Cinepolitical: A Monthly Brief on Documentary
June 2025's essential docs & dialogues
In this June 2025 newsletter, we feature a timely and in-depth interview with MADOKE, the Hungarian documentary association, on the country’s proposed “foreign agent” law. We also highlight our media partnerships with Docudays UA, Sunny Side of the Doc, and Encounters South Africa. From our collaboration with Encounters and Durban FilmMart, we’re excited to announce six forthcoming reviews by emerging critics from the Durban Talent Press—new perspectives from a rising generation of African writers. This issue also features reviews of standout films that have appeared on Netflix, HBO, and the BBC, alongside coverage from the Krakow Film Festival and powerful new work emerging from Iran.
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News
DokuFest 2025 unveils full competition lineup with record submissions
Chilean series wins top history award at Sunny Side of the Doc
Sunny Side of the Doc 2025 celebrates global storytelling and expands international reach
Top festival programmers to join dok.incubator workshop in Czech Republic
Three Chilean documentaries selected for Sunny Side of the Doc pitches
New DA Films retrospective sheds light on decades of Palestinian dispossession
Chilean documentaries confront crisis and silence in Sheffield
MDOC Melgaço returns for 11th Edition, spotlighting documentary and community heritage
KineDok launches ambitious 2025/26 collection with 16 documentaries and archival shorts
26 projects selected for 29th Baltic Sea Docs co-production forum
Interview
«Democracy is impossible if a society lacks resources—especially human resources»
Docudays UA Festival Director Yuliia Kovalenko delves into the motivations behind this year's theme, the challenges of organising a festival amid ongoing conflict, and the resilience of Ukrainian documentary cinema.
«The priority was to put the dialogue back at Sunny Side»
Sunny Side of the Doc Managing Director Aurélie Reman about ethical co-productions, the decentralisation of storytelling, and the need for tougher conversations in a changing industry landscape.
Will Europe watch as Hungary criminalises culture?
With the introduction of the new «foreign agent» bill, the country’s documentary community is under siege by censorship, surveillance, and democratic erosion.
Films
Backlash: The Murder of George Floyd
Director: Kwabena Oppong
They knelt on his neck; the world stood up—but how long did it stay standing?
Child of Dust
Director: Weronika Mliczewska
Born of war and raised in hardship, a man’s search for his father becomes a reflection on identity, healing, and generational trauma.
No One Sleeps
Director: Sam Kalantari
Exploring resilience and empowerment as Negar Sammaknejad conquers Mount Damavand, uniting Persian heritage and modern feminism.
Orwell: 2+2=5
Director: Raoul Peck
Our current reality, as summarised by George Orwell.
Put Your Soul on Your Hands and Walk
Director: Sepideh Farsi
Another journalist killed… but this time in the spotlight of the Cannes Film Festival.
The Dark Money Game
Director: Alex Gibney
A scathing two-part exposé reveals how political bribery, dark money, and judicial capture have hollowed out American democracy from the inside.
Titan: The Oceangate Submersible Disaster
Director: Mark Monroe
Mark Monroe's fascinating deep dive into the tragedy of the underwater craft that chased fame in the depths of the North Atlantic is an engrossing study of hubris.
Unwelcomed
Director: Amilcar Infante, Sebastián González M.
This ambitious debut documentary, years in the making, captures Venezuela’s migrant crisis and Chilean radicalisation in urgent cinematic testimony.
Now Available
