Documentary film festivals are film festivals devoted solely to documentary film, which is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to “document” reality.
Although “documentary film” originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and digital productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a television series. Documentary, as it applies here, works to identify a “filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception” that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries.[1]
In many cities around the world, documentary film festivals are held annually to showcase documentaries made that year. Many of them are theme or genre specific.
| Dok Leipzig |
1955 |
Leipzig |
 Germany |
| Krakow Film Festival |
1961 |
Kraków |
 Kraków |
| Academia Film Olomouc |
1966 |
Olomouc |
 Czech Republic |
| Visions du réel |
1969 |
Nyon |
 Switzerland |
| International Wildlife Film Festival |
1977 |
Missoula, Montana |
 United States |
| Margaret Mead Film Festival |
1977 |
New York City |
United States |
| Cinéma du Réel |
1978 |
Paris |
 France |
| Telluride Mountainfilm |
1979 |
Telluride, Colorado |
United States |
| Gran Paradiso Film Festival |
1984 |
Cogne |
 Italy |
| Internationales Dokumentarfilmfestival München |
1985 |
Munich |
Germany |
| International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam |
1988 |
Amsterdam |
 Netherlands |
| Marseille Festival of Documentary Film |
1989 |
Marseille |
France |
| Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival |
1989 |
Yamagata |
 Japan |
| Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival |
1992 |
Hot Springs, Arkansas |
United States |
| [./Https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivalul%20Astra%20Film Astra Film Festival] |
1993 |
Sibiu |
Romania |
| Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival |
1993 |
Toronto |
 Canada |
| International Health Film Festival |
1994 |
Liege |
 Belgium |
| Sheffield Doc/Fest |
1994 |
Sheffield |
 United Kingdom |
| Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival |
1997 |
Jihlava |
Czech Republic |
| Docaviv International Film Festival |
1998 |
Tel Aviv |
 Israel |
| DOXA Documentary Film Festival |
1998 |
Vancouver |
Canada |
| Full Frame Documentary Film Festival |
1998 |
Durham, North Carolina |
United States |
| Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal |
1998 |
Montreal |
Canada |
| Taiwan International Documentary Festival |
1998 |
Taipei |
 Taiwan |
| Encounters Festival South Africa |
1999 |
Cape Town and Johannesburg |
 South Africa |
| One World Film Festival |
1999 |
Prague |
Czech Republic |
| Thessaloniki Documentary Festival |
1999 |
Thessaloniki |
 Greece |
| Dokufest |
2001 |
Prizren |
 Kosovo |
| History Makers |
2001 |
New York City |
United States |
| Portland Documentary and Experimental Film Festival |
2001 |
Portland, Oregon |
United States |
| 10 Under 10 Film Festival |
2002 |
Austin, Texas |
United States |
| Cine Pobre Film Festival |
2002 |
La Paz, Baja California Sur |
 Mexico |
| Encuentros del Otro Cine EDOC |
2002 |
Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Manta, Ibarra, Portoviejo |
 Ecuador |
| Yogyakarta Documentary Film Festival |
2002 |
Yogyakarta |
 Indonesia |
| AFI Docs |
2003 |
Washington, D.C. |
United States |
| Big Sky Documentary Film Festival |
2003 |
Missoula, Montana |
United States |
| Chicago International Documentary Festival |
2003 |
Chicago, Illinois |
United States |
| Copenhagen International Documentary Festival – CPH:DOX |
2003 |
Copenhagen |
 Denmark |
| Doclisboa |
2003 |
Lisbon |
 Portugal |
| Document International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival |
2003 |
Glasgow, Scotland |
United Kingdom |
| Freedom Film Fest |
2003 |
Malaysia |
 Malaysia |
| Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival |
2003 |
Guangdong |
 China |
| Jeevika: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival |
2003 |
New Delhi |
 India |
| EBS International Documentary Festival |
2004 |
Seoul |
 South Korea |
| Imagine International Film Festival |
2004 |
Clearwater, Florida |
United States |
| True/False Film Festival |
2004 |
Columbia, Missouri |
United States |
| Atlanta DocuFest |
2005 |
Atlanta, Georgia |
United States |
| Camden International Film Festival |
2005 |
Camden, Maine |
United States |
| Development Film Festival |
2005 |
Chennai |
India |
| Documentary Edge Festival |
2005 |
Auckland and Wellington |
 New Zealand |
| Docville |
2005 |
Leuven |
Belgium |
| Io Isabella International Film Week |
2005 |
|
Italy |
| Punto de Vista. International Documentary Film Festival of Navarra |
2005 |
Pamplona |
 Spain |
| ZagrebDox |
2005 |
Zagreb |
 Croatia |
| Dockanema |
2006 |
Maputo |
 Mozambique |
| Pravo Ljudski Film Festival |
2006 |
Sarajevo |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Underneath the Radar Documentary Festival |
2006 |
|
 Singapore |
| ViBGYOR International Film Festival |
2006 |
Thrissur |
India |
| China Screen |
2007 |
Paris |
France |
| DORF |
2007 |
Vinkovci |
Croatia |
| London International Documentary Festival |
2007 |
London |
United Kingdom |
| Dox Box |
2008 |
Damascus |
 Syria |
| DMZ International Documentary Film Festival |
2009 |
Gyeonggi-do |
South Korea |
| New Media Film Festival |
2009 |
Los Angeles, California |
United States |
| Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival |
2009 |
Utah |
United States |
| Berlin Documentary Forum |
2010 |
Berlin |
Germany |
| Chagrin Documentary Film Festival |
2010 |
Chagrin Falls, Ohio |
United States |
| Doc LA – Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival |
2010 |
Los Angeles, California |
United States |
| Doc NYC |
2010 |
New York City |
United States |
| Flashpoint Human Rights Film Festival |
2010 |
Mumbai |
India |
| ALBA Human Rights Documentary Film Festival |
2011 |
New York City |
United States |
| Hádoc |
2012 |
Leiria |
Portugal |
| Portland Film Festival |
2013 |
Portland, Oregon |
United States |
| New Haven Documentary Film Festival |
2014 |
New Haven, Connecticut |
United States |
| VIVA Film Festival |
2015 |
Sarajevo |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival |
2018 |
Sarajevo |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2 Rivers Festival | Cross-Cultural Documentary Cinema Koblenz |
2019 |
Koblenz |
Germany |
Association of Iranian documentary Producer, Cameraman, Documentary Film, Documentary Filmmaker, Film Director, Film Editor, Majid Yazdani, majidyazdani, Majid_Yazdani, انجمن تهیه کنندگان سینمای مستند ایران, تدوینگر, تصویربردار, تصویربرداری مستند, جشنواره فیلم فجر, خانه سینما, سی و هفتیمن جشنواره فیلم فجر, سیمرغ بلورین, فیلم مستند, فیلمساز, فیلمساز مستند, مجید یزدانی, مجید_یزدانی, مستند ساز, کارگردان فیلم مسنتد, کارگردان مستند, کارگردانی مستند
