Documentary film competition for young people

DOK.education, the educational program of the International Documentary Film Festival München, is celebrating the 12th edition of its documentary film competition for young people. Thanks to the prize sponsors, BLLV e.V., the Bavarian Teachers’ Association, as well as MLLV e.V., the Munich Teachers’ Association, a total of four prizes with a combined value of 1,100 euros were awarded. We congratulate all the winners! Here you can find the award-winning films and the jury’s statements.

View the photo gallery of the award ceremony at DOK.fest München 2026 in the next days.

More information about the 2026 award ceremony
Click here for the call for entries for the 2026 Documentary Film Competition for Young People

1st prize for children ages 6 to 11, worth 200 euros

ÜBERLEBT – EINE WELT OHNE WLAN
by the Moviebande from Nördlingen

Jury's Statement: "We loved your film because it shows just how exciting it can be when different generations engage with one another. In your film, children and adults come face to face, each with their own perspectives, experiences, and questions. This is exactly what creates a story that is both entertaining and thought-provoking: How do we want to live? How do we treat our environment? And what can we learn from one another? The jury was particularly impressed by your approach to AI. People can complain a lot about artificial intelligence; they might find it eerie or simply reject it. But you show something different: when AI is used creatively, consciously, and thoughtfully, it can be a tool for generating new ideas. This is exactly how we want people to engage with media: with curiosity, a critical eye, humor, and imagination! But that’s not all: your film is carefully crafted, told in a varied way, and produced with great attention to detail across many locations. In every scene, you can feel that this story comes from your own world and bears your very own signature."

1st prize in the main category, worth 400 euros

VERSTRICKTE WURZELN
by Dilara Bozdag, Anita-Augspurg-Berufsoberschule

Jury's Statement: "The film follows a straightforward formula—and it truly is a formula we can follow along with here: We go grocery shopping with the protagonist, spend a long time cooking with him in the kitchen, and are even invited to sit at the table with him at the end. It is precisely this simplicity that creates such depth, because the story the filmmaker tells us is deeply moving. We immerse ourselves in the life of an unhappy son who suffers under the control of his strict father and took a long time to break free from family constraints. Against his family’s resistance, he goes his own way and finds happiness late in life. Particularly beautiful are the quiet, observational scenes of food preparation, which intertwine with the protagonist’s narrative in the structured interview. We sense the filmmaker’s presence, and yet she gives the protagonist—her own father—the space to tell his story, to laugh, and to cry. The filmmaker seems to view her father as a role model and to have learned from him to go her own way. For VERSTRICKTE WURZELN is also about a young woman who wants to understand her family history in order to be free."

2nd prize in the main category, worth 300 euros

DAS UNSICHTBARE BAND
by Oscar Liang, Lise-Meitner Gymnasium, Unterhaching

Jury's Statement: "We were captivated by the playful creativity with which the 14-year-old filmmaker brought to life his portrait of his choir director and her life with music. The short film dynamically shifts between three different levels: an interview with the protagonist, a choir rehearsal where the camera focuses on the children’s choir director playing the piano while the choir is heard off-screen, and footage of the filmmaker at home. “Music connects the whole world,” says the choir director. It is precisely this ‘invisible bond’ that formally forms the basis of the film: Through editing, a sense of simultaneity is created between the singing lesson at the Gärtnerplatztheater in Munich and the exercises at home, humorously linking two different temporal and spatial planes. The reflective moment at the end is also appealing: the brief closing scene rounds off the film we’ve just seen with the self-affirming words: “Okay… Yes, I can do this!”

3rd prize in the main category, worth 200 euros

FINDING FLOW IN THE FIGHT
by Lorenz Nägele, FOSBOS Augsburg

Jury's Statement: "This film moves us – and not only that, but it literally draws us in – into an inner and outer struggle that is familiar to all of us in its own way. It is far more than a film about sports or competition. It is an intense, deeply personal exploration of a state that many seek – the flow. And at the same time, it examines what seems to stand in its way: doubt, pressure, exhaustion, resistance.

With impressive clarity, the filmmaker succeeds in resolving this contradiction. The struggle is not portrayed here as an obstacle, but as a prerequisite – as something that shapes and drives us. The film captivates with a powerful visual language that creates intimacy without being intrusive. The camera stays close, observes, leaves room – and it is precisely in this that a remarkable authenticity emerges. The editing also contributes to this: rhythm and dynamics reflect the film’s theme in an impressive way.

FINDING FLOW IN THE FIGHT by Lorenz Nägele shows us that growth does not lie in avoiding conflict, but in living through it. That flow does not simply happen, but is fought for – in the best sense of the word."

Honorable Mention from the Jury

TAUBE WIESN: AUF DER SUCHE NACH DER DEAF COMMUNITY
by Benjamin Pflugfelder and Mika Schorer, Samuel-Heinicke-Realschule München

Jury's Statement: "Did you know that once a year, right in the heart of Munich, a large gathering of the international Deaf community takes place—and of all places, at Oktoberfest? In their film, Benjamin Pflugfelder and Mika Schorer, as young reporters, take us along on their search for the international Deaf community at Oktoberfest. Amid the exuberant Oktoberfest atmosphere, they meet deaf people from all over the world and show how community is formed through sign language, encounters, and shared experiences. What the film evokes in viewers is particularly touching: it sparks curiosity, broadens our perspective, and lets us feel how important places are where we feel understood and at home. Using sign language and a sensitive voice-over, the film TAUBE WIESN: AUF DER SUCHE NACH DER DEAF COMMUNITY naturally builds a bridge between deaf and hearing people."

The jury 2026

Annika Preil, actress and moderator of ANNA UND DIE WILDEN TIERE
Felix Völkel, AG Kurzfilm e.V.
Meike Fuchs, middle school teacher and MLLV e.V.
Bahar Bektas, filmmaker and social worker
Emmelie Furthmüller, screenwriter and Junior Festival Director flimmern&rauschen

All information about the jury 2026

Past winners

In recent years, many outstanding documentaries by young students have won awards. Here you can find the films and the winners from past editions.