"The jury unanimously chose a documentary that reveals the complex and universal dynamics of a microcosm where human solidarity is challenged by brutal societal forces, using a sensitive approach and a precise observational camerawork."

"The award goes to a film that portrays life under extreme circumstances with sensitivity and precision. Fine-tuned cinematography, rhythm and subtle acting builds unnerving tension and forces us to face the impossible. This skillfully told and urgent story is a powerful declaration against death penalty and for humanity."

"The jury was immobilized immediately by the film's controlled and confident opening shots. These dark documents of labor and criminality set up an obscure, 'hybrid' space that falls between or, rather, straddles 'fiction' and 'documentary' but very quickly this distinction becomes of little interest, even within the context of a documentary film festival. This is because the engagement the film displays on a micro and a macro level with the present of a deeply divided country could not be more real. Living on the margins of Brazil's crumbling social and economic infrastructure, Dry Ground Burning's 'cast' of deeply engaging and idiosyncratic protagonists tackle desire, sexuality and the family head-on, while enacting utopian attempts at a future in which prisons are reformed or abolished and where workers own the means of production. These 'themes' are complex and capacious enough to merit several films but the audaciousness of the filmmakers' craft made us want to go wherever they took us, from the economic and geographical suburbs of Brasilia to the delusional rallies in support of Bolsonaro at the heart of the city. We were unanimous in our decision to award Adirley Queirós and Joana Pimenta the International Feature Dox prize."

"Haulout by Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaeva creates a breathtaking yet threatening atmosphere. The film captivates through the restrained observation of the camera and stunning sound design. The directors slowly and gently guide us to the point where they open a door to the world creating a beautiful cinematic moment. By entering a personal experience of a person, we are confronted with a phenomenon which has a global impact. The well-tuned mix of the various elements convinced the jury unanimously."

"The jury was impressed by the quality and spirit of all the works in the Human Rights Dox section. The winning film is Myanmar Diaries, realized by The Myanmar Film Collective - a bold and heartbreaking collage film made by several anonymous voices that share one deeply hurt but unbreakable soul. A film as a cry of pain, a battle cry, a cry for help and a cry to be heard and seen. The oppression witnessed here is extreme and inhumane, the resistance comes in many shapes and colors. Cinematic forms, formats and montage are masterfully combined in an urgent attempt to overcome this hopefully very brief moment in Myanmar's history, but many of the people in this film, simultaneously afraid and unimaginably brave, will stay with us forever."

Special Mention

"Director Jumana Manna creates an intimate connection between the plight of her subjects and the audience, heightened by meditative landscapes and textures, and moving use of interviews. This is a needed story of how the bond between people and nature cannot easily be broken."

"It was impossible to sit down to watch this film in Kosovo - in an audience of peoples whose independence was so recently threatened, once again, by a country that has, for a decade and a half, refused to recognise its independence - without feeling immediately uneasy and tense. But Natasa Urban matched and raised this tension, with her relentlessly confronting investigation of 'the other side.' 'The Eclipse' skillfully navigates an extensive, chronological history of Serbia, the country she has left behind, and an investigation of her family members who occupy positions ranging from denial and extreme anger at their nation's actions. We were impressed by the confidence with which these strands were weaved together, both visually and in the edit, and its pedagogical but non-didactic force. It is a shame that this film's subject is once again so pertinent, but the questions Urban asks about memory culture and a nation's compulsion to repeat are, and always will be, of global relevance."

"I Am Trying to Remember presents a poetic archival exploration to uncover the ghostly presence of Gholam whose face is invisible; blurred, scratched out, burnt and crossed off as if he was never part of the history. Through the poetic unfolding of the film the face of Gholam starts to take shape where we understand that a collective history which he was part of was violently interrupted. In a very remarkable way, Ahangarani's film combines the calm photographic shots with the moving images of stormy crowds; the moments from the private family gatherings with the repression of collective dreams."

"Throughout the week, we've been confronted with films on important topics and challenging realities, each deserving a spotlight. Those films informed us, touched us, shook us, and reminded us of what we do and should stand for. One film made us reflect deeply upon the notion of freedom of speech and more so on the eminence and standing of speaking the truth to power. We became part of an investigation seeking truth and justice, while keeping us attached and empathetic with the characters and rooting for them in their dignified struggle to seek an undeniable truth. The award for the best film of the Truth Dox competition goes to a hard work, an unnerving experience and to the inspiring determination of those who relentlessly speak truth to power, The Killing of a Journalist by Matt Sarnecki."