CINEMA FOR PEACE DOVES 2025

The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year

WINNER: The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof

Investigating judge Iman grapples with paranoia amid political unrest in Tehran. When his gun vanishes, he suspects his wife and daughters, imposing draconian measures that strain family ties as societal rules crumble

WINNER: I Am Still Here

Directed by Walter Salles

A mother is forced to reinvent herself when her family's life is shattered by an act of arbitrary violence during the tightening grip of a military dictatorship in Brazil, 1971.

NOMINEES:

Tatami

Directed by Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir

The Iranian female judoka Leila is at the World Judo Championships, intent on bringing home Iran's first gold medal.

September 5

Directed by Tim Fehlbaum 

During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, an American sports broadcasting team must adapt to live coverage of the Israeli athletes being held hostage by a terrorist group.

Without Blood

Directed by Angelina Jolie

A parable-like tale exploring themes of family, war, and revenge.

The Brutalist

Directed by Brady Corbet

When a visionary architect and his wife flee post-war Europe in 1947 to rebuild their legacy and witness the birth of modern United States, their lives are changed forever by a mysterious, wealthy client.

Out of My Mind

Directed by Amber Sealey

Melody Brooks is navigating sixth grade as a nonverbal wheelchair user who has cerebral palsy. With the help of some assistive technology and her devoted allies, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it.

The Order

Directed by Justin Kurzel

A series of bank robberies and car heists frightened communities in the Pacific Northwest. A lone FBI agent believes that the crimes were not the work of financially motivated criminals, but rather a group of dangerous domestic terrorists.

All We Imagine As Light

Directed by Payal Kapadia

In Mumbai, Nurse Prabha's routine is troubled when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a spot in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend.

The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year

WINNER: The Click Trap

Directed by Peter Porta

Digital advertising algorithms curate content precisely for users. Major tech firms claim to restrict disinformation yet still profit from harmful content, raising ethical concerns about democracy and online capitalism. 

NOMINEES:

Porcelain War

Directed by Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev

Under roaring fighter jets, Ukrainian artists Slava, Anya, and Andrey choose to stay behind. Defiantly finding beauty amid destruction, they show that although it's easy to make people afraid, it's hard to destroy their passion for living. 

Blink

Directed by Daniel Roher, Edmund Stenson

Chronicles a family's global trip before their children lose vision to a rare genetic disorder, capturing their journey to experience the world's beauty while they can still see it, and preparing for an inevitable future. 

Wisdom of Happiness

Directed by Barbara Miller, Philip Delaquis

Dalai Lama, talks directly to camera about inner peace, happiness, and potential for peaceful, happy 21st century. 

Intercepted

Directed by Oksana Karpovych

Destruction in Ukraine war shown through lengthy tableaux. Soldiers' phone calls to families reveal parallel world. Sound and image confront one another. 

The Greatest Night in Pop

Directed by Bao Nguyen

On January 28th 1985, dozens of the era's most popular musicians gathered in Los Angeles to record a charity single for African famine relief. Setting egos aside, they collaborated on a song that would make history.

Hollywoodgate

Directed by Ibrahim Nash'at

Immediately after the US pullout from Afghanistan, Taliban forces occupied the Hollywood Gate complex, which is claimed to be a former CIA base in Kabul.

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

Directed by Benjamin Ree

Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around the world.  

Ernest Cole: Lost And Found 

Directed by Raoul Peck

Follows Ernest Cole's journey as the first Black freelance photographer in apartheid South Africa.

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

Directed by Johan Grimonprez

Jazz and decolonization are entwined in this historical rollercoaster that rewrites the Cold War episode that led musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest against the murder of Patrice Lumumba.

The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Political Film of the Year

WINNER: The Bibi Files

Directed by Alexis Bloom

An inside look into the corruption charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu through leaked police interrogation videos.

NOMINEES:

Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy

Directed by Stephen Ujlaki; Christopher Jacob Jones

Bad Faith exposes how Christian Nationalism has become the most powerful anti-democratic force in America. Leaders join forces to defend our country from this march to fascism, but American citizens seem unaware of the threat.

America's Burning

Directed by David Smick

America's Burning Plunges into the fragile state of America's apparently insurmountable economic divide, with a strikingly hopeful vision for its future.

Who's Afraid of Nathan Law?

Directed by Joe Piscatella

At 21, he was a leader of Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution. By 23, he became Hong Kong's youngest elected lawmaker. At 26, he was Most Wanted. The film offers to uncover what happens to freedom when an authoritarian power goes unchecked.

Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid!

