Doc.London is an annual documentary film festival that features work from around the world by up and coming artists, showcasing innovative independent cinema that invites viewers to learn and ponder. Last night marked the closing night of the in-person part of the 2023 edition, which took place at BFI Stephen Street. The OFF ON Selection, the festival's newest online program, remains available for streaming until 6 April.

The official selection included twenty five short documentary films hailing from the U.S, the U.K., France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Taiwan, Italy, India, Lebanon, Canada, Ukraine, and Denmark. Doc.London is happy to share with you today the award winners, as chosen by this year's jury members:

Best Feature Documentary Film: Nobody Knows Casper (Denmark) by René Odgaard. A young man from Odense becomes a YouTube star with the channel ‘Ask Casper’. But where does the (self-)ironic staging end, and who is the real Casper when the webcam is off?

Best Short Documentary Film: American Justice On Trial: People V. Newton (USA) Andrew Abrahams, Herb Ferrette. Focuses on the sensationalized murder trial of Black Panther Party Co-Founder Huey Newton in the volatile summer of 1968.

Best Connecting Cultures Film: I Never Had Dreams Of My Son (Ukraine) By Jason Blevins. After five years of war, a Ukrainian father finds proof his missing son may still be alive in captivity. 

Best UK Documentary Film: Harrier (UK) by Ciara Flint. Using the practices of birdwatching and nature observation as a gateway, we unravel the story of Joan McNaughton, a woman whose passion for the natural world was born from a dark and tumultuous history with alcohol addiction.

Best Experimental Documentary Film: Forget Me Not (Italy) by Giuseppe Petruzzellis, Fabio Marin. Gilda is a middle aged woman, mother and wife. One day she realizes she's having problems setting the table. These are her first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Through family footage and poetic visions, the stages of her illness become a stream of images on the breach of oblivion.

Best Underground Documentary Film: The Shell (Bosnia And Herzegovina) by Marko Lončarević. After finding out that her mother is being abused and neglected by her caretakers, Milica travels from Sarajevo to the small village near Tuzla where she was born. There is a special bond between mother and daughter but also a lot of obstacles.

Best Super Short Documentary Film: Dear Doctor, (UK) by Jasmina Saleh. A visual poem about the pain and misdiagnosis of Endometriosis - utilising striking imagery and raw words to combine an effective and poignant piece.

Congratulations to all participating filmmakers!