Atlanta Documentary Film Festival
ATL DOC - Atlanta Documentary Film Festival
ATL DOC is Atlanta’s documentary film festival with more than twenty years of history. It screens documentary features and shorts from Georgia filmmakers and from the wider indie film community. The focus is simple. Share real stories from Atlanta, the South, and around the world.
About Atlanta Documentary Film Festival
ATL DOC
ATL DOC, formerly Atlanta Docufest, is the Southeast’s longest running documentary film festival. For more than twenty years, the festival has been a home for films that tell the truth, start conversations, and bring people together.
Each March, ATL DOC brings documentary features and shorts to Atlanta from Georgia filmmakers and from storytellers around the world. The festival highlights local work, global issues, personal stories, arts films, investigative projects, and experimental documentaries that push the form.
We program documentary features, documentary shorts, student films, and Made in Georgia work. The goal is simple. Show films that matter and connect communities through real stories.
After more than two decades, ATL DOC remains one of the key documentary film festivals in Atlanta and the Southeast. If you’re searching for Atlanta documentary festivals or planning to submit your film, this is where filmmakers and audiences meet each year.
Award Categories:
ATL DOC honors outstanding documentary films and filmmakers with our signature crystal trophies, awarded in the following core categories:
Best Feature Documentary – Top honor for a feature-length documentary.
Best Short Documentary – Recognizes excellence in a short documentary.
Best Local Documentary – For a standout Georgia-made documentary.
Best Student Documentary – Honors exceptional student work.
Best Director - Feature – For outstanding direction in a feature documentary.
Best Director - Short - For outstanding direction in a short documentary.
Jury Award - Feature – Selected by the festival jury for overall excellence in a feature.
Jury Award - Short – Selected by the festival jury for overall excellence in a short.
Audience Choice Award - Feature – Chosen by festival audiences for favorite feature.
Audience Choice Award - Short – Chosen by festival audiences for favorite short.
Documentary Spirit Award – For a film that embodies the heart of ATL DOC.
Emerging Voice Award – For a rising filmmaker showing strong potential.
Visionary Filmmaker Award – For an original and bold creative vision.
Innovative Filmmaking Award – For creativity and experimentation in form.
Selected winners will receive a one-of-a-kind crystal award and featured recognition across our platforms.
We’re proud to celebrate powerful stories and the filmmakers behind them. Winning an award at Atlanta Docufest is more than a trophy - it’s a platform.
Why filmmakers submit to Atlanta Doc
• The festival has more than twenty years of history in Atlanta’s documentary film community.
• It is the Southeast’s longest running documentary film festival.
• Filmmakers know their work will screen for audiences that care about real stories.
• The lineup includes features, shorts, student films, and Made in Georgia projects, so many types of documentaries fit here.
• The festival programs investigative work, arts films, social issue stories, and experimental documentaries.
• ATL DOC gives filmmakers a focused platform each March in Atlanta with solid attendance and engaged viewers.
• It’s one of the key places in Georgia for documentary filmmakers to connect with other artists and meet new audiences.