Directed by Matt Tyrnauer

Set during the 2024 election, CARVILLE follows Democratic consultant James Carville as he navigates the current cultural and political landscape and delves into his famous, bi-partisan marriage to Republican strategist, Mary Matalin.

The Apprentice

Directed by Ali Abbasi

The story of how a young Donald Trump started his real estate business in 1970s and 80s New York with the helping hand of infamous lawyer Roy Cohn.

Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Directed by David Borenstein; Pavel Ilyich Talankin

A Russian teacher secretly documents his small town school's transformation into a war recruitment center during the Ukraine invasion, revealing the ethical dilemmas educators face amid propaganda and militarization.

Of Caravan and the Dogs

Directed by Askold Kurov

Of Caravan and the Dogs takes us behind the scenes with Kirill Martynov at Novaya Gazeta, Radio Echo of Moscow and Rain TV. The committed and brave journalists struggle with their conscience and their safety. We also witness the fate of Memorial, the NGO documenting the atrocities during Stalin's reign.

Power

Directed by Yance Ford

Driven to contain threats to social order, American policing has exploded in scope and scale over hundreds of years. Now, it can be described by one word: power.

2073 

Directed by Asif Kapadia

Tackles challenges the world faces and is inspired by Chris Marker's iconic 1962 featurette La Jetée, about a time traveler who risks his life to change the course of history and save the future of humanity.

The Cinema for Peace Dove for Justice

WINNER: Black Box Diaries

Directed by Shiori Ito

Journalist Shiori Ito takes on one of the most powerful institutions in Japan to prosecute her high-profile sexual assailant in a landmark legal case. Using personal footage and hidden cameras, Ito puts it all on the line for justice.

NOMINEES:

Antidote

Directed by James Jones

With extraordinary access and urgent storytelling, Antidote anchors its timely narrative on whistleblowers and activists who have worked to uncover Vladimir Putin’s deadly regime — and are now facing dangerous and fatal consequences for their courageous actions.

The Cranes Call

Directed by Laura Warner

Working with their team at the Clooney Foundation for Justice, Anya Neistat, a brilliant war crimes investigator, joins forces with Solomiia Stasiv, a young Ukrainian woman just entering the field. Together they document atrocities in the fight to bring Russian generals to trial and justice to the Ukrainian people.

Sugarcane

Directed by Emily Kassie, Julian Brave NoiseCat

An investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school sparks a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve.

Farming the Revolution

Directed by Nishtha Jain

Amidst COVID lockdowns, India’s farmers rise up on an unprecedented scale against unjust new laws. Over half a million protesters—men and women from all generations, religions, classes and castes—gather and reinvent co-existence while winning a rare victory over the state.

Yintah

Directed by Brenda Michell, Michael Toledano and Jennifer Wickham

YINTAH, meaning land in the Wet'suwet'en language, tells the story of an Indigenous nation asserting sovereignty. It is the story of the Wet'suwet'en people reoccupying their territory and resisting the construction of multiple pipelines.

Daughters

Directed by Angela Patton, Natalie Rae

Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C. jail.

The International Green Film Award

WINNER: Black Snow

Directed by Alina Simone

In a remote Russian mining town, black snow falls due to the extreme pollution. A Siberian eco-activist, dubbed the 'Erin Brockovich of Russia', fights for her community. 

NOMINEES:

Legion44

Directed by Leila Conners

What happens when there's a breakthrough? When, spontaneously, young people innovate and turn back what appears to be an unstoppable catastrophe? Legion 44 chronicles these visionaries, many from the Global South, who have invented groundbreaking solutions to reverse climate disruption. Our film shows we can indeed make everything right again.

Our Oceans

Directed by Abraham Joffe,  Nick Lyon, Caroline Menzies, Rachel Scott, Joe Tuck

The planet's life-blood, oceans, hide countless mysteries - from balmy Indian waters and fiery Atlantic depths to the Ring of Fire-encircled Pacific and frigid Southern and Arctic seas. 

Our Living World

Directed by Laura Coates, Kirstine Davidson, Peter Lown, James Shelton

All across its thin green-blue veneer, the Earth pulses with life. Building on astonishing scientific revelations and featuring stunning footage of the planet's incredible natural networks. 

The Battle for Laikipia

Directed by Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi

Unresolved historical injustices and climate change raise the stakes in a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven. 

Postcard From Earth

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

Immersive and innovative exploration of planet Earth through the eyes of two human beings.

