LOS ANGELES (February 4, 2026) — The first responsibility of the artist is often said to be to the work itself. But documentary is unique in that it transcends creation alone. It listens before it speaks. It stands in relation — to people, to place, and to time. A documentarian accepts more than authorship. They carry responsibility for what unfolds before the camera, and for what endures after it leaves. Time is not a backdrop, but a collaborator — shaping trust, consequence, and care. 

The winners of the 14th Annual Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA 2026) affirm that cinema, when grounded in lived experience and ethical intention, holds responsibility beyond the frame. These works do not seek expression alone. Together, they move us toward a place where impact is not performed, but practiced. Selected from a global field spanning 43 countries, the 2026 SIMA Award Winners reflect a shared commitment to truth, accountability, and human dignity. Across form and geography, they confront power not by abstraction, but through proximity — honoring stories earned through patience and presence.

“These films ask a great deal of us — and reward us with something rare and profound. At a moment of ongoing uncertainty for our field, I have never been more inspired by the courage, craft, and emotional precision of this year’s SIMA Award winners,” said Daniela Kon Lieberberg, Founder & CEO of SIMA. “They are fearless and deeply cinematic, they transform how you see the world. To the filmmakers: you’re redefining what impact filmmaking can be, and we’re in awe of your work and honored to champion it.”

Selected by an international jury of leaders across film, journalism, social impact, global development, and education, the SIMA 2026 Winners reflect a rigorous, values-driven evaluation of storytelling, art, and real-world impact. The jury’s selections include three Academy Award–nominated documentaries — CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS (اوزاک یوللار), ALL THE EMPTY ROOMS, and CHILDREN NO MORE: WERE AND ARE GONE — underscoring the convergence of artistic excellence and ethical storytelling across this year’s winners.

At the highest honors, CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS (اوزاک یوللار), directed by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, received both Best Feature Documentary and Best Director. The film unfolds within entrenched structures of tradition and authority, exploring the cost of progress and the courage required to imagine change from within. Among other feature documentary winners, craft excellence was further recognized by the jury through CHAMPIONS OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY (Best Cinematography), SHUFFLE (Best Editing and the Lens to Action Jury Prize, Sponsored by Ethologics), and VIKTOR (Best Sound Editing) honoring films where form deepens meaning.

In the Short Documentary category, the jury recognized works that distill complex realities into concentrated, human-scale narratives. Among the winners, ALL THE EMPTY ROOMS (Best Short Documentary), THE QUILTERS (Best Director), and CHILDREN NO MORE: WERE AND ARE GONE (Best Editing and Ethos Jury Prize, Sponsored by Ethologics) approach memory, labor, loss, and dignity with restraint and moral clarity — demonstrating the capacity of short-form nonfiction to hold depth and urgency without compromise. The jury also honored HOW TO SUE THE KLAN with the Systemic Change Award (Sponsored by The Foundation for Systemic Change), for best illustrating how sustained, responsible strategies and long-term structural solutions can create lasting change. 

As storytelling continues to expand beyond traditional formats, the jury recognized work that explores new ways audiences encounter, understand, and engage with the world. This year’s Impact Video winners — IMILLA SKATE: THE CHOLITA SKATERS OF BOLIVIA, FREEDOM (UHURU), CLASSROOM 4, and 51ST STATE — were honored for their artistic advocacy and advancing innovative approaches to how social impact is communicated and practiced. Looking toward emerging tools shaping the future of nonfiction, HEARING THEIR VOICES by Generative AI For Good received the inaugural SIMA Impact AI Award, recognizing the ethical use of generative AI to securely amplify survivor testimony. In the Impact XR category, immersive and interactive works, EMPATHY CREATURE and LESS THAN 5GR OF SAFFRON were awarded for deepening embodied engagement and expanding empathy. 

Extending beyond individual works, the Impact Campaign Award winners highlighted how cinema, when strategically deployed, can translate storytelling into sustained, real-world change. SONGS FROM THE HOLE received the Legacy Award for an exemplary, field-defining impact campaign that was not only community-led, but structurally transformative, centering the lived experience and leadership of currently and formerly incarcerated people, and embedding the film within long-term systems of healing, education, and justice reform. ASOG was honored with the Catalyst Award and Humble Lion Jury Prize (Sponsored by Media for Change), recognized, not only for the scale of its outcomes, but for its principled, community-governed approach—demonstrating how impact campaigns can function as instruments of justice, dignity, and lasting change for communities too often excluded from traditional pathways to redress.

That commitment to longevity and ethical practice was further reflected in the Production Company awards, which honor the organizations behind the work. MULTITUDE FILMS received the Vital Voices Award for the fourth time in the awards’ history, and OPTIMIST was recognized with the Creative Impact Award, acknowledging leadership that pairs creative excellence with responsibility across the field.

For over fourteen years, SIMA has championed storytelling at the intersection of creative excellence and social impact. Since 2012, SIMA has served as a global platform for filmmakers pushing the boundaries of form and access while amplifying voices too often excluded from mainstream attention. In a time when image is abundant and trust is fragile, SIMA films exemplify what it means to create with authenticity. The SIMA 2026 Finalists and Winners are now eligible for consideration in Cinema Across Borders, SIMA’s traveling screening series reaching communities in 30+ countries, as well as SIMA Academy, the organization’s award-winning education platform engaging 160,000+ students across 100+ countries. 

MEDIA CONTACT 

Erinn Sullivan, CCIO

media@simaawards.org

SPONSORS

SIMA’s Sponsors are committed to the collaborative effort of honoring the most thought-provoking documentary films of our time. The 14th Annual SIMA Awards are powered by SIMA STUDIOS, The Foundation for Systemic Change, Media for Change, Ethologics, FIPADOC – International Documentary Festival, International Documentary Association (IDA), Firelight Media & Firelight Films, DC/DOX Festival, Double Exposure Film Festival, Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC), Documentary Australia, The Good Media Network, Women’s Voices Now, Doc Edge, and Docubox.