Bold Voices and Boundary-Breakers: DOC.LONDON 2025 Unveils Award-Winning Films

DOC.LONDON, the annual festival spotlighting groundbreaking independent documentary cinema, wrapped its 2025 in-person edition this Thursday at BFI Stephen Street with a packed house and powerful conversations. But the story isn’t over— the festival's brand-new digital program, OFF ON Selection, is streaming globally until 4 April, offering audiences around the world a chance to experience this year’s most compelling nonfiction storytelling.

This year’s official selection featured 30 thought-provoking documentaries from across the globe, representing filmmakers from the U.S., U.K., Lebanon, Poland, Serbia, Switzerland, Canada, Hungary, Austria, Australia, Mexico, Italy, and Belgium.

Today, DOC.LONDON is proud to announce the winners of its 2025 awards, as selected by this year’s esteemed jury:

Best Feature Documentary Film

Missing from Fire Trail Road (USA) by Sabrina Van Tassel

Best Short Documentary Film

The Other Side of Despair (Switzerland) by Varsy Buchmann

Best Connecting Cultures Film

Shifting Roots (Lebanon) by Angie Mrad

Best UK Documentary Film

Maybe We Can Whisper (UK) by Alexandre Amaral & Aoife Mandeville

Best Experimental Documentary Film

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo (UK) by Kate Colenbrander

Best Underground Documentary Film

Marija Wants To Become A Woman (Serbia) by Jovan Pantovic

Best Super Short Documentary Film

Maslenitsa (UK) by Polina Kulbachevskaia

A heartfelt congratulations to all the filmmakers who brought their stories to DOC.LONDON 2025—thank you for challenging, enlightening, and inspiring us.

https://www.doclondon.org