Grand Jury Documentary

Eight documentaries are nominated from the festival’s full film programme. An international jury will declare the winner of €5,000. The winner of the Grand Jury Documentary Competition will be eligible for consideration for the ACADEMY AWARD® for Best Documentary Feature Film.

Winner 2026: Traces

Jury report: ”This film, in particular, left us deeply affected — both by its difficult and challenging subject matter, and by its thoughtful and composed form. With its unique access to the subject and its characters, this film exposes atrocities committed against the vulnerable with respect, intimacy, and humility. Above all, it offers a sense of healing through its gaze upon nature, which continues to renew itself despite everything.”

Debra Zimmerman

Debra Zimmerman is the Executive Director of Women Make Movies, a NY non-profit social enterprise that has been supporting women filmmakers with distribution and production assistance of their independent films since 1972. For the last 20 years filmmakers from WMM’s programs have won or been nominated for Academy Awards. Zimmerman is in great demand around the world as a speaker, panelist and mentor. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including NY Women in Film and Television’s Changemaker Award and Hot Doc’s Doc Mogul Award, given to those who have made an essential contribution to the creative vitality of the documentary industry, both in his or her home country and abroad. She is is a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences.

Joelle Alexis

I am drawn to storytelling as a way to reveal hidden layers of our world and give voice to those often unheard. Whether working on a documentary or fiction, I approach each project with curiosity and sensitivity to the material. Based in Brussels, I’ve had the chance to collaborate with filmmakers across borders and genres. Recent projects include Money & Shame (Sundance Jury Award 2026), Marching in the Dark (CPH:DOX Human Rights Award 2024), Kamay (Visions du Réel 2024), and Cahiers Noirs (Cannes). While Gett, A Film Unfinished, and The Green Prince brought wider recognition, each film has shaped how I listen, interpret, and build meaning. I also work as a mentor in workshops and offer consultations via Rough Cut Service. I’m a member of both the European and American Film Academies — but what inspires me most is the collaborative process and the shared search for a story’s true form.

Tommy Gulliksen

Tommy Gulliksen is a Norwegian documentary film maker. Educated in Arts and Journalist from University of Oslo. Known for films like "Terror Island", "War of Art" and "Facing War".