CPH:DOX 2025 achieves unprecedented audience milestone

CPH:DOX has stepped out of the shadow of the COVID-19 years and entered a new level. Not since the 2014 edition has CPH:DOX experienced a higher audience influx in percentage terms than this year, while the growth in real numbers is the largest in the festival’s history.

According to CPH:DOX Artistic Director Niklas Engstrøm, the record year reflects the need of many to understand an increasingly uncertain world:

“When more than 150,000 people come together around documentaries – in Copenhagen and across Denmark – it speaks to something essential: the growing need to understand the world in depth. In an era of noise and polarization, we seek shared spaces where we can experience reality through the lens of art, see ourselves in one another, and grow wiser together. Documentaries make that possible. They bring us closer to the world – and to each other.”

The two most popular films of CPH:DOX 2025 were also two highly topical films: This year’s opening film ‘Facing War’ about Jens Stoltenberg and the future of NATO and ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’, a scary exposé of state propaganda in Russian primary schools after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

CPH:INDUSTRY – Strong International presence
CPH:DOX’ industry programme, CPH:INDUSTRY, brought together more than 2.000 accredited festival guests – producers, directors, distributors, sales agents, buyers, commissioning editors and journalists – from all over the world. About 75% of these were international delegates, among these 20 delegations from different countries and regions, which is a new record.

CPH:DOX 2025 also saw the very first edition CPH:DOX Summit. The event facilitated cross-sector dialogues, with key decision-makers gathering and discussing critical issues impacting the future of both documentary filmmaking and audiovisual media as a whole, and their role in shaping public discourse and upholding democracies in uncertain times.

The CPH:FORUM was held at a new fantastic venue, the Gamle Scene at The Royal Theatre, that was the perfect setting for a unanimously lauded curation of projects. All in all, CPH:INDUSTRY established once again its status as a not-to-be-missed event in the festival world.

The winner of the Audience Award – and the most popular films in Copenhagen
The Audience Award wasn’t announced during the festival’s main award ceremony but was instead revealed at the end of the online segment, allowing as many viewers as possible to vote. The award went to the Danish film ‘Witch’ by Emil Nørgaard Munk – an audience favourite that also made the Top 10 list of most-watched films.

Topping that list, however, was ‘Facing War’ by Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Gulliksen, which opened the festival with its urgent focus on NATO. This year’s CPH:DOX Top 10 shows a clear appetite for bold, timely storytelling. Politically charged titles like ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ and ‘The Bibi Files’ also struck a chord with audiences. From digital warfare and global activism to environmental themes and musical icons, the Top 10 reflects a public deeply engaged with the world around them.

1. Facing War’ (Tommy Gulliksen / Norway & Brazil)
2. ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ (David Borenstein & Pavel Talankin / Denmark & Czech Republic)
3. ‘The Nicest Men on Earth’ (Josefine Exner & Sebastian Gerdes / Denmark)
4. ‘The Bibi Files’ (Alexis Bloom / United States)
5. ‘Miyazaki – Spirit of Nature’ (Leo Favier / France)
6. ‘Witch’ (Emil Nørgaard Munk / Denmark)
7. ‘Hacking Hate’ (Simon Klose / Sweden, Denmark & Norway)
8. ‘Human Race’ (Simon Lec / Denmark, United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, Switzerland & United States)
9. ‘Ellis Park’ (Justin Kurzel, Australia, Indonesia & France)
10. ‘It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley’ (Amy Berg, United States)

Large crowds also outside Copenhagen
CPH:DOX’s wild growth is seen across the festival’s entire range of audience initiatives and not least in CPH:DOX’s nationwide initiatives DOX:DANMARK and UNG:DOX outside of Copenhagen which together grew by 40% this year and now account for 16 percent of the festival’s total audience.

In just four years, DOX:DANMARK has grown from nine municipalities in 2021 to 54 in 2025 – and the audience has followed. This year, popular Danish documentaries such as ‘The Ox Road’’ – the most watched film in DOX:DANMARK – ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’, ‘Human Race’ and ‘Witch’ hit a chord with the audience outside of the capital.

