DOC EDGE AWARDS 2026: FEATHERSTRENGTH AND INSIDE GAZA TAKE TOP HONOURS

On Wednesday evening Doc Edge held its annual awards as part of the 2026 Doc Edge Festival at Grand Millennium Auckland. More than 30 awards were presented, recognising outstanding documentaries, immersive projects and filmmakers from New Zealand and around the world.

Doc Edge is an Academy Awards® qualifying festival for feature and short documentary films. The winners of Best New Zealand Short, Best New Zealand Feature, Best International Feature and Best International Short are eligible for consideration for the 2027 Academy Awards®.

New Zealand documentary featherStrength, directed by Jon Earle, and Inside Gaza, directed by Hélène Lam Trong (Belgium/France), emerged as the night's standout winners, each taking home two awards.

featherStrength won Best New Zealand Feature and Best New Zealand Editing. The jury described the film as "An intimate and deeply affecting work that finds profound meaning within the challenges, sacrifices, and unexpected grace of everyday life." They added, "Its cinematic rigor, unwavering authenticity, and lasting emotional impact exemplify aspirations of documentary storytelling."

Inside Gaza received Best International Feature and Best International Editing. The jury said: "At a time when journalism is under attack across the world, this film goes to the dark centre of the issue and lays bare the devastating human cost of silencing those who bear witness, while offering a rousing defence of the importance of documentary film to the pursuit of justice the world over." They concluded: "Uncompromisingly human, this film reminds us why we all watch, make and value documentary film: because of its unique ability to bring complex stories about the real world to a wide audience and, in doing so, to seek to change the world for the better."

Sukundimi Walks Before Me, directed by Matasila Freshwater and Lachlan McLeod, received Best New Zealand Director. The jury said the filmmakers' directorial decisions "all speak to the powerful directorial vision behind this film."

Ranginui: Call of the Ice received Best New Zealand Cinematography, with the jury celebrating cinematography that "transforms observation into wonder, capturing both the fragility and power of humanity within extraordinary conditions."

Legacy (Héritières) won Best New Zealand Sound. The jury recognised "a film whose exceptional sound design deepens our understanding of story, memory, and belonging."Through "an interplay of voice, music, silence, and atmosphere, it creates an immersive emotional landscape that lingers beyond the screen."

Gloria, directed by Loren Jalyn Kett, won Best New Zealand Short. The jury members agreed the winning film was "a gem." They said it "ultimately proved to be a meditation on the power of being true to yourself, even if by mainstream social standards you may well be viewed as 'different'."

Eldon Booth received the Best New Zealand Emerging Filmmaker award for Finding Honk, while Stoats' Last Stand, directed by Aaron J Cluka from South Seas Film School, won Best Tertiary Film.

Internationally, Anat Even received Best International Director for Collapse. The jury said: "This award goes to a director who has taken great creative risks and succeeded."Return to a Strange Land won Best International Cinematography, while Mar Musareceived Best International Sound. The jury said the film was "exemplary not only in the use of music as a storytelling device, but also in the depiction of music, in the form of song, dance and chant, as a central strand in the film's weave."

If You Don't Like It, Look Away (Au bain des danes), directed by Margaux Fournier(France), won Best International Short. The jury said: "This film took us on a roller coaster of emotions and stayed with us long after we watched it."

The inaugural Raye Freedman Legacy Award was presented to Kim Webby (Unlikely Kin), recognising her exceptional contribution to documentary filmmaking in Aotearoa New Zealand. The award honours a woman who embodies the spirit of Raye Freedman, a passionate supporter of education, music and the arts.

The evening also celebrated the recipients of the Doc Edge Superhero Awards, Tim Woodhouse (New Zealand) and Mette Hoffmann Meyer (Denmark). Hoffmann Meyer, CEO and Founder of THE WHY Foundation, has been a driving force in international documentary filmmaking for decades, commissioning, financing and executive producing acclaimed films including Taxi to the Dark Side, Last Men in Aleppo and this year's Academy Award, BAFTA and Peabody Award-winning Mr. Nobody vs Putin. She was also honoured with the 2014 Doc Mogul Award at Hot Docs for her outstanding contribution to documentary filmmaking and her support of emerging filmmakers worldwide. Woodhouse is one of New Zealand's most respected documentary editors, whose collaborative approach and editorial craftsmanship have helped filmmakers realise their vision across more than three decades. His work on acclaimed documentaries including Dawn Raid, 25 April, Never Look Away, Mothers of the Revolution and Beyond the Edge has helped shape New Zealand's documentary landscape.

