The DOC DAY Screenings take place at Filmclub Bolzano and are accompanied by Q&As and discussions – sometimes with directors or crew members, other times with experts on the films’ subject matter. In addition, we also host film talks or masterclasses on the following day. All selected films address pressing issues of our time.
We are currently in our edition #3, starting in October 2025 and continuing until March 2026. This season our programm includes 9 documentaries from all over the world and our loyal audience can look forward to award-winning films from Sundance, IDFA, CPH:DOX, and Visions du Réel, as well as the Neustadt Trilogy by Thomas Heise, who passed away in May – a key figure of German documentary cinema and perhaps the most significant chronicler of East German and post-reunification realities.
For every DOC DAY event, we collaborate with a local organisation. Past and present partners include Ökoinstitut Südtirol / Alto Adige, Foto-Forum, ARCI, Forum Prävention, Lungomare, Analogcia, SAAV, as well as initiatives like Female Views and our own FILM FRAUEN Roundtable.
DOC DAY editions #1, #2, #3 have been curated by Emanuele Vernillo.
09.10.25
SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH
Olha Zhurba / 2024 / 95’
12.11.25
TRAINS
Maciej Drygas / 2024 / 80’
20.11.25
VALENTINA E I MUOSTRI
Francesca Scalisi / 2024 / 80’
11.12.2025
ALWAYS
Deming Chen / 2025 / 88’
15.01.2026
STAU – JETZT GEHT’S LOS
Thomas Heise / 1992 /85’
NEUSTADT. STAU – DER STAND DER DINGE
Thomas Heise / 2000 / 86’
17.01.2026
KINDER – WIE DIE ZEIT VERGEHT
Thomas Heise / 2007 / 86’
19.02.2026
9- MONTH CONTRACT
Ketevan Vashagashvili / 2025 / 78’
19.03.2026
SEEDS
Brittany Shayne / 2025 / 122’
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We open on October 9 with SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH by Ukrainian director Olha Zhurba. The film premiered at the Venice Biennale in 2024 and has since screened at major international documentary festivals. A remarkable work: aesthetically haunting, it renders the horror of Russia’s war against Ukraine emotionally tangible – without showing a single battle. A film not to be missed.
In November we continue with two screenings. On November 12, in collaboration with the festival ANALOGICA, we present TRAINS by *Maciej J. Drygas. Composed entirely of analog found footage, the work won both the International Competition Award and the Best Editing Prize at IDFA. An intense audiovisual journey that takes us by train through the upheavals of the 20th century.
On November 20 follows VALENTINA E I MUOSTRI by Francesca Scalisi, with cinematography by FAS member Stefania Bona. The film tells the tender story of a young woman’s emancipation in Niscemi, Sicily – a town marked by the US Navy’s MUOS satellite communications system and recurring wildfires. Among its awards are the Special Jury Award in Nyon and the FIPRESCI Award in Leipzig.
On December 11 we close the first half of DOC DAY with ALWAYS by Deming Chen. With his debut film, the Chinese director won the Grand Prize at CPH:DOX and the Best Editing Award in Barcelona. A coming-of-age story full of poetry – both in form and content.
In January, attention turns to the Neustadt Trilogy by Thomas Heise. Between 1992 and 2007, Heise followed the people of Halle-Neustadt, once a socialist model city that after reunification became a symbol of decline. Together, the three films form an unflinching yet deeply human chronicle of Germany’s transformation after 1989 – a work about the fragility of hope in times of upheaval and the roots of social divisions that still resonate today.
On February 19 we present 9-MONTH CONTRACT by Georgian filmmaker Ketevan Vashagashvili. Since its world premiere at CPH:DOX, where it received the Human Rights Award, the film has screened worldwide at festivals including Hot Docs, Sarajevo, Barcelona, and Munich. It tells the story of Zhana, a young mother who becomes a surrogate out of financial necessity – until the consequences become unbearable.
Finally, on March 19, we close the program with SEEDS by Brittany Shayne, winner of the U.S. Competition at Sundance 2025. Her film portrays Black farmers in the American South who, in the face of systemic inequality, fight for their very existence – a moving and politically urgent work.
Landscapes, occasional conversations and encounters, and sounds that weave in and out of the frame compose SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH. Captured in varying proximities to the frontline over two years, the audiovisual diary of Ukraine’s immersion into the abyss of total war traces the subtle changes in Ukrainian society. The ragged chords of panic and horror of the first weeks of the Russian invasion slowly morph into the numb stillness of the acceptance of death and destruction, which eventually becomes the tragic normality for the local population, but just an afterthought for the rest of the world. Against the backdrop of the (meta)physical landscape of collective disaster, a new generation of Ukrainians aspires to imagine the future.
