaona, Georg Tiller