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Film Festivals in Copenhagen
CPH:DOX
Denmark's capital, a compact, design-forward city on the Oresund known for its cycling culture, New Nordic food scene, major art museums, and a calendar of music, film and fashion events through the year.
Run by Copenhagen Film Festivals, with published dates and a real program.
Dates & details verified against: Official event site ↗
Why here
CPH:DOX is the largest documentary film festival in Scandinavia and one of the most important on the international non-fiction calendar. Held across Copenhagen's cinemas each March, it fills the city for around twelve days with more than 200 new documentaries, plus debates, live talks, concerts, exhibitions and an industry forum that draws film-makers and commissioners from around the world. Run since 2008 by Copenhagen Film Festivals, it has built a reputation for creative, boundary-pushing documentary rather than safe television fare, and its competitions regularly host world premieres. For a traveller it is a chance to watch the year's most talked-about documentaries alongside the audiences and directors who made them, in a compact, walkable city at a quiet time of year. The 2025 edition drew more than 150,000 admissions.
Best months
The festival runs in March, when Copenhagen is still cold and often grey, which is part of why a week in the dark of a cinema suits it. Screenings are spread across cinemas around the city, many with English subtitles and post-film Q and A sessions. Popular titles and talks sell out, so buy tickets or a pass once the programme lands. It is an indoor festival, so weather is no obstacle.
Getting there & around
Venues sit across central Copenhagen and its neighbourhoods, all reachable by Metro, bike or on foot. Buy single tickets or a festival pass online once the programme is published; screenings with directors present go fast. March is low season, so city stays and flights are easier to come by than in summer.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Copenhagen Film Festivals
OrganizerThe organisation behind CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, which it has run since 2008 alongside the children's festival BUSTER. CPH:DOX is the largest documentary festival in Scandinavia, filling cinemas across the city each March with more than 200 new films plus debates, live talks, concerts and exhibitions. The 2025 edition drew more than 150,000 admissions, and its competitions premiere films from around the world.