81st Venice Film Festival, Riga IFF – Int. Competition, Astra Film Festival, Cin East Luxembourg, Lugano HRFF – Int. Competition, IDFA – Best of fests, Verzio FF, Movies on War, Terrtio Millennio, Rome IDFF, Black Movie Geneva, FIPA DOC, Big Sky IDFF, CPH:DOX, One World IDFF, Vilnius IFF, Filmfest Bremen, Zagreb Dox, Docville, Films des femmes, Hong Kong IFF (Asian Premiere), Salem FF, ACT Human Rights Film Festival, Kosmorama, Tempo IDFF, Full Frame FF, Docs Gravity, DOK FEST MUNICH, Jean Rouch IFF, DOXA, Beldocs, Ethnocineca, Ukrainian Film Days, Krakow FF, La Rochelle Cinema, Olhar de cinema | Curitiba IFF, Freiburger Film Forum, Taipei IFF, MoMI First Look, Imagine India, Documentarist, Golden Apricot IFF Yerevan
WINNER | RIGA IFF FEATURE FILM COMPETITION; WINNER: DOC FUTURE AWARD at Verzio IDFF Hungary; WINNER: BEST FILM at Tertio Millennio Film Fest; Special Jury Award at Rome Documentary FF; Best Feature film at Big Sky Documentary FF, Best Film – One World IDFF Prague, Best feature film – Film Fest Bremen, Best International Feature Film at Docville | Academy Award™ Qualifying, Millenium Docs Against Gravity – Amnesty International Award & First Appearance Award, Special Mention for the best cinematography, Golden Lynx Documentary Award – FEST New Directors, New Films, Jury Special Mention – Golden Apricot Yerevan IFF, Best Ukrainian Film Docu Days Kiev
Trains opens with a quote from Franz Kafka: “There is plenty of hope. An infinite amount of hope. But not for us.” These words hang like a dark cloud over this found footage documentary, which creates a collective portrait of people in 20th century Europe, capturing their hopes, desires, dramas, and tragedies.
Powerful scenes showing steam locomotives and railroad cars being assembled feel like a celebration of human ingenuity and labor. People dressed in festive attire embark on a rail journey. But these cheerful scenes soon make way for military transport: soldiers being deployed to the frontlines—quickly followed by civilians evacuating, a procession of ragged prisoners-of-war, and amputee soldiers.
Times change, the pattern repeats. The archival material in this wordless film evokes an inevitable cycle of delight and destruction, beauty and bitterness. The image of a tangle of railroad tracks and switches raises the inevitable question: Which route will humanity choose?
2024 — International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) (Netherlands) — International Competition / 2024 — Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) (Estonia) — Doc@PÖFF section / 2025 — DOK.fest München (Germany) / 2025 — Neiße Filmfestival (Germany) / 2025 — DOK Leipzig (Germany) / 2025 — Docs Against Gravity (Poland) / 2025 — Kraków Film Festival (Poland) — Polish Documentary Panorama
Won: IDFA 2024 — Best Film, International Competition.
Won: IDFA 2024 — Best Editing (editor: Rafał Listopad).
Won: Artdocfest / Riga 2025 — Grand Prix, Baltic Focus competition.
Nominated: FOCAL International Award 2025 — Best Use of Footage in a History Feature.
Nominated: Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards 2025 — Best Archival Documentary (plus nomination in Best Score).
26-year-old Valentina still lives with her parents. She has always put their welfare before her own needs. The two, on the other hand, keep harping on how clumsy and unambitious she is. The sensitive young woman finds reassurance in the artful crocheting of woollen blossoms and among the thousand-year-old cork oaks of the nature reserve surrounding her hometown. The small Sicilian town of Niscemi is of the highest global political importance: Since 2016, the US Navy has been operating a ground station with huge parabolic antennas here for their satellite communication system MUOS. The system also serves to locate Russian military in the Ukraine and turns the region into a potential target for attacks. The locals have been protesting for years. Due to the strong electromagnetic waves the health risks are enormous.
The remarkable sound design underlines the danger and conveys a sense of unease that grows with all the other threats: massive environmental destruction caused by intensive agriculture, drought, fires. Valentina is deeply shaken. Against her parents’ wishes, she takes part in anti-MUOS rallies, wants to become independent at last, drive a car, get a job. This tender story of emancipation is enchanting with its subtle narrative and dream-like interventions. Valentina will be remembered for a long time!
