Each year, this programme tracks the phenomena and tendencies that mark documentary work on streaming services. We have watched the process begin and expand. Now, in 2026, it is fair to say documentary is in bloom on almost every Russian platform. The interesting change is not only that non-fiction projects have multiplied, or that the quality has gone up, but that the focus and the subjects have shifted.

As to quantity: beside the films-about-films and films-about-series that now accompany almost every notable fiction project, stand-alone pictures keep arriving, and they increasingly claim an author’s voice. New names have appeared — even in our programme we see familiar faces: directors, producers, and writers who have taken part in the Industry Day before.

As far as quality goes: documentary films and series make ever more use of the newest technology. Special effects that illustrate the thoughts of authors and subjects, reconstructions, animation, AI models. These are real innovations and deserve a conversation of their own. Apart stands the question of a substituted reality — for instance, more documentary authors now work with archives and bring them to life with AI. Where is the line drawn?

We will discuss this and much more at a roundtable during Industry Day, after a run of especially telling new documentary projects from streaming platforms. We will show both completed films and works in progress. Every screening will be a premiere. The change of subject has been both a surprise and, in retrospect, obvious. Streaming documentaries once focused on entertainment, sport, music, and lifestyle. What has come forward now is particular human experiences and historical events — not the flashy or official ones, but themes that used to go unspoken, and that many would like to rethink. Drama has moved to the front in documentary as well.

The dramaturgy of the narrative has changed. So has the tone of how the audiences are addressed. The films have grown deeper; they give ground for thought and speak of what concerns people right now. Relevance has become an important criterion of the conversation. All of this is reflected in the 2026 curated programme of Russian streaming content.

Susanna Alperina