Beldocs Industry Days 2025 Awards

Beldocs Pitching Forum, the industry platform of Beldocs Industry Days, handed out its awards on Saturday, 24th May 2025 during a ceremony presented by the Head of Beldocs Industry, Andrijana Sofranić Šućur. The forum was held from 22nd to 25th May as part of the 18th edition of Beldocs – Belgrade International Documentary Film Festival. This year’s event once again brought together a vibrant community of regional and international documentary professionals for four days of pitching, networking, and creative exchange.

The jury members — Carmen L. Vicencio (Supervising Producer and Programmer at POV), Jasmin Bašić (Programmer at Visions du Réel), and Diana Karklin (Head of Sales and Acquisitions at Rise and Shine World Sales) — handed the award by Film Center of Montenegro for Best Project in Development to the Armenian project My Name is Enough, directed by Marina Arzumanova, Ani Grigoryan, and Ani Ordyan. The jury stated: “Particularly in a time of global pushback against women’s agency, the jury gives this award to a courageous all-women filmmaking team, who despite their seeming youth, has decided to confront widespread conservative norms and practices that do not even allow girls to be born.”

The Best Project in Progress Award by Al Jazeera Balkans was presented to Sentence from Birth by Diana Vlas and Daniela Miron. According to the jury, “this film offers a unique window to an otherwise universal experience. Despite what looks like the impossible situation of becoming a mother while incarcerated, what we are shown instead is resilience and courage anchored on unconditional love for one’s child.”

The Forgrade Post-production Award went to the Croatian project No Offence by Lucija Marčec and Ida Barac, for “exploring otherness through the microcosm of a Croatian village serving as a mirror of today’s divided world.”

The Networking Award from the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival was handed to The Touch by Serbian director Dragan Jovićević and Vesna Grba, “for its highly cinematic approach in exploring the stories of people touched by the tragedy of death in water.”

The DAE – Documentary Association of Europe Talent Encouragement Award was given to the Azerbaijani project Granddaughter by Afag Yusifli and Murad Allahverdi, as “an intergenerational story that demonstrates the special family bond, and how this same, precious bond can hold back the pursuit of one’s personal dreams.”

In addition to prizes given by the main jury, a number of awards were presented by esteemed representatives of partner institutions:

The East Silver Caravan Award was bestowed upon the Lithuanian project In Passing by Gailė Garnelytė and Akvilė Žilionytė-Khan, for “portraying characters whose lives have been affected by war, grief or social isolation with high cinematic value and creative storytelling.”

The Impronta Films Consultancy Award given by Ana Saiz was also awarded to The Touch by Dragan Jovićević and Vesna Grba. According to the jury, “this creative documentary offers a profound and sensitive approach to the emotional weight carried by both the searchers and the families left behind.”

The FIFDH Impact Award was given by Ana Castañosa Bielsa: “A deeply personal journey from a courageous director who fearlessly explores their identity while navigating the complexities of a conservative society. With a strong potential to drive social change both in its home country and beyond, we are honored to present the FIFDH Impact Award to Between Two Worlds, by Doy-Romanta Dochitan and Ana Gurdis.”

The MajorDocs Talent Award was given by Miguel Eek: “MAJORDOCS wants to award the film Echoes by Anna Dziapshipa for its aesthetic and political risk taking in addressing the wounds of the past from a strong authorial perspective.”

The Ji.hlava New Visions Market Award, went to No Offence by Lucija Marčec and Ida Barac. René Kubášek stated “Using humor to address important societal issues can be a powerful and effective approach. No prejudices, no offence!”

Finally, the Dok Leipzig XR Award was presented by Weronika Lewandowska to project The Ripple Effect: “One of this year’s DOK Exchange XR focus areas is technology literacy, creating XR for young audiences, and exploring ethical questions around content and neuroplasticity. In this context, we believe The Ripple Effect would benefit most from participating in the program.”