Ukrainian documentary Traces and Egyptian feature Aisha Can’t Fly Away won the top jury prizes at the 2026 Movies That Matter Festival, which unveiled the winners of its 21st edition on Wednesday night in The Hague.

The Grand Jury Documentary Award went to Traces, directed by Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk. The film follows six women who survived sexual violence and torture during Russia’s war in Ukraine, led by activist Iryna Dovgan in a search for justice and recognition. The win also makes the title eligible for Academy Award consideration in the best documentary feature category.

The Grand Jury Fiction Award was presented to Morad Mostafa’s Aisha Can’t Fly Away, set in Cairo’s Ain Shams neighbourhood and centred on a Sudanese caregiver caught between precarity, coercion and the hope of a better life. A special mention in the fiction section went to Akio Fujimoto’s Lost Land, billed by the festival as the first feature shot in the Rohingya language.

Elsewhere, Cutting Through Rocks by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni won the Activist Lens Award, Jérôme Clément-Wilz’s This Is My Body took the Justice Frame Award, Tom Fassaert’s Between Brothers won Dutch Focus, and Lujain Jo’s Rahhala: Hayya ala Hayya was named best short.