Each year the jury for the DIG Festival scours hundreds of submissions to find the best investigative films and podcasts from around the world.
From a one-hour French documentary about the Russian Wagner group of mercenary fighters to a short film about the final, desperate phone calls of a Tunisian president facing an uprising, many of the winning entries from this year’s DIG festival focus on exposing stories about the powerful and what happens behind closed doors.
A jury of 10 veteran journalists assembled by GIJN member DIG (Documentari Inchieste Giornalismi, Italian for Documentaries, Investigation, and Journalism) announced winners in seven categories this week. From betrayals by Western oil companies in Africa to hidden radiation poisoning and collusion between criminals and government spooks, the winning teams tackled tough topics with dogged patience and innovative approaches.
The fifth edition of DIG Festival, the annual international conference that celebrates and awards the best investigative documentaries in the world, is fast approaching. The jury, chaired this year by Naomi Klein, will pick and announce the winners in Riccione, Italy during the festival, from May 30 to June 2.
When the DIG Festival first launched in 2016, it focused largely on Italian documentaries firmly anchored in quality investigative journalism. Just three years and four festivals later, it has grown into an international destination for some of the world’s best investigative documentary filmmaking. Held this year in Riccione, Italy, from June 1 to 3, the jury handed out seven awards, taking viewers from Kyiv to the Congo.
