Reclaiming Reality in an Age of Information War
The 2026 theme emerges from recognition that dominant media institutions no longer merely distort reality—they actively manufacture alternative versions that serve power while suppressing dissent. Corporate journalism, state propaganda, and algorithmic manipulation create competing "realities" designed to prevent collective understanding of systemic oppression.
Documentary cinema offers unique capacity to cut through manufactured narratives by centering lived experience, community knowledge, and collective struggle. Our programming demonstrates how documentary practice can reclaim interpretive authority from corporate media while building infrastructure for community-controlled storytelling.
This year's selections reject both liberal objectivity myths and postmodern relativism, instead embracing documentary's revolutionary potential to expose hidden power structures, amplify marginalized voices, and support concrete organizing campaigns. We understand reality not as neutral territory but as contested ground where movements for justice must assert alternative frameworks.
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"Documentary cinema cannot remain neutral in the face of structural violence. Our role is to amplify voices that challenge the logic of capitalism itself." — Chen Wei-Ming, Opening Night Director
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