Doc Edge Festival will return to Wellington next month, bringing a selection of documentary films from its 2026 programme to The Roxy Cinema from July 15 to 26.
The Oscar-qualifying festival has announced a national programme featuring 49 feature films, 26 short films and 12 immersive projects, with screenings and events running from June 24 to Aug. 10 across Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and the Virtual Cinema.
This year’s programme includes 28 world premieres across film and immersive storytelling, including 14 New Zealand world premieres. The line-up covers stories of whānau, resistance, conflict, environmental collapse, creativity, Indigenous knowledge, survival, music and human connection.
Among the New Zealand world premieres is Ranginui: Call of the Ice, directed by Julia Sartorio. Set in Antarctica during winter, the film follows Māori astronomer Rangi Matamua and language expert Mataia Keepa as science and mātauranga Māori meet in one of the world’s harshest environments.
Another New Zealand world premiere, Feather Strength, directed by Jon Earle, was made over more than a decade. The documentary follows Earle’s family life and the realities of raising a daughter with profound developmental disabilities.
The programme also includes a French focus supported by Institut Français and the Embassy of France in New Zealand, with films including Inside Gaza, Collapse, Cagnat, Drawing or Nothing and If You Don’t Like It, Look Away.
Wellington audiences will be able to attend screenings at The Roxy Cinema in Miramar from July 15 to 26. The wider festival also includes Auckland screenings from June 24 to July 12, Christchurch screenings from July 31 to Aug. 2, and nationwide Virtual Cinema screenings from July 27 to Aug. 10.
The full programme and tickets are available at docedge.nz.
