A showcase of the best DOCUMENTARY films in the world today.
AUDIENCE AWARDS:
Best Feature Film: Wait Until Tomorrow
Best Short Film: KosherSoul
Best Direction: I’m Trying
Best History Film: Children in Exile
Best Life Film: Connie – the powers and possibilities of community engagement
Best Story: Chronicles of The Laska Archives
Best Cinematography: Nihgt Shift
Best Student Film: The Plaza of Time
Best Micro-Short: Throw It Back
Best New Media Film: Conscious Co-Working
Best Human Interest DOC: Living 1 new day
Best Environmental Film: Surviving Alone: The Tale of Simone
Best Sports DOC: Nothing But Blue
Best Nature Film: Beekind
BEEKIND, 11min. Canada
Directed by Olivia Bronwyn
Follow Gregg Scott and the keepers of Circling Hawk Honey & Mead, as we’re taken under their wing to get an up-close look at the species so relied upon by our kind. Beekind gives insight on the nature of the honeybee as a member of the colony, their interactions and relationships to each other and to humans, as we look within, and take one big sustainable step back. We’re welcomed into Circling Hawk, the business and home of Gregg and Michelle Scott, our owners and operators, and caretakers of the 25 acres of land. Alongside their two protégé’s Julia and John, they take us on their journey as stewards, artists, and guides to the life they lead at the apiary. A life of peace, love, and earthly balance.
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-beekind
NOTHING BUT BLUE, 16min., Germany
Directed by Sebastian Bechtel
NOTHING BUT BLUE is a 16-minute short film about German Olympic surfer Tim Elter – and his uncompromising passion for one of the most extreme and primal forms of surfing: tube riding.
https://www.instagram.com/nothingbutblue_film/
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-nothing-but-blue
Surviving Alone: The Tale of Simone, 15min., UK
Directed by Claire Tomlinson
Simone is the last Greater Bamboo Lemur in Ranomafana, a protected rainforest in south-east Madagascar.
After a happy start in life, surrounded by family, Simone finds herself alone, as members of her family disappear one by one.
Three years on, and she’s still alone – a social animal, a primate, just like us; how has this isolation affected her mental state?
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-surviving-alone
Living 1 new day, 52min., France
Directed by Pierre Aragou
A powerful documentary that raises the vital issue of raising awareness and understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Two life stories and a free voice on trauma and suicidal behaviour. Christophe, a police officer, and Sébastien, a soldier, give us their personal accounts, enlightened by psychiatrist Christophe Debien. They confide in us openly and generously, because their words hold the keys to remanence.
https://www.instagram.com/pierre_aragou
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-living-1-new-day
Conscious Co-Working, 22min., Mexico
Directed by Matt Crowe
Conscious Co-Working is an award winning heart-led documentary exploring the rise of spiritually conscious entrepreneurship and community in the digital age. Set in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, the film follows a global tribe of creatives, healers, spiritual digital nomads, and conscious entrepreneurs who are redefining work as a sacred act of self-expression, collaboration, and inner growth. Through intimate interviews, rituals, and raw moments of transformation, the film captures how a coworking space became a sanctuary for purpose-driven humans building businesses that align with soul and service. This is not just about work – it’s about healing, connection, and the future of how we live and create together.
https://instagram.com/conscious_coworking
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedbackconscious-co
THROW IT BACK, 8min,. Canada
Directed by Vicente Gacitua, Lucas Vollicks
A story about a young man who started his own vintage store in North Bay called Talbots Throwback, and he shows and explains his love of vintage items and explains why it is so important to keep these items alive.
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-throw-it-back
THE PLAZA OF TIME, 11min., China
Directed by Xinyuan He
The Plaza of Time is an observational documentary directed by a teenage dancer, chronicling the lives of three elder performers—Auntie Yuan, Auntie Zhang, and Mr. Li—who each bring their own rhythm, resilience, and reason to dance on the public plazas of urban China.
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-the-plaza-of-time
NIGHT SHIFT, 29min,. Ukraine
Directed by Megumi Lim
In the still hours of Kharkiv’s curfewed nights, a quiet resilience hums through its empty streets. Night Shift is a short film about people who work under the cover of darkness, navigating both routine and risk as Russia often attacks when residents try to sleep. Those who stay awake to work do so for the city’s survival. The film explores how nighttime in Ukraine’s second largest city has transformed because of war, its nightly hope that dawn will arrive quietly, and the human need to carry on.
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-night-shift
Chronicles of The Laska Archives, 38min,. USA
Directed by Jennava Laska
A documentary about the creation of one of the largest private archival 16mm film collections in the world. A self-confessed “pack rat” father, Lewis and his filmmaker daughter, Jennava brought this archive back from the brink of being lost forever. The remarkable collection of news footage captured American history from 1952 to 1974 uncovered long lost clips of John F. Kennedy, Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Oprah Winfrey and many more. The collection was digitized, cataloged and made available to the public from 2020 to today. In total the massive collection spanned 122,120,760 frames… 3,053,019 feet of film… 1,413 hours, 26 minutes, 5 seconds, 10,398 clips archived…58.7 terabytes… This documentary chronicles how the Laska Archive came to be.
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-chronicles-of-the-laska-archive
Wait Until Tomorrow, 70min., USA
Directed by Osato Dixon
This documentary follows the journeys of Black families over two years, showcasing their struggles, survival, and pursuit of success across diverse economic paths. It examines five distinct themes that shape Black economic mobility, intercut with expert interviews from McKinsey’s Black Economic Mobility Institute. Through intimate family stories, it explores the challenges and triumphs of Black life, offering an in-depth look at the factors influencing economic mobility and the fight for a better future.
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-wait-until-tomorrow
Connie – the powers and possibilities of community engagement, 25min., USA
Directed by Dorothea Braemer
“Connie” is a 30-minute documentary about the life and work of 91-year-old activist, women’s advocate, and inspirational leader Constance Bowles Eve. Her most important accomplishment was the creation of Women for Human Rights and Dignity, Inc. (WHRD) an initiative that helped incarcerated women by offering alternatives to incarceration, mentoring, job training, housing, and more. Connie also worked hand in hand with her husband Arthur O. Eve, who was Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1979-2002. The film seeks to inspire with Connie’s can-do spirit and deeply lived belief in collective action.
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-connie
Children in Exile, 58min., USA
Directed by Christopher Swider
In Children in Exile survivors of Soviet deportation to Siberia describe their experiences as the youngest victims of the Soviet system. These crimes against humanity have never been legally confronted, and as one of the interviewed victims states, “a crime should be called a crime.”
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-children-in-exile
KosherSoul, 13min., USA
Directed by Ilja Sarro
James-Beard-Award-winning author and culinary historian, Michael W. Twitty emphasizes that cooking is not just about the recipe, but the people who create it. He highlights the importance of representation in the culinary world, particularly among chefs of color, and how their unique backgrounds contribute to the richness of the food they prepare. This documentation encapsulates the essence of culinary identity and community.
https://www.isdesigns-studio.com/koshersoul
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-koshersoul
I’M TRYING, 33min., Canada
Directed by Raymond Cruzzola
I’m Trying is a powerful portrait of Regan Russell — an animal rights activist killed in 2020 during a peaceful protest outside a slaughterhouse — and the ongoing fight for justice she inspired.
https://www.instagram.com/imtryingfilm/
https://wildsound.vhx.tv/videos/audience-feedback-i-m-trying
Documentary Film Festival. Los Angeles & Toronto 