Four documentary works-in-progress from Circle Doc Accelerator will screen at the Cannes Docs Showcase at the Cannes Film Market 2026, with the program for women and gender-expansive filmmakers appearing at the market for the seventh consecutive year.
The four selected titles are “Amazonas” (Spain, Ecuador, Germany), directed by Clara López Rubio; “Intimate Revolutions” (U.S., U.K., Poland), directed by Julia Maryanska; “Sisters” (Czech Republic, Slovakia, France), directed by Tereza Bernátková; and “Portrait of A” (Jordan, Germany, Qatar), directed by Rand Beiruty.
“Amazonas” is set in Waorani territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon, where road construction and deforestation have thrown a community’s future into question. The film turns on two grandmothers with opposing visions – Nancy, drawn to what lies outside the forest, and Huanginkamu, committed to defending her ancestral home – as López Rubio reflects on the implications of her own filmmaking presence. The project is produced by Laura Dauden of Forward Films (Spain), Isabela Parra of Caleidoscopio Cine (Ecuador) and Anke Petersen of Jyoti Film (Germany).
“Intimate Revolutions” is a 15-year self-portrait by Maryanska, who documented her queer, polyamorous life in the U.S. while pushing back against her Polish family’s expectations. Motherhood draws her back to Europe, where a reckoning with her own mother prompts both women to reassess what womanhood, tradition and freedom mean across generations. The film is executive produced by Marc J. Francis of Speakit Productions (U.K.), with Marielle Olentine of Tikkun Olam Productions (U.S.) serving as consulting producer.
“Sisters,” from Bernátková, recovers a largely forgotten episode from former Czechoslovakia in which Catholic nuns ran a remote institution housing teenage girls who had been classified as mentally unfit and kept out of public view – and whose daily lives one nun quietly recorded on film. Decades later, women who lived through that experience revisit the footage, prompting a broader reckoning with institutional power, social exclusion and the endurance of inequality. Dagmar Sedláčková and Natália Pavlove of MasterFilm (Czech Republic) produce.
“Portrait of A,” from Beiruty, centers on Andrea, a young Romani woman in eastern Germany who runs away with her partner at sixteen, only to discover that extricating herself from the relationship – despite his infidelity – is far more difficult than she anticipated. Beiruty follows Andrea across seven years, threading stop-motion animation through a sustained dialogue with her subject about autonomy, compromise and self-determination. The film is produced by Beiruty and Jude Kawwa through Shaghab Films (Jordan).
Biljana Tutorov, Circle’s program director, said: “Each work in progress reflects the richness and diversity of our community – distinct voices, bold perspectives, and nuanced storytelling. The intersection of the intimate and the political has become a defining thread in many Circle-developed films.”
The program has built a sustained record of alumni projects reaching major international platforms. Lin Alluna’s “Twice Colonized” won the Docs-In-Progress award at Cannes Docs before premiering at Sundance and opening both CPH:DOX and Hot Docs. Fan Wu’s “XiXi” took the emerging international filmmaker award at Hot Docs 2024, while Faezeh Nikoozad’s “In Between, a Place” is currently competing in the Burning Lights section at Visions du Réel 2026. Patricia Drati’s “Becoming Ema” and Rachel Taparjan’s “Something Familiar” – the latter the recipient of the Chicken & Egg Vision Award at Cannes Docs – both went on to premiere at CPH:DOX 2026.
Alongside the Cannes Docs selection, Circle also revealed Circle Digital Empowerment, an online series led by industry practitioners, aimed at preparing its community for the technological changes reshaping the documentary landscape.
variety.com
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