“A double take on a world gone mad.” That’s how CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, described its 2026 edition as it unveiled the full program for its 23rd edition taking place March 11-22.
Organizers also highlighted stars coming to the Danish capital for the event. They include French actress Juliette Binoche, who is bringing her directorial debut In-I in Motion and will discuss her creative process during a special “An Evening With Juliette Binoche” event, and the previously unveiled “HBO cult icon John Wilson, and acclaimed documentarian Louis Theroux, amongst many others.”
Said festival artistic director Niklas Engstrøm: “From the Arctic to the Amazon, Gaza to Greenland and Kyiv to the Kremlin, CPH:DOX 2026 spans the full alphabet of a world in flux. The festival converges urgent reports from the world’s geopolitical boiling points with critical inquiries into AI disruption, Big Tech, oligarchs, and the battle for freedom of expression, while also tackling the accelerating climate crisis, neurotechnology’s ethical frontiers, and the fragile state of democracy itself.”
At the center of this year’s program are two main thematic strands, “Right Here, Right Now,” which examines human and civil rights “in a world where rules and freedoms are increasingly contested,” and “Brain Waves,” which explores “the brain, consciousness, and the ways technology is reshaping human experience.”
Concluded Engstrøm: “In a world spinning out of control, where speed and distraction dominate, documentary film is more essential than ever – because it slows us down, helps us see complexity, and allows us to grasp what matters. At CPH:DOX 2026, we take a double look: at the outer world order, under political and social upheaval, and at the inner world order of our brains, reshaped by AI, algorithms, and neurotechnology.”
CPH:DOX will also once again present a music program for film and music lovers, combining documentaries with live experiences. This year’s selection includes portrait documentaries about Nick Cave, Marianne Faithfull, Judas Priest, Boy George & Culture Club, Sun Ra Arkestra, and Danish artist Lydmor, alongside “more genre-driven films about funk, folk, Arctic music traditions, postcolonial Irish music, and classical child musicians,” the fest highlighted.
