From September 24th to 28th, DIG, Europe's premier festival for investigative and reportage journalism, returns to Modena for its eleventh edition.
Once again, the DIG Awardsform the core of the event – an international competition honoring investigative documentaries and reports in both video and audio formats.
An international jury, led by Edwy Plenel, founder and president of Mediapart, faces the tough task of selecting winners in each category. Today, we're thrilled to announce the 30 finalist works.
The winners will be revealed during a public ceremony on Saturday, September 27th, 2025, kicking off at 7 PM in a special venue at the heart of the DIG Festival.
Below are brief descriptions of the works selected for the DIG Awards 2025.
INVESTIGATIVE LONG CATEGORY
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Deserted - Europe's Deadly Migration Policy, by Philipp Grüll and Erik Häußler (Das Erste/ARD), shines a light on the criminal practices perpetrated against migrants by EU security forces and their catastrophic effects.
Gaza, produced by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit, exposes war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip through the analysis of photos and videos posted online by Israeli soldiers during the invasion.
Surviving Syria's Prisons, by Sasha Joelle Achilli and Sara Obeidat (BBC 2 and PBS Frontline), investigates the fates of over 100,000 Syrians who disappeared during Bashar al-Assad's 13-year regime.
The Lundin Case - Silence Every Witness, by Carolina Jemsby and Anna Roxvall (TV4 Sweden), reveals how power and money intrigues tied to oil extraction had brutal consequences for thousands of Sudanese civilians.
The Night Won't End, by Kavitha Chekuru (Al Jazeera English), probes the attacks on civilians by the Israeli army in Gaza and the United States' role in the war.
REPORTAGE LONG CATEGORY
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Antidote, by James Jones (Impact Partners, Submarine, Passion Pictures, Bellingcat), chronicles the brutal persecution faced by activists trying to expose the repressive practices of Putin's regime.
Green is the New Red, by Anna Recalde Miranda (Mammut Films, Reservoir Docs, Lardux Films), recounts the bloody decades that led to the disappearance of over 1,500 environmentalists in Latin America, alongside the fierce land grabs by multinational soy corporations between Paraguay and Brazil.
Haiti: The Iron Grip of the Gangs, by Catherine Norris Trent e Roméo Langlois (France24), shows the economic and military influence of the gangs on the Caribbean country, where three million people are held hostage by a devastating and seemingly endless internal war for power.
In the Belly of AI, by Henri Poulain (FranceTv), investigates the ravenous rise of artificial intelligence and its disastrous consequences on the environment, labor, and social equality, all while Big Tech companies become excessively rich.
War on Women: The New Battle for Abortion in America, by Cyril Denvers (FranceTv), highlights the dedication of civil society, doctors, lawyers, volunteers, and individuals determined to preserve the right to and access to abortion for their fellow citizens in the US.
INVESTIGATIVE MEDIUM CATEGORY
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Blood Parliament, by Bertram Hill and Peter Murimi (BBC Africa Eye), reveals the identities of those responsible for the bloodshed at Kenya's Parliament in June 2024, when hundreds of thousands of Gen Z protestors gathered to demonstrate against a bill and were met with a violent response from the army.
Dirty money, cartels and underground banks, by Ben Marino (Financial Times Films), investigates how Chinese mafia organizations are facilitating the global fentanyl epidemic, helping drug traffickers launder the proceeds of their illicit activities.
The Chilling Story of Serbia's Human Slaughterhouse, by Matt Sarnecki (OCCRP), unmasks one of the most horrific organized crime stories in recent history: featuring a notorious Serbian gang responsible for brutal murders aided by high-ranking state officials.
The Minister's Millions, by Al Jazeera, reconstructs how a famous Bangladeshi Minister managed to build a billion-dollar real estate empire in the USA and the UK while on a salary of just thirteen thousand dollars.
