CPH:DOX 2025 – Right Here, Right Now

More than 200 new films representing different stories from across the globe: a record number of 94 world premieres, 23 international premieres and 8 European premieres are featured in this year’s festival.

The 22nd edition of CPH:DOX comes at a moment of irreversible global change, where rising geopolitical tensions make the transformative lens of documentary more urgent than ever. Against this backdrop, CPH:DOX 2025 offers an exploration of the most urgent issues – from Ukraine and Gaza to Syria and Sudan, and with the theme ‘Right Here, Right Now,’ the festival dives deep into questions of human, civil and state rights in a world undergoing major changes. Expanding on the recently added Human:Rights Award, this film and event programme also turns attention to the urgent challenges facing international and even animal rights today.

“A festival theme always exists in dialogue with reality – both responding to and challenged by unfolding global events. This year, reality and curation intersect in striking ways. As we witness the erosion of the rules-based world order by major global powers, this year’s programme focuses on the foundational role of human and state rights upon which that order was built. CPH:DOX 2025 features a compelling selection of films, debates, and live talks that examine pressing global questions: What happens to basic human rights when raw power becomes the norm? What does diplomacy look like in an era of shifting alliances? And how do artists, activists, and filmmakers navigate an increasingly fractured world? Amid these pressing questions, the art of documentary provides a refreshing, transformative lens, showing us that reality is far richer and more complex than the endless news headlines and social media chatter lead us to believe,” says Artistic Director Niklas Engstrøm.

The curated programme ‘Right Here, Right Now’ includes films, debates and live talks with visionary figures such as the renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei, Ukrainian feminist activist Inna Shevchenko, internationally recognised Israeli architect and researcher Eyal Weizman, Bulgarian investigative journalist and whistleblower Christo Grozev and Republican Trump critic Adam Kinzinger amongst many others.

Running from March 19-30, CPH:DOX 2025 brings a new thematic section focusing on human rights and the rules-based international order – Right Here, Right Now. World premieres include films about Israel and Palestine, the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the rise of the far-right across Europe, identity politics, art and activism and much more. Key figures coming to Copenhagen include artist and activist Ai Weiwei, Ukrainian feminist activist Inna Shevchenko, investigative journalist and whistleblower Christo Grozev, musician Warren Ellis, HBO comedian Jerrod Carmichael, Republican Trump critic Adam Kinzinger and the iconic model and actress Twiggy amongst others.

The festival will present a total of 94 world premieres of which 68 are feature-length films – this is the highest number of feature-length world premieres in the festival’s history. This year’s film programme features six competition categories, judged by an international jury: DOX:AWARD, F:ACT AWARD, NORDIC:DOX AWARD, NEXT:WAVE AWARD, NEW:VISION AWARD and HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD.

The 2025 DOX:AWARD main competition lineup features strongly anticipated world premieres such as Alisa Kovalenko’s ‘My Dear Theo’ (PHOTO); Thomas Balmés’ ‘À demain sur la Lune’, Artur Franck’s ‘The Helsinki Effect’, and this year’s opening film ‘Facing War’ by Tommy Gulliksen among many other important titles.

World premieres out of competition include the brand new film by Ai Weiwei ‘Animality’, Ian Cheney’s ‘Observer’; ‘Lost for Words’ by Hannah Papacek Harper; ‘Everest Dark’ by Jereme Watt; ‘Azza’ by Stefanie Brockhaus, and ‘Climate in Therapy’ by Nathan Grossman to name a few.

The 22nd edition of CPH:DOX will also be the launchpad for hot Sundance titles like ‘Mr Nobody against Putin’, ‘The Dating Game’, ‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’, ‘Coexistence, My Ass!’ and ‘Zodiac Killer Project’.

The film programme can be experienced from March 19-30 in cinemas in Copenhagen and in 54 municipalities around Denmark as the festival is continuing its growth towards nationwide film distribution. From March 28 – April 13, a selection of films from the programme will be screened online on the festival’s streaming platform PARA:DOX.

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Tue Steen Müller
Tue Steen Müller

Müller, Tue Steen
Documentary Consultant and Critic, DENMARK

Worked with documentary films for more than 20 years at the Danish Film Board, as press officer, festival representative and film consultant/commissioner. Co-founder of Balticum Film and TV Festival, Filmkontakt Nord, Documentary of the EU and EDN (European Documentary Network).
Awards: 2004 the Danish Roos Prize for his contribution to the Danish and European documentary culture. 2006 an award for promoting Portuguese documentaries. 2014 he received the EDN Award “for an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture”. 2016 The Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. 2019 a Big Stamp at the 15th edition of ZagrebDox. 2021 receipt of the highest state decoration, Order of the Three Stars, Fourth Class, for the significant contribution to the development and promotion of Latvian documentary cinema outside Latvia. In 2022 he received an honorary award at DocsBarcelona’s 25th edition having served as organizer and programmer since the start of the festival.
From 1996 until 2005 he was the first director of EDN (European Documentary Network). From 2006 a freelance consultant and teacher in workshops like Ex Oriente, DocsBarcelona, Archidoc, Documentary Campus, Storydoc, Baltic Sea Forum, Black Sea DocStories, Caucadoc, CinéDOC Tbilisi, Docudays Kiev, Dealing With the Past Sarajevo FF as well as programme consultant for the festivals Magnificent7 in Belgrade, DOCSBarcelona, Verzio Budapest, Message2Man in St. Petersburg and DOKLeipzig. Teaches at the Zelig Documentary School in Bolzano Italy.

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