ZagrebDox

ZagrebDox is an international documentary film festival held annually in the capital of Croatia. It was founded in 2005 by Factum, a Zagreb-based film company, to showcase the best documentary films of the region. It is the largest festival of its kind in Southeast Europe.

The ZagrebDox film festival is usually held in late February. Its main goals are to introduce local audiences and film industry professionals to quality documentary films, to promote documentaries as one of the basic film genres, to stimulate the country’s film industry, and to provide a meeting place for film industry professionals all over the world, encouraging international and regional cooperation.

ZagrebDox is a competitive festival. Its official competition is divided into two categories, International Competition and Regional Competition. The International Competition features the best auteur and creative documentary films from around the world that premiered during the past year. The Regional Competition features documentaries made in Southeast Europe (Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia).

The jury of the festival awards prizes in several categories. The main award of ZagrebDox is Veliki pečat (Big Stamp). It is given to the winner of the international competition. The best film in the regional competition is awarded with the Veliki pečat regional award. The Mali pečat award is given to the best young director (under 35 years of age). The Audience Award is given to the best film as voted by the audience. The Lifetime Achievement Award (Počasni pečat, Honorary Stamp) is given for outstanding contribution to documentary filmmaking. There are special awards such as International Critics’ Jury Award, Amnesty International Award, and Movies That Matter Award.

Alongside competitive screenings, the program of the festival includes special screenings and retrospectives. For example, the 2017 edition of ZagrebDox featured Nick Bloomfield retrospective, retrospective of Danish documentaries, retrospective of Croatian 1960s and 1970s documentaries, and homage to Krzysztof Kieslowski. The festival also hosts presentations, workshops, seminars, pitching forums, and other events designed to assist aspiring filmmakers in developing their projects.