kinokino Audience Award 2026 – sponsored by BR and 3sat

With the kinokino Audience Award – donated by BR and 3sat, you – the festival audience – can cast your vote on this year's festival films at DOK.fest München 2026. The name giver and media partner of the Audience Award is kinokino – Das Filmmagazin im Bayerischen Rundfunk | 3sat. The award is endowed with 2,000 euros, donated by BR, 3sat and DOK.fest München. Voting is open from Thursday, May 7, through Thursday, May 14, 2026. The final counting will take place on May 16.

Award Ceremony

The winning film will be honoured at the main award ceremony on Saturday, 16 May 2026 at 7.30 p.m. at Audimax HFF.

Which films are nominated?

All current feature-length films shown in the regular film programme of DOK.fest München 2026 are nominated for the kinokino Audience Award – donated by BR and 3sat. Excluded are: the short films of the short film reel DOK.fest SHORTS, the films we show in our Personal Memoriams section, the films at the award ceremonies and the film screenings on 16, 17 and 18 May.

How does the voting work?

The audience vote will once again be carried out digitally – via QR code after the end of each film screening on site. After you have seen a film in one of the Munich cinemas, you can vote on the film directly afterwards within one hour using the QR code on the screen. If you have any technical problems, our volunteers and cinema staff will be happy to help you on site. Voting @home is no longer possible.

We would like to thank our award donor:

Award-winning films of the last few years:

2025: WRITING HAWA by Najiba Noori

2024: JENSEITS VON SCHULD by Katharina Köster and Katrin Nemec

2023: KRISTOS, THE LAST CHILD by Giulia Amati

2022: GIRL GANG by Susanne Regina Meures

2021: HE'S MY BROTHER by Cille Hannibal and Christine Hanberg

2020: THE EUPHORIA OF BEING by Réka Szabó

2019: ANOTHER REALITY by Noël Dernesch and Olli Waldhauer

2018: TACKLING LIFE by Johannes List

2017: MISS KIET'S CHILDREN by Petra Lataster-Czisch and Peter Lataster

2016: PARCHIM INTERNATIONAL by Stefan Eberlein and Manuel Fenn