Jury German Documentary Film Music Award 2026
The German Documentary Film Music Award is presented annually to honor a composition that blends outstandingly well with the narrative of a documentary film, and will be awarded for the fourteenth time in 2026. It sees itself as a platform for the work of composers and the value of music as a narrative level in documentary film.
The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros and honours the team of filmmaker and composer. The German Documentary Film Music Prize is sponsored by the Versicherungskammer Kulturstiftung and supported by the Förder- und Hilfsfonds des Deutschen Komponistenverbandes DKV.
Dominik Giesriegl
Composer & Lecturer
Dominik Giesriegl (born in Vienna in 1986) composes music for television and feature films. After studying in Vienna and completing his studies in film composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, he has written the music for around 70 television and film productions since 2012, including Die Toten von Salzburg, Nord Nord Mord, Tatort, and the box office hits Die Schule der magischen Tiere 1–4. He also teaches at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich and the Technical University of Munich.
Anke Petersen
Producer
Anke Petersen is a German producer and founder of JYOTI Film (established 2013), specialising in international co-productions across documentary, fiction and immersive storytelling. Her films have premiered at festivals including Berlinale, IDFA, TIFF, Visions du Réel and DOK Leipzig and are broadcast worldwide. As Documentary Campus alumna and certified Green Consultant (IHK), she also produces the Young Director Award at Cannes Lions.
Mirjam Skal
Composer
Mirjam Skal (*1996) is a freelance film music composer from Zurich. She studied composition for film, theater, and media at the Zurich University of the Arts. In her work, she combines synthetic textures with orchestral sounds and develops distinctive sound palettes, often incorporating unusual instruments. She has composed for feature films, documentaries, and TV productions such as LES COURAGEUX, two episodes of the Zurich-based crime series Tatort, and VRACHT. She has received numerous awards for her work, most recently the German Documentary Film Music Award in 2025 at DOK.fest Munich.
Victor Gangl
Composer
Victor Gangl, born in 1983, is a film composer based in Vienna. From an early age, he developed a keen interest in a wide variety of musical styles and learned to play several instruments; among others, he received formative musical influences as a student of jazz guitarist Karl Ratzer. Today, he composes music for national and international film and television productions, particularly for documentaries, as well as for short films and feature films. In his work, he combines musical precision with a sharp sense of cinematic dramaturgy and atmosphere. In addition to his work as a composer, Gangl is also actively involved in cultural policy on behalf of composers’ interests. He is Vice President of the Austrian Composers Association (ACOM), a full member of the Austrian collecting society AKM and its program review committee, a member of the Austrian Film Academy, and a board member of dok.at – the Austrian Documentary Film Association.
Yulia Lokshina
Filmmaker
Yulia Lokshina studied documentary filmmaking at the HFF Munich. In her work she deals with communities, non-fictional narrative forms, migration, ideologies, and social and political dependencies. Her graduation film REGELN AM BAND, BEI HOHER GESCHWINDIGKEIT won the Max Ophüls Prize and the German Film Critics' Award, among others. ACTIVE VOCABULARY received the Golden Dove at DOK Leipzig in 2025. AROUND PARADISE premiered at Berlinale Panorama 2026. Beyond filmmaking, she is pursuing an artistic doctorate and enjoys working in open formations with artist friends.
