Following the announcement of the films selected for the International Competition, Portuguese Competition and Green Years, Doclisboa presents the juries for its 24th edition and the titles eligible for the different cross-section awards.

Across the competition awards, cross-section distinctions and audience awards, the 2026 edition brings together filmmakers, critics, programmers, artists and film professionals on the various juries that will assess the films presented from 15 to 25 October.

City of Lisbon Award for Best International Competition Film

Worth €10,000, the City of Lisbon Award for Best International Competition Film distinguishes the Best Film in the International Competition. The same jury also awards the Doclisboa International Competition Jury Award, worth €3,500, and the Médecins Sans Frontières – Portugal Jury Award for Best International Competition Director, worth €2,000.

Jury: Álvaro Arroba, Declan Clarke, Lynne Sachs, Margarida Gil and Vasco Câmara.

Álvaro Arroba is a film critic, programmer and founder of Letras de Cine magazine, and has contributed to publications including Cahiers du Cinéma, CinemaScope and Caimán. Declan Clarke is an Irish filmmaker and artist whose films have screened at festivals across Europe, Asia and the Americas. In 2021, he received the Georges De Beauregard International Award at FIDMarseille. Lynne Sachs is a US filmmaker whose work brings together essay, poetry, performance and collage. Margarida Gil is a filmmaker and producer who worked with João César Monteiro and was a director at RTP for over three decades. Her films have screened at festivals including Venice, Locarno, Rome and Berlin, with Mãos no Fogo winning the Best Director award at IndieLisboa. Vasco Câmara is a journalist and film critic at PÚBLICO, where he headed the Ípsilon supplement for two decades.

The 11 films in the International Competition, previously announced by the festival, are eligible for these awards.

Doclisboa Award for Best Portuguese Competition Film

Worth €6,000, the Doclisboa Award for Best Portuguese Competition Film distinguishes the Best Film in the Portuguese Competition. The same jury also awards the Portuguese Authors Society Portuguese Competition Jury Award, worth €2,000, and assesses the cross-section short film competition.

Jury: Andrea Bussmann, Dorota Lech and Leonardo Mouramateus.

Andrea Bussmann is the director of films including Tales of Two Who Dreamt and Fausto, presented at Berlin and Locarno. Dorota Lech is Director of the New Horizons International Film Festival in Wrocław and a programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival. Leonardo Mouramateus is a Brazilian filmmaker, dramaturg and screenwriter whose films include António Um Dois Três and Greice.

The Portuguese Competition also includes the School Award – ETIC Award for Best Portuguese Competition Film, worth €1,500 in technical services, awarded by a jury of students from ETIC – Technology, Innovation and Creation School.

ETIC Jury: André Lino, Beatriz Almeida, Charlie Chaves, Jéssica Alves and Maria Saldanha, Cinema and Television students.

The 11 films in the Portuguese Competition, all world premieres, are eligible for these awards.

Conserveira de Lisboa Award for Best Green Years Competition Film

The Conserveira de Lisboa Award for Best Green Years Competition Film, worth €1,000, distinguishes the Best Film in the Green Years Competition. The jury also awards the Pedro Fortes Award for Best Director of a Green Years Portuguese Film, which offers a participation grant for Doc’s Kingdom – International Seminar on Documentary Film.

Jury: Agnes Meng, Bingham Bryant and Nabil Aouad.

Agnes Meng is a documentary filmmaker and PhD candidate in Media Arts at Lusófona University, whose work focuses on oral history, folklore and cultural heritage. Bingham Bryant is a film director, producer, programmer and critic whose films have screened at FIDMarseille, NYFF, Viennale, IndieLisboa and Jeonju. Nabil Aouad is the shorts coordinator and a features programmer at IndieLisboa, having previously worked at the Chicago International Film Festival and Curtas Vila do Conde.

The 11 films in the Green Years Competition are eligible for these awards.

New Talent Award

Worth €3,000, including the acquisition of rights, the New Talent Award – Pompeu Fabra University Award for Best First Feature-Length Film distinguishes the best first feature-length film (over 60’) from a selection comprising all sections with the exception of the Retrospective.

Jury: Ana Vilaça, Khavn de La Cruz and Mark Peranson.

Ana Vilaça is an actress and screenwriter, co-writer and lead actress of By Flávio and lead actress of Entroncamento, both directed by Pedro Cabeleira. Khavn de La Cruz is a Filipino filmmaker, writer, musician and artist who has made more than 300 films, with work presented at festivals including Berlin, Venice and Rotterdam. Mark Peranson is the founder and former editor of Cinema Scope magazine and has been part of the programming teams of the Berlinale and Locarno Film Festival.

