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Laman Ismayilova

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The closing ceremony of the 10th DokuBaku International Documentary Film Festival was held at Nizami Cinema Center. The winners and recipients of the special iHuman and EYEMystic awards were announced at the event.

Opening the evening, festival director and filmmaker Imam Hasanov noted that this year's anniversary edition of DokuBaku was held under the theme "Stellar Civilization", bringing together Azerbaijani and international filmmakers, film industry representatives and audiences. The festival was organized with the support of the Azerbaijan Film Agency under the Ministry of Culture and in partnership with Nizami Cinema Center.

This year, awards were presented in several competition categories covering documentary films about nature, music and children, as well as debut works, short films and feature-length documentaries.

DokuBaku 2026 Award Winners

In the DokuEcho category for Best International Documentary Film about Nature, the iHuman Special Mention went to Three Sisters by Lolita Ismailova (Russia). The EYEMystic Award was presented to Like Any Other Mortal by Maria Molina Peiró (the Netherlands, Spain).

In the DokuKids category for Best International Documentary Film for Children, the iHuman Special Mention went to Conquering Tigers by Luke Kellerhouse (Germany, Ireland, the United States). The EYEMystic Award was presented to Ángeles FC by Roberto Ortiz (Mexico).

In the DokuMuse category for Best International Documentary Film about Music, the iHuman Special Mentions went to Points of Support by Victor Quijada and Samuel Greffe (Canada) and From Zero to One by Rustam Babazade (Azerbaijan). The EYEMystic Award was presented to Puuluup: Cables in the Car by Taavi Arus (Estonia).

In the DokuBox category for Best International Debut Documentary Film, the iHuman Special Mentions went to The Kingdom of Kartli by Tamar Kalandadze and Julien Pebrel (France, Georgia), Grandmother by Muhammad Aliyev (Azerbaijan), and A World Without Shadows by Afag Mammadova and Jamila Gashimova (Azerbaijan). The EYEMystic Award was presented to The Election of Miss Santa by Raisa Razmerita (Romania).

In the DokuShort category for Best International Short Documentary Film, the iHuman Special Mentions went to I Believe the Portrait Saved Me by Alban Muja (Kosovo), Actually, I Didn't Want to Stay Long by Andreas Grützner (Germany), Step by Step Towards Home by Evrim Inci (Azerbaijan), and Towards the Light by Elshad Arshadoglu (Azerbaijan). The EYEMystic Award was presented to I Wanted to Hear Your Voice by James Pellerito (the United States).

In the DokuTam category for Best International Feature-Length Documentary Film, the iHuman Special Mentions went to Paykar by Davud Hilmandi (the Netherlands), The Land Where the Angel Stumbled by Rodion Ismailov (Azerbaijan, Russia), and Women and Roads: The Journey to Oneself - Azerbaijan by Kristina Kretova and Anna Kameneva (the United Arab Emirates). The EYEMystic Award was presented to Militantropos by Alina Gorlova, Yelizaveta Smith and Simon Mozgovyi (Austria, France, Ukraine).

The organizers congratulated the filmmakers, creative teams, festival participants and award winners, expressing hope for future creative encounters and collaborative projects.