StLouis'Docs - Saint-Louis International Documentary Film Festival

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

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.