Dok Leipzig
Visions du Réel Nyon, 2024, Switzerland
DOK Leipzig, 2024, Germany
Festival dei Popoli Firenze, 2024, Italy
Cinemambiente, 2025, Italy
Festival International du Film Insulaire de Groix, 2025, France
Euganea Film Festival, 2025, Italy
IDFA, 2024, The Netherlands
RIDM Rencontres internationales du documentaire Montréal, 2024, Canada
Solothurner Filmtage, 2025, Switzerland
Antenna documentary film festival, 2025, Australia
True/False, 2025, USA
Festival International du Film de Fribourg FIFF, 2025, Switzerland
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, 2025, USA
Athens International Film + Video Festival, 2025, USA
Mostra Internacional de Films de Dones de Barcelona, 2025, Spain
DOXA Documentary Film Festival, 2025, Canada
Sole Luna Festival, 2025, Italie
Special Jury Award in National Competition at Visions du Réel 2024
Prize of the International Film Critics (FIPRESCI Prize) at DOK Leipzig 2024
CG Entertainment Distribution Award to the Best Italian Film at Festival dei Popoli 2024
Prix „Società e Ambiente“ et Mention spéciale „Gaetano Capizzi“ Section Made in Italy (Cinemambiente)
Prix L’Île d’or in (Groix)
Zalabview Prize (Euganea Film Festival)
“Don’t overthink when you write. Free your mind and your imagination,” says a teacher at a rural school in Hunan province, China. In the case of Youbin Gong, these words fall on fertile ground. Always follows Youbin over the course of six years, starting when he’s nine. He lives with his father at the home of his grandparents, who lead a hard life as subsistence farmers. He hasn’t seen his mother since she left shortly after his birth.
Filmmaker Deming Chen, who also grew up in Hunan, shows the gulf between adults and children there. Youbin uses imaginative poetry to give voice to his dreams of an existence beyond the harsh realities of rural life. With a 4:3 aspect ratio and black-and-white cinematography, the film employs a realist aesthetic to evoke Youbin’s coming of age; when he lets go of his dreams and childhood, the film shifts to color and widescreen format. In long, meditative takes, Chen captures the breathtaking natural world in which Youbin grows up.
Poems by Youbin and his classmates naturally also feature in this melancholic film. One reads, “The weeds bid farewell to the river/The trees to the wind/When I leave/There’s no one to bid farewell.”
IDFA
Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival | „Best Documentary Feature“ Selection | Taiwan | November 2025
États Généraux du documentaire | France | August 2025
69th BFI London Film Festival | Official Selection for the Grierson Award | United Kingdom | August 2025
VIFF, Vancouver International Film Festival | Official Selection | Canada | August 2025
El Gouna Film Festival | Official Selection, Best Documentary Feature | Egypt | August 2025
Tirana International Film Festival | Official Selection, Best Documentary | Albania | August 2025
DokuFest, International Documentary and Short Film Festival | International Documentary Competition | July 2025
Sydney Film Festival | Australia | June 2025
Jeonju International Film Festival | South Korea | May 2025
International Film Festival DocsBarcelona | Spain | May 2025
HotDocs | Canada | April 2025
CPH:DOX | Denmark | March 2025
DOX:Award (Grand Prize) | CPH:DOX, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival | Denmark, March 2025
Best Editing | DocsBarcelona International Documentary Film Festival, Spain, May 2025
Best Film | International Competition at the 26th Jeonju International Film Festival | South Korea, May 2025
Harrell Award (Best Documentary) | 26th Camden International Film Festival | United States, September 2025
Golden Star for Best Documentary Film | El Gouna Festival | Egypt, October 2025
Portrait Prize (awarded by the Association for the Support of Young Authors) | CORSICA.DOC | France, October 2025
» Tickets available soon
1992: Duisburger Filmwoche (Preis der deutschen Filmkritik); Goethe Institut Montreal; Filfestival Saarbrücken; Berlinale, Neue deutsche Filme; IDFA – Internationales Filmfestival Amsterdam; International Filmfestival Portugal; Internationales Dokumentarfilmfestival Leipzig; Kopenhagen Film- und Videofestival (1. Preis); Filmfest Potsdam
» Tickets available soon
2000: Berlinale, Forum des jungen deutschen Films; Visions du Réel Nyon/Schweiz; Filmkunstfest Schwerin; Filmfestival Baltikum – Bornholm; Duisburger Filmtage (Preis der deutschen Filmkritik für den besten Dokumentarfilm); Viennale
» Tickets available soon
DOK Leipzig 2007 (Silver Dove Int. Competition), Duisburger Filmwoche 2007, Visions du Réel Nyon 2008, Crossing Europe IFF Linz 2008, Dokwoche Hamburg 2008, Planete Doc Review Warschau 2008, Cinéma Verité Int. Dokumentarfilmfestival Tehran 2008, DocBsAs08 Doc Buenos Aires 2008, DokumentART Neubrandenburg 2008, Verzio Dokumentarfilmfestival Budapest 2008, L’Alternativa Barcelona 2008, Int. Filmfestival Turin 2008
Nominated for European Film Award 2008 in the category Documentary Film – Prix Arte