Twenty-seven feature documentaries and six shorts from around the world screened over five days. On 30 November, the 10th edition of Moldox — the documentary film festival for social change — wrapped up in Chișinău.
Around 5,000 viewers attended the festival, with twice as many tickets sold compared to last year. Full houses at opening and closing screenings, six Moldovan documentaries competing for the Green Vine Award, a concert, two exhibitions, parties, public talks on social issues, Q&A sessions — this year’s theme, “Chaos,” brought teachers and students, parents and children, ambassadors, lawyers, civic activists and, of course, filmmakers into the cinema.
The festival’s film selection — coming from every corner of the world, from Sudan and Tunisia to France, Sweden and Moldova — explored Chaos in its many forms: war, migration, violence, femicide, propaganda and discrimination.
Marking its anniversary year, Moldox Festival introduced several premieres — in programming, in partnerships, in special events and, for the first time, in a national documentary competition — with over 20 international guests involved in mentorship and jury duties.
This year’s lineup included films awarded in Venice, Thessaloniki, Sundance, Berlin and Amsterdam. 2025 also became the first year Moldox partnered with ARTE TV’s online platform, the European Franco-German cultural broadcaster, with the documentary magazine Modern Times Review, and with the Cărturești bookstore network. Together they opened a pre-festival exhibition of Moldox posters from all 10 editions, and launched a special Moldox bookshelf at Cărturești featuring the team’s selection of titles on photography, cinema, history, art and — naturally — chaos in all its forms.
Festival Premieres
A major first this year was the national documentary competition, judged by independent international experts. The Green Vine Award — a €1,000 prize offered by one of the festival’s strategic partners, the Innovate Moldova Project funded by Sweden and the United Kingdom — was awarded to director Olga Lucovnicova for her documentary Last Letters from My Grandma. Symbolising energy, growth and vitality, the Green Vine Award aims to encourage new directions and new projects in Moldovan documentary filmmaking.
The six films selected for the competition showcased impressive quality — prompting the jury to also award a Special Mention to director Marina Sulima for her documentary Consider a Tomato.
But the Moldox premieres didn’t stop there. For the first time, the opening ceremony was moderated entirely by Artificial Intelligence, while the closing ceremony was entirely human — emotional and warm — bringing on stage friends of the festival going back ten years.
What Moldox Festival means for filmmakers and for society
Moldox 2025 was more than a film selection — it was an invitation to collective reflection. The theme “Chaos. Reinventing Reality” resonated with urgent contemporary issues: conflict, migration, social crises, but also the need for rebuilding, solidarity and healing.
The Green Vine competition offers a real platform for emerging Moldovan filmmakers — a space for recognition and potential international visibility, contributing actively to the growth of Moldova’s documentary film scene.
The anniversary poster exhibition and the educational program (masterclasses, discussions, curated film and reading lists) reflect Moldox’s long-term vision — not only as a film festival, but as a cultural and social project capable of bringing communities, ideas and hopes together.
Thank you to all partners, donors and friends who made this edition possible. See you in 2026!