The 2026 festival programme features 87 films and immersive projects. Screenings continue in Auckland until 12 July before travelling to Wellington (15–26 July), Christchurch (31 July–2 August), and online via the Doc Edge Virtual Cinema from 27 July–10 August.

Full list of Doc Edge Awards 2026 Winners

DOC EDGE SUPERHERO AWARDS

Tim Woodhouse (New Zealand)
Mette Hoffmann Meyer (Denmark)

NEW ZEALAND AWARD WINNERS

Best New Zealand Feature
featherStrength
Dir. Jon Earle
Special Mention: Sukundimi Walks Before Me
Dirs. Matasila Freshwater, Lachlan McLeod
Special Mention: The War Below: Restoring Hope in the Solomon Islands
Dir. Tuki Laumea

Best New Zealand Short
Gloria
Dir. Loren Jalyn Kett
Special Mention: Jacqueline Fahey: From Where I'm Looking
Dir. Oliver Dawe
Special Mention: Race Be Run
Dirs. Prabhjit Sabharwal, Richard Carey

Best New Zealand Director
Sukundimi Walks Before Me
Dirs. Matasila Freshwater, Lachlan McLeod

Best New Zealand Editing
featherStrength

Best New Zealand Cinematography
Ranginui: Call of the Ice

Best New Zealand Sound
Legacy (Héritières)

Best New Zealand Emerging Filmmaker
Eldon Booth – Finding Honk

NEW ZEALAND STUDENT AWARD

Best Tertiary Film
Stoats' Last Stand
Dir. Aaron J Cluka — South Seas Film School
Special Mention: Godman
Dir. Oscar Morrison — Massey University
Special Mention: NZ Silent Killer
Dir. Jaimee Boyce — South Seas Film School

THE RAYE FREEDMAN LEGACY AWARD

Kim Webby (Unlikely Kin)

INTERNATIONAL AWARD WINNERS

Best International Feature
Inside Gaza
Belgium, France | Dir. Hélène Lam Trong
Special Mention: Replica
Australia, France | Dir. Chouwa Liang
Special Mention: Let Our Mountains Live
Finland, Norway | Dir. Håvard Bustnes

Best International Short
If You Don't Like It, Look Away (Au bain des danes)
France | Dir. Margaux Fournier
Special Mention: Memories of a Window
Germany, Iran, USA | Dirs. Amin Pakparvar, Mehraneh Salimian

Best International Director
Anat Even — Collapse
France

Best International Editing
Inside Gaza

Best International Cinematography
Return to a Strange Land
Czechia, Netherlands

Best International Sound
Mar Musa
Germany, Syria

IMMERSIVE IMPACT WINNERS

Best New Zealand Project
Desiderium: What Stood Here
Created by Ellie Adams

Best International Project
The World Came Flooding In
Australia | Created by Van Sowerwine, Isobel Knowles

Jury Members

Baby Ruth Villarama (PH), Dafydd Sills-Jones (NZ), Galia Barhava (NZ), Jane Wrightson (NZ), Jon Kroll (NZ), Kate Cresswell (NZ), Laura Theron (PF), Mette Hoffmann Meyer (DK), Rebecca Tansley (NZ), Sam Witters (NZ) and Tamar Münch (NZ).

Stay updated with the latest news and announcements by visiting docedge.nz and following Doc Edge on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

2026 KEY DATES & VENUES

Auckland: 24 June – 12 July
The Capitol Cinema, Bridgeway Cinema, SkyCity Theatre, Silo 6, Grand Millennium Auckland and Smith & Caughey's

Wellington: 15–26 July
The Roxy Cinema and Te Auaha Gallery

Christchurch: 31 July–2 August
Lumière Cinemas and Tūranga (Central Library)

Nationwide: 27 July–10 August
Doc Edge Virtual Cinema

Michelle LaffertyJuly 2, 2026