Made in Ethiopia

Directed by Max Duncan, Xinyan Yu

When a massive Chinese factory complex attempts a high-stakes expansion in rural Ethiopia, three women in search of prosperity have their faith in industrialization tested to the limit

Water For Life

Directed by Will Parrinello

Water For Life follows three Latin American Indigenous community leaders as they face death threats and murder to save their precious water resources from mining, industrial agriculture, and hydroelectric projects.

The Cinema for Peace Dove on Global Health Technology and Human Enhancement 2025

WINNER: Eternal You

Directed by Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck

Startups use AI to create avatars that allows to talk with their loved ones after death. Exploration of deep human desire for immortality, questioning consequences of commodifying this age-old dream.

NOMINEES:

DON’T DIE: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever

Directed by Chris Smith

Explores a man's quest for immortality and the lengths he goes to defy aging.

Food, Inc. 2 

Directed by Robert Kenner, Melissa Robledo

Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo team up with authors Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser to examine the modern food industry's efficiency and vulnerabilities. 

Hack your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut

Directed by Anjali Nayar

An informative yet lighthearted documentary exploring the intricacies of the digestive system and its pivotal role in maintaining overall health and well-being. 

Superhuman Body

Directed by Greg MacGillivray, Shaun Macgillivray

Explores the work of scientists and bioengineers who are behind groundbreaking medical innovations, such as CAR T-cell immunotherapy and the inner workings of the human body for treating blood cancers like leukemia.

Joy

Directed by Ben Taylor

3 trailblazers: a young nurse, a visionary scientist and an innovative surgeon. facing opposition from the church, state, media and medical establishment, in their pursuit of the world's first 'test tube baby', Louise Joy Brown.

Below the Belt

Directed by Shannon Cohn

In the personal and inspiring stories of four patients urgently searching for answers to mysterious symptoms, Below the Belt exposes widespread problems in our health care systems. 

You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment 

Directed by Cassandra Jabola

In a scientific experiment, identical twins adopt different diets and lifestyles for 8 weeks to see how food impacts the body. 

SpermWorld

Directed by Lance Oppenheim

Three men enter the new wild west of baby making - online forums where sperm donors connect with hopeful parents - but find themselves exchanging more than just genetic material.

Cyborg Generation 

Directed by Miguel Morillo Vega

A young Spanish musician, inspired by cyborg artists undergoes an illegal procedure to implant a cybernetic organ allowing him to perceive sounds from outer space promising new musical inspiration.

The Cinema for Peace Dove for Women’s Empowerment

WINNER: Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge 

Directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Trish Dalton 

Child of a Holocaust survivor, Princess by marriage, and founder of a fashion empire, the many faces of fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg are revealed in this captivating and glamorous documentary portrait, featuring interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Marc Jacobs, Hillary Rodham Clinton and more.

NOMINEES:

Black Box Diaries

Directed by Shiori Ito

Journalist Shiori Ito takes on one of the most powerful institutions in Japan to prosecute her high-profile sexual assailant in a landmark legal case. Using personal footage and hidden cameras, Ito puts it all on the line for justice. 

An Army Of Women

Directed by Julie Lunde Lillesæter

Three Austin women join a lawsuit with others arguing rape goes unprosecuted. Despite setbacks, they persevere to hold law enforcement accountable for inaction and catalyze change.

Women of Iran

Directed by Nima Soofi, M.N

Understanding Iran's current uprising, is to look deep into it's multifaceted past. Women of Iran dives into Iran's past and present through the eyes of group of women explaining how their future can re-shape the mind of the world. 

Maria

Directed by Pablo Larrain

Maria Callas, the world's greatest opera singer, lives the last days of her life in 1970s Paris, as she confronts her identity and life.

Never Look Away

Directed by Lucy Lawless

Swashbuckling CNN combat camerawoman, Margaret Moth, risks it all to put the viewer inside the conflict. When a fateful injury gets in the way of her appetite for danger and adrenaline, Moth must find the strength to carry on.

Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa

Directed by Lucy Walker

A single mother working as a dishwasher who has another life as record-breaking mountain climber. 

Devi

Directed by Subina Shrestha

Devi's life was upended when she was arrested during Nepal's civil war accused of rebellion, tortured and raped while in custody. She faced depression and isolation. Despite this Devi joined rebel forces and became member of parliament.

Shirley

Directed by John Ridley

Shirley Chisholm makes a trailblazing run for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination after becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress. 

An Unfinished Journey

Directed by Amie Williams, Aeyliya Husain

Forced to flee their country after the Taliban take-over in 2021, four Afghan women leaders struggle to keep the world's attention on the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan, while coming to terms with what it means to have their power usurped and two decades of progress dismantled.