Over the years, MDOC has established itself as a space for dialogue and reflection, inviting audiences to engage with everyday stories and to question the diverse human experiences that shape our world. With the programming we have been developing, the aim has been to bring to Melgaço the best of non-fiction cinema and to provoke thought on a continuous journey toward a more just and compassionate future.
In this spirit, the selection of films and activities in the 11th edition offers a variety of perspectives on how identity is shaped by both personal and collective experiences, how memory acts as a force of preservation and resistance, and how borders—whether geographical, cultural, social, or personal—define and simultaneously challenge human existence.
In 2025, the Official Jury for the Jean-Loup Passek Award includes Jurek Sehrt, curator and head of Education at the German Cinematheque; Noé Mendelle, filmmaker and emeritus professor of Documentary Filmmaking at the University of Edinburgh; Paulo Portugal, researcher and journalist; Renata Ferraz, filmmaker, actress, and academic researcher; and Sandra Ruesga, filmmaker, producer, and film programmer.
For the first time, FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics, joins MDOC and will present the FIPRESCI Prize. The jury will consist of Barbara Lorey (France), Teresa Vena (Germany), and Marina Kostova (North Macedonia).
The Don Quijote Award, presented by the FICC (International Federation of Film Societies), will be judged by Jens Schneiderheinze (Germany), Joan Marc Tomàs (Spain), and Manuel Mozos (Portugal).
Off Screen, the Summer Course coordinated by José da Silva Ribeiro and Alfonso Palazón, is themed Cinema and Territory, and aims to explore the concept of territory through multiple perspectives: physical territory, lived territory, and represented territory.
The Frontal Shot film and photography residencies, led by Pedro Sena Nunes, will premiere four documentaries and three photographic projects, and through new initiatives will continue to connect MDOC with the region.
The project Who are we here? organized by Álvaro Domingues and Daniel Maciel with the guidance and scientific monitoring of Albertino Gonçalves, will focus on the parish of Alvaredo and will continue with ethnographic collections and audiovisual documentary records.
A highlight of this edition is the national premiere of the documentary "The Man of Cinema", directed by José Vieira and produced by Fora de Campo Filmes in association with AO NORTE and with the support of the Municipality of Melgaço, paying tribute to the life and legacy of Jean-Loup Passek.
Also noteworthy is VIVODOC, a collective of film festivals formed by MDOC (Portugal), Majordocs (Mallorca, Spain), Escales Documentaires (La Rochelle, France), Frontdoc (Aosta, Italy) and One World Romania (Bucharest, Romania), with the aim of discussing projects and future collaborations.
X-RAYDOC, coordinated by Jorge Campos, proposes a debate on the films Lettre de Sibérie (France, 1957, 67'), by Chris Marker, and …À Valparaíso (Chile/France, 1963, 27'), by Joris Ivens.
Filmmaker Margarida Cardoso will lead the workshop “Lost and Found Cinema”, where she will share her creative filmmaking process, and Sandra Ruesga will lead the masterclass “Exploring the Self: Self-Referential Cinema and Identity.”
The Jean-Loup Passek Melgaço Film Museum will inaugurate the exhibition “Iron Tears,” featuring posters and photographs of war films from Eastern European countries (1939–45), celebrating cinema as a form of resistance and historical reflection.