Eligible films: Geography Is Destiny, by Rayna Teneva; Memórias de Uma Viagem pelo Alto Rio Negro, by Kasia Mich and Dani Correia; Golden Hour, by André Santos Martins; What Comes from Sitting in Silence?, by Sophie Schrago; I Plant My Hand in the Garden, by Boris Hadžija and Hoda Taheri; An Incomplete Calendar, by Sanaz Sohrabi; The Mirage, by Bingham Bryant; and Promised Spaces, by Ivan Marković.

Healthy Workplaces Film Award

Awarded by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the Healthy Workplaces Film Award, worth €5,000, distinguishes the Best Feature-Length Film Dealing with Work from a selection comprising all sections with the exception of the Retrospective.

Jury: Annely Tank, Rui Pires and Susana Moreira Marques.

Annely Tank is a strategist and storyteller with 15 years of experience in socio-economic development and equality, and has also been involved in the production of several Estonian films. Rui Pires is an editor, screenwriter and filmmaker who has worked with filmmakers including Pedro Pinho, Frederico Lobo and Joana Barra Vaz. His first film, O Palácio de Cidadãos, won the Portuguese Competition at Doclisboa. Susana Moreira Marques is the author of four literary non-fiction books and also writes for film and television.

Eligible films: Geography Is Destiny, by Rayna Teneva; Vent du matin, by Cláudia Ribeiro; Kurtág Fragments, by Dénes Nagy; What Comes from Sitting in Silence?, by Sophie Schrago; Habibi Hussein, by Alex Bakri; Chronicle of Tiredness, by Natalia Marín; Cold Call, by Stefanie Schroeder; The Case Against Space, by Graeme Arnfield; and Sometimes Sadness, Sometimes Rebellion, by María Aparicio.

Award for Best Short Film

The Award for Best Short Film (up to 40’) distinguishes the best short film from a selection comprising all sections with the exception of the Retrospective, with the winning film pre-nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film.

Jury: Andrea Bussmann, Dorota Lech and Leonardo Mouramateus.

Eligible films: Hipogeus, by Raul Domingues; A casa é a ruína de uma casa, by Inês Sapeta Dias; Sopa de Cavalo Cansado, by Maria Novo; The Continuation, by Maxime Martinot; Mysticisme du Sud, by Fábio Penela; Chronicle of Tiredness, by Natalia Marín; N’s Last Game, by Desirée Alagna; A River and a Queen, by Miriam Martín; Wild Asparagus, by Avi Mograbi; Circe’s Dream, by Sophio Medoidze; Robert and June (and all the time in the world), by Jem Cohen; and Love Would Have Sufficed Even for Nietzsche, by Pierre Creton.

RVA Legal Partners Rights and Freedoms Award

Worth €1,500, the RVA Legal Partners Rights and Freedoms Award is an audience award distinguishing the best film dealing with human rights from a selection comprising all sections with the exception of the Retrospective.

Eligible films: The Measured Everlasting Is 1.334 Billion Years, by Thunska Pansittivorakul; Noli me tangere, by Ghassan Salhab; Povo e Poder, by Ico Costa; Os Continuadores da Revolução, by Pedro Neves; Amílcar, by Miguel Eek; Anistia 79, by Anita Leandro; Habibi Hussein, by Alex Bakri; Atlas of Disappearance, by Manuel Correa; Forest Up in the Mountain, by Sofia Bordenave; and Dragões, by Miguel Antunes Ramos.

TVCine Channels Award

Also decided by the audience, the TVCine Channels Award distinguishes the Best Portuguese Film from a selection comprising all sections with the exception of the Retrospective and Competitions.

Eligible films: Esta Vida de Marinheiro, by Paulo Miguel Antunes; O Filme do Meio, by Margarida Gil; Nha Balila, by Inês Alves and André Xina; Neste Quarto, by Ana Rocha de Sousa; Carta a José Bragança de Miranda, by Edmundo Cordeiro; Carta a Uma Jovem Escritora, by Marta Pessoa; Amílcar, by Miguel Eek; O Nosso Último Filme sobre Lisboa, by Left Hand Rotation; Casa do Artista – Não é Permitido Envelhecer, by Solveig Nordlund; Nosso Segredo, by Grace Passô; and Vestígios, by Luís Mendonça.

The 24th edition of Doclisboa takes place from 15 to 25 October at Culturgest, Cinema São Jorge, Cinemateca Portuguesa and Cinema Ideal.