From September 23rd to 27th, DIG, Europe's premier festival for investigative and reportage journalism, returns to Modena for its twelfth edition.
Once again, the DIG Awards form the core of the event – an international competition celebrating investigative documentaries and reports in both video and audio formats.
As every year, we received almost 300 submissions of outstanding audio and video works from all over the world. We’re excited to announce the 25 finalists in the Video category, who will come to Modena during the festival to present their work.
The winners of the DIG Awards will be revealed during a public ceremony at the heart of the DIG Festival.
Below are brief descriptions of the works selected as finalists across the five Video categories.
Category shortlist
INVESTIGATIVE LONG
Addiction Criminals, by Paul Moreira, turns the camera on the people who fueled the opioid crisis that has killed 800,000 Americans, turning addictive drugs into a highly profitable global business.
Death in Dubai, by Jamie Welham and the BBC Africa Eye investigative unit, uncovers the hidden reality of sexual exploitation in Dubai following the stories of two Ugandan women who found themselves trapped in prostitution.
Into The Void: Putin’s Foreign Fighters, by Philip Pendlebury, is a BBC Eye investigation into Russia’s covert recruitment of young men from Syria, Yemen and Egypt to fight its war in Ukraine.
Iran, Israel and the Bomb, by Miyuki Droz Aramaki and Sylvain Lepetit, explores Israel’s decades-long campaign to stop Iran’s nuclear programme, culminating in the 2025 Israeli strikes.
The Deal: Trump, Bukele & the Gangs of El Salvador, by Juan Ravel, is a FRONTLINE investigation into the controversial deal between Trump and El Salvador’s President Bukele to send alleged gang members to Salvadoran prisons.
Category shortlist
REPORTAGE LONG
From Gaza with Love, by Charles Villa and Suhail Nassar, is an original and luminous documentary about the children of Gaza. The story of a youth still alive despite the bombs.
Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare, , by award-winning British director James Jones, takes us inside the 2011 Fukushima disaster, documenting Japan’s struggle as it faced a nuclear catastrophe.
Mankind’s Folly, by Yorgos Avgeropoulos (Arte, RTS), follows the stories of two people on opposite sides of the Bering Strait as they witness the Arctic permafrost thaw, threatening their homes and communities, while the race for energy puts the entire region at risk.
Politzek: Voices Defying The Kremlin, by Manon Loizea and Ekaterina Mamontova (France Tv), explores the growing repression of political activism in Russia, following protesters imprisoned for challenging Putin’s regime.
The Taliban Land, by Solène Chalvon and Marianne Getti (France Tv), explores how, five years after returning to power, the Taliban have transformed Afghanistan into an isolated and deeply repressive regime, where women are erased from public life.
Category shortlist
INVESTIGATIVE MEDIUM
In Beijing’s Crosshairs, by Benoît Giasson (Radio-Canada), investigates the suspicious death of Chinese dissident Hua Yong in Canada and uncovers the alleged role of Chinese secret police in his killing.
Myanmar Scam Factory, by Mouhssine Ennaimi and Constantin Simon (TRT WORLD), is a gripping investigation into the hidden world of cyber slavery in Myanmar, where criminal networks exploit the chaos of a country fractured by civil war and political instability.
Shot Like Enemies: Inside Nepal’s Gen Z Uprising, by Subina Shrestha and Antoine Schirer (BBC World Service), provides the most comprehensive account yet of the September 2025 demonstrations in Kathmandu, where 19 young protesters were killed, triggering the collapse of the government.
Soaked In Blood. The Killing of Ameen Sameer Khalifa, by Hossam Sarhan and Mohamed Shalaby (Middle East Eye), reconstructs the events leading to the death of a young Palestinian at a food distribution centre in southern Gaza, and reveals how aid sites became deadly traps for civilians.
The Fifth Estate: Funding the Occupation, by Scott Anderson (CBC), uncovers how millions of dollars in Canadian charitable donations may be funding illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Category shortlist
REPORTAGE MEDIUM
ICE: Inside the Anti-immigration Agency, by Jeremie Paire (BFMTV), follows the impact of intensified U.S. immigration enforcement under Trump, focusing on a major workplace raid in upstate New York where dozens of workers were detained.
Kherson. If it Doesn’t Kill You, by Edward Kaprov (ARTE), captures moments from the lives of the last residents of Kherson, a Ukrainian city on the frontline where Russian drones stalk the streets and every day is lived under the threat of death.
Meow Meow: Inside Russia’s Mephedrone Teen Crisis, a BBC World reportage by Anastasia Platonova, investigates the rise of mephedrone among Russian teenagers, tracing the drug’s journey and the young lives caught in its grip.
Pakistan, Broken Innocence, by Shahzaib Wahlah and Sonia Ghezali (France 24), is a powerful documentary on the hidden reality of sexual violence within Pakistan’s religious schools, where fear and institutional complicity allow abuse to persist unchecked.
Without Consent, by Sophie Bontemps (ARTE), revisits Peru’s forced sterilization campaign of the 1990s, which targeted more than 300,000 people, particularly Indigenous communities, and follows survivors still fighting for justice.
Category shortlist
SHORT
Investigating the Killings of Children in Gaza, by Stephanie Hegarty (BBC World Service), is an investigation into the killing of children in Gaza. Analysing evidence from more than 160 shootings, it sheds light on the circumstances surrounding their deaths and the responsibility of Israeli forces.
Sainte-Soline: who Shot Environmental Activist Serge Duteuil-Graziani?, by an investigative unit of Libération and Mediapart, reconstructs the shooting that seriously injured the environmental activist, leading to the reopening of a case that the justice system had closed without charges.
Target Tehran, by Job Rabklin of BBC Eye Investigations, uses on-the-ground interviews, exclusive footage and forensic analysis to expose the impact of the US-Israel war against Iran on civilians in Tehran.
The Golani Brigade, from Lebanon to Gaza, by Alexandre Horn (Le Monde), uses verified footage, exclusive testimonies, and expert interviews to retrace the path of Israel’s oldest infantry unit and reveal its involvement in some of the Israeli army’s most serious war crimes.
The “Megadrought” Striking the American Southwest, by Hiroki Endo (NIKKEI), explores the prolonged drought affecting the southwestern United States, driven by climate change and overuse of water resources.
