Overview
StLouis'Docs is West Africa's only documentary-only international film festival. The 17th edition runs April 28 to May 2, 2026, in Saint-Louis, Senegal. The festival screens 44 films from 22 countries across Africa and its diasporas, all free to the public. It is organized by Sunuy Films (Senegal) and Krysalide Diffusion (France).
Saint-Louis has no operating cinemas. The festival has run for 17 editions in a city where commercial screens closed more than 25 years ago. Screenings take place outdoors in neighborhoods, at the Institut Français, the Centre Culturel le Château, Université Gaston Berger, and in more than a dozen schools. The festival receives FOPICA (Fonds de promotion de l'industrie cinematographique et audiovisuelle) funding ranging from 1 to 15 million FCFA, and that public funding has grown as the festival demonstrated impact on the city.
The 2026 edition programmed 27 competition films across national and international sections, judged by three juries of cinema, audiovisual, and media professionals. The Senegalese Association of Film Critics (ASCC) also awards a separate critics' prize. The festival honored filmmaker Alice Diop with a retrospective and the Sargal'Docs career award, and paid tribute to restored heritage films by Mahama Johnson Traore (1942-2010), a pioneer of Senegalese cinema and co-founder of FESPACO.
Submission Process and Fees
StLouis'Docs accepts open submissions with no entry fee. The 17th edition (2026) had a submission deadline of January 31, 2026.
Eligibility requirements:
- Documentaries only, produced in Africa or in Creolophone territories
- Films produced after January 1, 2023
- Workshop and school films are eligible
- Non-French films must have French subtitles
- 20 films selected for official competition (6 features, 14 medium and short films in the 16th edition)
Important note on selection: If your film is selected for official competition, the festival does not pay screening fees or diffusion rights. Submission is free, but selected filmmakers receive no screening fee.
StLouis'Docs en Creation (Project Lab): A separate call for projects targets filmmakers from Senegal and West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo). Eligible projects must be a second or third documentary feature or medium-length film, in the writing phase, with documented location scouting completed. The 2026 deadline was March 1. Selected projects participate in a writing residency (April 20-30) and a production forum (May 1-2) during the festival.
Submission contact: Applications and regulations are available through Krysalide Diffusion and the Creation Africa platform.
Key Sections
- International Competition - Long Documentaries - 9 feature-length documentaries competing for the Grand Prix
- International Competition - Short Documentaries - 14 short documentaries competing for the Jury Prize
- National Selection - 6 Senegalese short and medium documentaries competing for the National Prize
- Special Screenings (Out of Competition) - 2 non-competition films, including heritage restorations
- Retrospective - Annual tribute to a major documentary filmmaker (2026: Alice Diop)
- Sargal'Docs Career Award - Recognizes contribution to documentary cinema (2026: Alice Diop)
- Heritage Restoration - Screenings of restored African cinema classics (2026: Mahama Johnson Traore's Reou Tak and Njangaan)
- StLouis'Docs en Creation - Writing residency and production forum for 11 projects from 7 African countries
- Cafe-Rencontres - Public discussions with filmmakers
- Masterclasses and Round Tables - Professional development sessions
Awards and Prizes
The 17th edition (2026) awarded the following prizes:
- Grand Prix TV5 (Best International Feature Documentary) - Mamadou Khouma Gueye for Liti Liti (Senegal, France). A documentary about a family displaced from Guinaw Rails before the construction of the Dakar TER train, told through the director's mother who lived there for 40 years. This was the first time a Senegalese filmmaker won the Grand Prix.
- Jury Special Mention (International Feature) - David Bingong for Les Voyageurs (Cameroon, Morocco, Spain), following migrants at the Morocco-Spain border
- Jury Prize (Best International Short Documentary) - Abdoul Aziz Basse for Atemit Sembe (Senegal), about wrestler Isabelle Sambou, nine-time African gold medalist
- Jury Special Mention (International Short) - Yan Bida by Laouali Salaou Jamilou and Issa Altine Daouda (Niger), on rural youth exodus
- Senegalese Critics Prize (Best Feature) - Jean-Francois Ravagnan for La Derniere Rive (Gambia, Italy, Belgium), about the death of Pateh Sabally in Venice
- Senegalese Critics Special Mention (Feature) - Liti Liti by Mamadou Khouma Gueye
- National Selection Prize - Julie Kleinman and Ismael Mahamadou Laouali for Dakar Panafricain, on intra-African migration
- Yennenga Post-Production Prize - Hamidou Djigo for Daande Heddo, exploring rap as memory and resistance after the death of rapper Baba Kana in 2023
Past Winners
The 17th edition (2026) awarded the Grand Prix TV5 to Liti Liti, directed by Mamadou Khouma Gueye (Senegal and France). This was the first time a Senegalese filmmaker won the Grand Prix. The Jury Prize for best short documentary went to Atemit Sembe by Abdoul Aziz Basse.
The 16th edition (2025) gave its Grand Prix to Les Miennes, directed by Samira El Mouzghibati (Belgium and Morocco). The film explores maternal bonds across five sisters in a Moroccan-Belgian family. A Special Mention went to Catcher by Derhwa Kasunzu from the DRC.
The 15th edition (2024) awarded its Grand Prix to Sur les traces de Mamani Abdoulaye, directed by Amina Mamani Abdoulaye (Niger). The film traces the forgotten political legacy of her father, a Nigerien independence figure. A Special Mention went to Apres ta revolte, ton vote by Parfait Kabore.
