The 25th edition of DokuFest Prizren (7-15 August), one of the biggest documentary festivals in Southeast Europe and Kosovo's largest cultural event, wrapped on Saturday night.

Turkish director Merve Dilşad Aladağ's As the Spring Arrives, Water Recalls the Nomads came out on top in the festival's key Balkan Dox Competition. Having world-premiered at last year's FID Marseille, it follows a heterogeneous group of shepherds as they travel through the Çukurova valley in Turkey, following in the footsteps of their nomadic ancestors.

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The jury – comprising French programmer Agnès Wildenstein, Albanian filmmaker Eneos Çarka, and Turkish director and editor Yasemin Akıncı – praised the film's “ability to transform the landscape into a powerful narrative of absence and loss.” A Special Mention in the category went to Croatian filmmaker Srdjan Kovačević's The Thing to Be Done, which world-premiered at DOK Leipzig last year and most recently won Best Director at the Pula Film Festival (see the news).

Towards Where to Breathe by Stefan Pavlović, best known for his Looking for Horses, received the Balkan Short Dox Award. In the International Feature Dox category, the top prize went to the Visions du Réel winner From Dawn to Dawn by Xisi Sofia Ye Chen, while another FID Marseille premiere, Sabine Groenewegen's The Clearing, won in the Human Rights Dox section. The IFFR title Krakatoa by Carlos Casas triumphed in the Green Dox Competition. Normal Planet by Knit’s Island directing team Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse and Quentin L'helgoualc'h, another Visions du Réel entry, picked up the International Short Dox Award. 

In the International Shorts section, which includes fiction, experimental and animated efforts, Chinese director Jingkai Qu's Berlinale entry Kleptomania bagged the main prize, while Serbian director Adem Tutić's Tarik, which won the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Student Film last year, scored the European Film Awards nomination.

Albanian director Lorin Terezi's Searching for Poetry triumphed in the National Competition, while Kosovar filmmaker Hana Bucalija's Dance received the Distribution Award. Finally, Swiss-Albanian filmmaker Dea Gjinovci's feature-length documentary The Beauty of the Donkey, which premiered at Zurich and played in Dokufest’s Special Screenings, walked away with the Audience Award.

Here is the full list of DokuFest Prizren award winners:

Balkan Dox

Best Film
As the Spring Arrives, Water Recalls the Nomads - Merve Dilşad Aladağ (Turkey)
Special Mention
The Thing to Be Done - Srdjan Kovačević (Croatia/Serbia/Slovenia)

Balkan Short Dox

Best Film
Towards Where to Breathe - Stefan Pavlović (Netherlands, short film)

International Feature Dox

Best Film
From Dawn to Dawn - Xisi Sofia Ye Chen (Spain/France)

International Short Dox

Best Film
Normal Planet - Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse, Quentin L'helgoualc'h (France, short film)

Human Rights Dox

Best Film
The Clearing - Sabine Groenewegen (Netherlands/Indonesia)
Special Mention
A City in the Forest - Lev Omelchenko, Nolan Huber (USA)

Green Dox

Best Film
Krakatoa - Carlos Casas (Spain/France/UK/Poland)

International Shorts

Best Film
Kleptomania - Jingkai Qu (China, short film)
Special Mention
Venezia Diorama - Nicolas Piret (Belgium, short film)

National Competition

Best Film
Searching for Poetry - Lorin Terezi (Albania)

Audience Award
The Beauty of the Donkey - Dea Gjinovci (Switzerland/USA/Kosovo/France)

Distribution Award
Dance - Hana Bucalija (Kosovo)

European Film Awards Nomination
Tarik - Adem Tutić (Serbia)