This year’s Top 10 in DOX:DANMARK – in the 54 municipalities outside Copenhagen

1. ‘The Ox Road’ (Jesper H. Grand / Denmark
2. ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ (David Borenstein & Pavel Talankin / Denmark & Czech Republic)
3. ‘Facing War’ (Tommy Gulliksen / Norway & Brazil)
4. ‘Human Race’ (Simon Lec / Denmark, United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, Switzerland & United States)
5. ‘Miyazaki – Spirit of Nature’ (Leo Favier / France)
6. ‘The Sound of Love Letters’ (Tammes Bernstein / Denmark)
7. ‘Legacy’ (Manal Masri / Sweden & USA
8. ‘Witch’ (Emil Nørgaard Munk / Denmark)
9. ‘Hacking Hate’ (Simon Klose / Sweden, Denmark & Norway)
10. ‘The Nicest Men on Earth’ (Josefine Exner & Sebastian Gerdes / Denmark)

Facts and selected key figures about CPH:DOX 2025

CPH:DOX – Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival – is one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals supporting independent and innovative film art. The festival is known for challenging the documentary genre and for promoting art as an active voice in civil society.

This year, the festival ran from March 19-30 and featured more than 200 films, 550 screenings and events in Copenhagen, while the local mini festivals across Denmark, DOX:DANMARK, took place in 54 municipalities – a new festival record.

From March 28 to April 13, the digital edition of CPH:DOX took place on CPH:DOX’ streaming service PARA:DOX, where more than 150 of this year’s films could be seen in Denmark, Greenland and The Faroe Islands.

• Total audience: 150,104 (2024: 126,010)
• Growth in audience: 24,094 (19%)
• Total number of accredited guests: 2.009
• International delegates: 1.471 (73%)
• Danish delegates: 538 (27%)

The full list of award winning films at CPH:DOX 2025

AUDIENCE:AWARD
Winner: ‘Witch’ (Emil Nørgaard Munk / Denmark, 2025, World Premiere)

DOX:AWARD
Winner: ‘Always’ – Deming Chen (US, FR & CH, 2025, World Premiere)
Special Mention: ‘Flophouse America’ – Monica Strømdahl (NO, NL & US, 2025, World Premiere)

F:ACT AWARD
Winner: ‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’ – Mstyslav Chernov (UA, 2025, European Premiere)
Special Mention: ‘The Perfect Neighbor’ – Geeta Gandbhir (US, 2025, International Premiere)

HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD
Winner: ‘9-Month Contract’ – Ketevan Vashagashvili (GE, BG & DE, 2025, World Premiere)
Special Mention: ‘The Encampments’ – Michael T. Workman & Kei Pritsker (US, 2025, World Premiere)

NORDIC:DOX AWARD
Winner: ‘Walls – Akinni Inuk’ – Nina Paninnguaq Skydsbjerg & Sofie Rørdam (GL, 2025, World Premiere)
Special Mention: ‘The Nicest Men on Earth’ – Josefine Exner & Sebastian Gerdes (DK, 2025, World Premiere)

NEXT:WAVE AWARD
Winner: ‘Abode of Dawn’ – Kristina Shtubert (DE, 2024, International Premiere)
Special Mention: ‘Who Witnessed the Temples Fall’ – Lucía Selva (SP, 2025, World Premiere)

NEW:VISION AWARD
Winner: ‘Ramallah, Palestine, December 2018’ – Juliette Le Monnyer (BE, 2025, World Premiere)
Special Mention: ‘Scrap’ – Noémie Lobry (FR, 2025, World Premiere)

INTER:ACTIVE AWARD
Winner: ‘Constantinopoliad’ – Sister Sylvester & Nadah El Shazly (UK, Installation, 2025, International Premiere)
Special Mention: ‘The Garden Says…’ – Uri Kranot, Michelle Kranot, Sara Topsøe Jensen, Sarah John & Marieke Breyne (DK, XR Performance-Installation, 2025, World Premiere)

The next edition of CPH:DOX will take place March 11.-22. 2026.