Notable Alumni Films and Where They Ended Up
Alice Diop received the Sargal'Docs career award at the 17th edition (2026). Her documentary Nous won Best Documentary at Berlinale 2021. Her fiction debut Saint Omer won the Silver Lion at Venice 2022 and the Cesar for Best First Film.
Liti Liti won the StLouis'Docs Grand Prix in 2026 after winning the Tanit d'Or at the Carthage Film Festival (JCC). The film examines displacement caused by the Dakar TER train construction through a family's 40-year history.
Sudan, Remember Us by Hind Meddeb received a critics' Special Mention at the 16th edition. It went on to screen at Venice, TIFF, and Doc NYC. The film won the Tim Hetherington Award at Sheffield DocFest.
The festival serves as a launchpad for African documentary filmmakers entering the international circuit. Winners often move on to FESPACO, Carthage, and major European documentary festivals.
Submission Tips Specific to This Festival
Submission is free, but the festival does not pay screening fees for selected films. Budget accordingly if you need recoupment from festival screenings. The selection is limited to 20 competition films, making visibility high for accepted work.
French subtitles are mandatory for all non-French films. The festival operates in French and Wolof. Q&A sessions and professional events are conducted in French. Prepare French-language materials for your submission.
The competition accepts only documentaries produced in Africa or Creolophone territories. Films must be produced after January 1, 2023. Workshop and school films are eligible, which is unusual for international festivals.
The StLouis'Docs en Creation residency targets second and third documentary projects in the writing phase. Selected filmmakers receive a 10-day writing residency and pitch to international producers. Apply by early March through the Krysalide Diffusion website.
Industry Reputation Notes
StLouis'Docs is the only documentary-only festival in West Africa. FESPACO in Burkina Faso covers all genres and is far larger. StLouis'Docs offers a more focused platform for nonfiction filmmakers seeking specialized industry attention.
Compared to Cinema du Reel in Paris, StLouis'Docs has fewer resources but deeper African roots. Cinema du Reel programs international documentary with African sidebars. StLouis'Docs centers African and Creolophone documentary as its core mission.
The festival has drawn academic attention for its collaborative curatorial model. Researchers have published studies on its "constellation of collaborations" approach. UNESCO has recognized the festival through its Policy Monitoring Platform.
The festival draws approximately 10,000 attendees annually in a city with no operating cinemas. All screenings are free and take place in outdoor neighborhoods, schools, and cultural centers. This audience-first model gives filmmakers direct community engagement that ticketed festivals cannot match.
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What Filmmakers Should Know
For African documentary filmmakers: StLouis'Docs is the only festival in West Africa dedicated exclusively to documentary cinema. If your film is made in Africa or a Creolophone territory, submission is free and the competition is limited to 20 selected films, making it a focused and visible platform. French subtitles are mandatory for non-French films. The festival does not pay screening fees for selected films, so budget accordingly if you need recoupment from festival screenings.
For West African filmmakers with projects in development: The StLouis'Docs en Creation residency accepts second and third documentary projects in the writing phase. Selected filmmakers receive a 10-day writing residency followed by a production forum where they pitch to international producers and funders. The 2026 edition selected 11 projects from 7 countries (Senegal, Togo, Cote d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Burundi). Apply by early March through the Krysalide Diffusion website.
For international programmers and buyers: The festival screens 44 films from 22 countries, with a strong concentration of African and diaspora documentary work that is rarely available on the international circuit. The Cafe-Rencontres and production forum provide direct access to filmmakers. All screenings are free and public, creating an engaged local audience of both general public and professionals.
Language context: The festival operates in French and Wolof. All non-French films must be subtitled in French. Filmmakers attending in person should expect French-language Q&As and professional events.
Festival History
StLouis'Docs was founded in 2003 in Saint-Louis, the first capital of French West Africa and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The festival emerged from Senegal's strong documentary tradition, which traces back to Ousmane Sembene, widely considered the father of African cinema, and continued through filmmakers like Mahama Johnson Traore, who co-founded FESPACO (the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou).
The festival has operated annually for 17 editions, maintaining its documentary-only focus throughout. Its organizers, Sunuy Films and Krysalide Diffusion, have built partnerships with the Senegalese Ministry of Culture through FOPICA, the Institut Français, and international cultural organizations. The festival's growth from a local event to a pan-African documentary platform reflects the broader expansion of African documentary filmmaking in the 21st century.
The 2026 edition marked a milestone when Mamadou Khouma Gueye became the first Senegalese filmmaker to win the Grand Prix, stating: "The first time Senegal wins the grand documentary prize, we did it with our own means, our intelligence, and our realities."
Practical Information
- 2026 dates (17th edition): April 28 - May 2, 2026
- Location: Saint-Louis, Senegal (outdoor venues, Institut Français, Centre Culturel le Château, Université Gaston Berger, schools)
- Submission fee: Free
- Submission deadline: January 31 (for 2026 edition)
- Project lab deadline: March 1 (for 2026 edition)
- Films screened: 44 from 22 countries (2026 edition)
- Competition films: 27 across national and international sections
- All screenings: Free to the public
- Language: French (French subtitles required for all non-French films)
- Organizers: Sunuy Films (Senegal) and Krysalide Diffusion (France)
- Funding: FOPICA (1-15 million FCFA range)
- Official information: Krysalide Diffusion | Creation Africa
See Also
For African cinema markets and co-production opportunities, see International Film Markets. For documentary filmmaking strategies, see Documentary Filmmaking Guide. For festival circuit planning, see Film Festival Strategy. Use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator to evaluate the cost-benefit of festival submissions. For the continent's largest pan-African festival, see FESPACO.
