Guardian Documentaries and arte.tv have joined forces to support short, character-led documentaries exploring Democracy at Stake in Europe. We encourage filmmakers from across Europe with urgent human stories on democracy today to apply.
The initiative is looking for short documentaries that show how current political and social shifts are experienced in everyday life. Projects should bring a strong creative approach and offer a personal perspective on the challenges facing European societies.
The call is open to films with a maximum running time of 20 minutes. Projects may be at any stage of production or post-production, but they must be completed by spring 2027. Films can be in any language, but the application must be submitted in English.
One selected project will receive £10,000 in production funding, editorial and creative support from Guardian Documentaries and arte.tv, distribution across both platforms, and translation into seven European languages.
The call is open until 14 September 2026, and the winning project will be announced at DOK Leipzig in October 2026.
More information and the submission form are available on the Guardian website here.
Image and information source: The Guardian