For the next edition of Doc’s Kingdom, to take place in Odemira from 13 to 18 November 2026, we are pleased to announce a new approach in programming the seminar. This year, we will not launch an international open call for programmers; instead, the programme will be developed from scratch through a collective process, with a small programming committee shaping it horizontally. This decision is partly inspired by last year’s focus on collective film practices, a question dear to us that we want to carry beyond the screen and into our daily practices, as much as possible.

Each year, we hope to bring together a different committee, inviting two to three programmers who have previously attended Doc’s Kingdom and who come from different backgrounds, ensuring the diversity that has long marked the seminar’s artistic programmes. This committee, composed of guest programmers and the co-directors of the seminar, will design the programme as a whole, deciding the guest filmmakers and its curatorial framework.

We’re proud to announce the 2026 Programme Committee: Victor Guimarães, Brazilian programmer, film critic and professor, currently a programmer at FICValdivia (Chile) and artistic director of FENDA (Brazil), who has curated programmes for venues such as XCèntric (Barcelona), Essay Film Festival (London), Woche der Kritik (Berlin) and Cinemateca de Bogotá; Jowe Harfouche, Lebanese cultural organiser, filmmaker and producer, currently programming ALfilm in Berlin; and Doc’s Kingdom co-directors Catarina Boieiro and Stefanie Baumann.