The Rare but Debilitating Side Effects of Finasteride for Hair Loss, by Judith Plamondon (CBC/Radio-Canada), uncovers how a drug commonly used by men to slow hair loss has rare but severe side effects, capable of causing lifelong sexual dysfunction and depression.
REPORTAGE MEDIUM CATEGORY
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Gaza. Ceasefire, by Chiara Avesani and Paola Vecchia (RAI), recounts the joy and despair generated by the brief truce in Gaza between January and February 2025, through the personal stories of twenty and thirty-somethings trapped in the Strip.
Hong Kong: Law and Order, by Antoine Védeilhé (Keyi Productions, Arte G.E.I.E, , France24), narrates how China has transformed Hong Kong into a dystopian city where Beijing's grip is absolute, and political opponents are systematically imprisoned or exiled.
Myanmar: A Country in Ruins, also by Antoine Védeilhé (Decoupages, ARTE Reportage), a reportage filmed in secret from a country closed to foreign journalists: Myanmar, in civil war for four years, devastated by an earthquake on 28 March 2025.
Storms to Survive in America, by Mélissa Godin (Al Jazeera), illustrates the story of a migrant fleeing climate disasters in Honduras who accepts a dangerous job to help restore areas of the United States devastated by storms.
Tigray: Rape as a Weapon, by Marianne Getti and Agnès Nabat (ARTE Reportage), tells how from 2020 to 2022, as Tigrayan forces clashed with the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies, another weapon, silent and insidious, was used: rape, committed on an unprecedented and almost unimaginable scale.
SHORT CATEGORY
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24 Hours in Gaza, by Al Jazeera Arabic, portrays the "typical day" for Gazans under constant Israeli bombardment, from their desperate search for food to their attempt to keep a small door open to the future.
How 4 days of revenge took over Syria, by Suzanne Vanhooymissen (CIR, Syrian Archive), examines how a wave of extreme violence swept over Syria between March 6 and 10, 2025, using cross-verification of videos and reports to explain what happened.
India's Opioid Kings, by BBC Eye Investigations, exposes how certain Indian pharmaceutical executives are profiting from a public health crisis caused by opioids in Africa.
Songs from Inside, by Majed Neisi and Emma Ailes of BBC Eye Investigations, uses animation to tell the true story of three women currently held in a notorious Iranian prison, incarcerated after participating in protests against the mandatory hijab.
The Ransom of War, by Sophie Nivelle-Cardinale (ARTE), documents the prisoner exchange between Palestine and Israel that occurred during the truce days in January 2025, and the consequences these acts had in the following months.
PODCAST CATEGORY
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Buried: The Last Witness, by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor (Smoke Trail, BBC Radio 4), exposes the damage caused by Monsanto's secret toxic waste disposal in the United Kingdom.
Lost Cells, by Susanne Reber, Grant Hill, Antoine Harari, Valeria Mazzucchi (Swissinfo.ch), offers an exploration of the cord blood banking industry, a new trend that deeply resonates with our anxieties about health, technology, and the future.
Re:tour - Going back to live right next to Gaza, by Michela Chimenti (Lifegate Radio), follows the story of an Israeli travel agency offering tours of sites hit by the October 7th attacks, creating a seemingly impenetrable narrative "bubble."
The Minister's Millions, by Al Jazeera Investigative Unit, reveals how a Bangladeshi minister built a personal empire through real estate investments using dirty money in Western countries.
The Shadow of El Dorado: Unearthing Colombia's Blood Gold, by James Bargent (InSight Crime), documents the devastating impact of rampant capitalism in Colombia, where not only warlords and gangsters enrich themselves with dirty gold, but also political and business elites.
SUPPORT OUR CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN!
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Looking ahead to its upcoming edition, DIG has launched a crowdfunding campaign, with the festival's very survival depending on its success.
That's why the «Watchdogs of the world, unite!»campaign is now live on GoFundMe, running until the end of the 2025 edition.
It's an appeal to anyone who wants to support free and independent journalism and help keep alive a vital space for expression, denunciation, and critique.
