Doc Alliance has added the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival (GAIFF) to its lineup as the network’s guest festival for 2026. The move also signals the wrap of Doc Alliance’s 2025 guest-festival partnership with Punto de Vista.

The Yerevan-based festival will plug into Doc Alliance’s internal collaboration calendar, joining the group’s working sessions and shared initiatives across areas that currently shape the festival sector, from training and professional development to pathways for new filmmakers, XR curation, access and representation strategies, and greener operational models. On the awards side, GAIFF will put forward two titles, one short and one feature documentary, for consideration for the Doc Alliance Award, and will take part in selecting the 2026 jury.

Established in 2004, GAIFF has built its profile on international programming that treats cinema as a meeting point between communities and viewpoints. Its structure includes competitive sections with both international and regional focus, dedicated space for up-and-coming Armenian voices in shorter formats, and a wider range of sidebars that balance contemporary discovery with historically significant works. The festival’s curatorial approach routinely places documentary and fiction in conversation rather than separating them by format.

Doc Alliance’s core membership comprises seven European festivals, #CPH:DOX, #Doclisboa, #DOK Leipzig#, #FIDMarseille, #Ji.hlava IDFF#, #Millennium Docs Against Gravity#, and #Visions du Réel#, with one guest festival joining the network each year. Each partner, including the guest festival, contributes one short and one feature documentary to the Doc Alliance Award selection.

The 2026 shortlist is scheduled to be unveiled in late April, with the winners set to be announced at #Cannes Docs# during the Marché du Film, running May 12–20, 2026.