The 2026 edition of the Ghent Viewpoint Documentary Film Festival came to an end after a week of screening documentary film gems coming from all around the world. Since Studio Skoop is temporarily closed, the festival took place at Ghent's most cosy independent cinema Velvet Room, where guests could also enjoy a free drink and interact with the filmmakers: Victoire Boninn, Floriane Hernalsteens, Chloé Wasp, Vincent Terlinchamp, Laura De Baudringhien and Daphne van den Blink.

Toronto Film Week returned this week with a diverse lineup of indie films. Festival curator, Kris De Meester, expressed great satisfaction with the 2026 edition: "Looking back on the 2026 edition of Toronto Film Week, what stays with me most is the sheer richness and diversity of voices that came together—films that challenged, provoked, and, at times, quietly reshaped the way we see the world. One of the most memorable surprises was the audience’s embrace of The Insides of O

For nearly a century, the isolated community of Short Creek—straddling the border of Utah and Arizona—has existed under the shadow of prophecy, polygamy, and control. In Prophet Town , filmmaker Dan Howlett turns his lens toward what he describes as the “full and final chapter” of the story surrounding Warren Jeffs , the disgraced leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), whose reign left thousands psychologically scarred. But rather th

In Hu Li Jing: The Fox Spirit , filmmaker and visual artist Alena Saveleva enters the realm of myth, animism, and transformation. Set in a distant, timeless forest, the film follows Hu Li Jing, a fox spirit who, weary of her own immortality, undertakes a ritual of abstinence—refusing to hunt for men’s hearts for one thousand days—in an attempt to rediscover her femininity and her place between worlds. But when she steps peacefully into the human world, she is met not with un

There are not many films where blood is not a metaphor but a material. Insania Mundi , the 13-minute documentary short by UK filmmaker Brendan Void, is not comfortable viewing, nor is it meant to be. The film is an observation of two Berlin-based performance artists whose work operates on the edge of endurance, ritual, and self-inflicted transformation. What emerges is not a traditional documentary, but a document of artistic extremity. Void collaborates not only as a filmmak

Doc.London is an annual documentary film festival that features work from around the world by up and coming artists, showcasing innovative independent cinema that invites viewers to learn and ponder. Thursday marked the closing night of the in-person part of the 2026 edition, which took place at BFI Stephen Street. The Streaming Selection, the festival's online program, remains available for streaming until 23 April.   The official selection included 24 documentary films hail

Produced by Kuo Li and directed by Guoju, A Winter Mirage explores individual lives against the backdrop of China’s economic transformation through a documentary-inflected visual language. Set in Yiwu—one of the world’s most significant hubs for small commodity trade—the film follows a single mother over the course of a winter solstice day, capturing the emotional and existential conditions of individuals navigating social change. Anchored by the father’s death anniversary, t

Alejandro Di Meglio’s 20:15 Mexico DF is a film that understands something essential about cinema: that the most meaningful moments are often the quietest ones. Set against the vibrant yet strangely intimate backdrop of Mexico City, the film brings two women together for what seems, at first, like a simple encounter. What unfolds, however, is something far more delicate—a meditation on memory, love, and the invisible weight of time. The acting is remarkably natural, carried

Ghent, Belgium — The 2026 edition of the Ghent International Short Film Festival concluded on March 22 at the Velvet Room after a week-long celebration of independent and daring short cinema. From March 16 to 22, the festival presented a curated selection of 46 short films spanning narrative, documentary, animation, experimental and underground cinema. The festival welcomed a number of special guests, including Maximilian Nita, Hiroyuki Nishiyama, Klara Schmickler, Catarina C