– The industry section of the human rights festival has honoured five projects tackling HIV stigma, democratic resistance, extremism, inequality in science and resilience in Gaza
The team behind Olimbi – Mother Courage receiving the StoryBoard Impact Award (© Manon Voland)
The eighth edition of Impact Days (8-10 March), the industry-focused section of Geneva’s International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH), has wrapped with an awards ceremony, following two days of pitches, round-tables and networking events. The initiative once again brought together filmmakers, impact producers, NGOs and philanthropic organisations committed to social change through documentary storytelling.
This year’s programme welcomed more than 220 international participants, including over 100 documentary filmmakers and impact practitioners alongside 115 social justice, environmental and philanthropic organisations. Across 15 moderated round-tables, filmmakers connected directly with partners and foundations, leading to several collaborations already taking shape. Among them, Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) has begun working with the project This Is Not a Civil War.
The programme also expanded its institutional reach this year, welcoming 20 new organisations and associations, including the Artistic Freedom Initiative, the Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), the European Institute of Peace (EIP), the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), Handicap International, the Nature Positive Initiative, the Olympic Refuge Foundation and UNAIDS. Funders from three continents were also present, among them Another Story Foundation, Doc Society, the Luminate Group, IUCN Netherlands, Working Films, IRIS, The StoryBoard Collective and DocA – Documentary Africa. In addition, Impact Days launched a new collaboration with SWISS FILMS, which hosted a networking dinner following the Swiss Focus event, bringing together Swiss impact stakeholders from across the country with international guests and filmmakers.
The 2026 edition also introduced two new awards in partnership with Working Films, Another Story Foundation and Impact Social Club, expanding the support available to impact-driven projects. The event further highlighted the growing international reach of the programme: nearly 200 submissions from 70 countries were received following the open call, with 12 projects selected for the annual Impact Lab and four Swiss co-productions showcased in the Swiss Focus initiative.
Addressing issues ranging from HIV stigma and democratic resistance to the rise of extremism and the power of community solidarity, the five award-winning documentaries reflect the programme’s continued commitment to projects that seek to make a tangible social impact.
The StoryBoard Impact Award, accompanied by a 10,000 CHF (€10,300) grant from The StoryBoard Collective, went to Olimbi – Mother Courage, directed by Croatian filmmaker Karlo Mlinar. The documentary tells the story of Olimbi Hoxhaj, who discovered that she and three of her four children were HIV-positive after the death of her husband in Albania in 2003, at a time when treatment was unavailable in the country. Confronting stigma and institutional neglect, she transformed personal tragedy into activism, helping to shift public awareness and secure access to treatment for thousands.
The Another Story Foundation x Impact Social Club Award, which includes a €2,500 grant and mentorship consultancy, was granted to This Is Not a Civil War, directed by Hnin Thet Hmu Khin and Oliver Petrie. The film follows Hnin, a young Burmese activist who returns clandestinely to Myanmar after the 2021 coup to witness how a new generation is resisting authoritarian rule by building alternative systems in education, healthcare and independent media.
The Working Films Impact Award, an in-kind consultancy workshop designed to strengthen a project’s impact campaign, was awarded to The Quiet Part, directed by Rachel Lauren Mueller. Set in a farming town in Minnesota, the documentary explores the tensions that emerge when a pagan white supremacist group settles in the community, examining how extremist ideologies exploit social fractures and the human need for belonging.
The Swiss Focus Impact Award, accompanied by a 2,500 CHF (€2,600) grant from FIFDH Impact Days, went to To the Moon and Back, directed by Elisa Gómez Alvarez. The film takes place within Asclepios, a Swiss-based student-led analogue space mission, where participants from different parts of the world train together. Through the experience of two young trainees from the Philippines and Morocco, the project examines how inequalities related to geography, gender and access to education shape participation in the new global space race.
Finally, the Sublimages Impact Award, offering translation and subtitle creation services, was granted to Gaza Sunbirds, directed by Flavia Cappellini. The documentary centres on Ala’a, a Gazan cycling champion whose life changes dramatically after he is shot by an Israeli sniper. Determined to rebuild his life, he sets his sights on competing in the Paralympics while helping to build a network of amputee athletes who deliver aid and support their communities.
The winners of the 2026 FIFDH Impact Days are as follows:
StoryBoard Impact Award
Olimbi – Mother Courage – Karlo Mlinar (Croatia)
Producers: Margareta Brodić, Filip Filković (More Magnets doo)
Impact producer: Karlo Mlinar
Another Story Foundation x Impact Social Club Award
This Is Not a Civil War – Hnin Thet Hmu Khin, Oliver Petrie (France)
Producer: Tanguy Babin (PaladiOra Films)
Impact producer: Estelle Brossier
Working Films Impact Award
The Quiet Part – Rachel Lauren Mueller (USA/Iceland/Germany)
Producers: Ariel Tilson, Lynn Kirby (The Quiet Part LLC), Kristín Andrea Þórðardóttir (Andrá Productions), Ruth Ersfeld (Alma Bäng)
Swiss Focus Impact Award
To the Moon and Back – Elisa Gómez Alvarez (Switzerland/France/Philippines)
Producers: Palmyre Badinier (Rita Productions), Eugenie Michel Villette (Les Films du Bilboquet), Gale Osorio (Binisaya Movement)
Impact producer: Florence Pauline Basubas
Sublimages Impact Award
Gaza Sunbirds – Flavia Cappellini (Belgium/UK)
Producers: Kristian Van der Heyden (Harald House), Alex King (Perfidious Productions)
Impact producer: Alex King
