Boston’s all-documentary film festival continues online through November 2 following five days of in-person screenings and events.
BOSTON, Oct. 30, 2025 — The GlobeDocs Film Festival, Boston’s all-documentary festival, announced the winners of the 2025 Audience Awards. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, directed by Academy Award® nominee Oren Jacoby, won Best Documentary Feature, and Best Documentary Short Film was awarded to YOUR OPINION, PLEASE, directed by Marshall Granger. This recognition includes a cash prize of $1,000 and $500, respectively, for each of the awards.
Each year, filmgoers at the festival have the opportunity to vote for the best feature-length documentary and best short documentary among all in-person screenings. Audiences at this year’s festival selected from six shorts and 11 feature-length titles.
Jacoby’s THIS IS NOT A DRILL offers a look into three fearless grassroots leaders who confront Big Oil in the battle against environmental racism. In a fight for a renewable future, they prove that everyday people can change the course of history. Director Oren Jacoby, producer Betsy West, and film subject Peter Gill Case attended GlobeDocs to celebrate the film’s New England Premiere and participated in an audience Q&A. Premiering earlier this year at the Telluride Film Festival, the film is currently seeking distribution.
Granger’s YOUR OPINION, PLEASE shows the lyrical portrait of a more innocent time, when listeners across Montana call into Yellowstone Public Radio to express their views on everything from state politics to the Iraq war to the meaning of poetry, as America entered the new millennium. The film’s television/streaming premiere will occur on November 18 as part of the long-running PBS series POV.
This year, GlobeDocs also celebrated local talent through the Emerging Filmmaker contest where filmmakers ages 18–25 were encouraged to submit a short original film to be featured in this year’s festival. This year’s winner, GEORGE’S YARD SALE, directed by Tufts University student Ray Feinleib, was screened as part of the Local Shorts Program at The Brattle Theatre.
“We’re inspired that the GlobeDocs audience was drawn to these impactful films about highly engaged members of the community letting their voices be heard,” said Lisa Viola, Director of Programming for GlobeDocs. “We believe both stories will continue to resonate and have an empowering effect on their communities.”
The GlobeDocs Film Festival continues online through Sunday, November 2, with virtual screenings of four feature-length films, two shorts programs, and six recorded filmmaker Q&As. Tickets and passes are available at Globe.com/filmfest and the films can be streamed from anywhere in the U.S.
In-person screenings took place October 22 through October 26 at the Coolidge Corner Theatre (Brookline, MA), Brattle Theatre (Cambridge, MA), and Alamo Drafthouse Boston Seaport. This year’s lineup highlighted a wide range of current topics including investigative journalism and photojournalism, the environment, sports, LGBTQ+ and women’s issues, scientific innovations, healthcare, addiction and mental health, history, politics, the arts, BIPOC voices, and social justice. Additionally, filmmakers from around the globe joined to celebrate their work and stories, engaging in thoughtful discussions with the GlobeDocs audiences and accomplished Boston Globe journalists. Notable guests of the festival included: Tasha van Zandt (Director) – A Life Illuminated, Dr. Edith Widder (Participant) – A Life Illuminated, Sebastian Zeck (Producer) – A Life Illuminated, Robb Moss (Director) – The Bend in the River, Thorsten Thielow (Director of Photography) – Love+War, Brandon Millett (Director) – CROFT, 2024 Audience Award Winner Lisa Olivieri (Director) – Recovery City, Steven Ascher (Co-Director) – Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern, Jeanne Jordan (Co-Director) – Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern, Steven Hathaway (Producer) – Separated, The Pigeon Tunnel, Erin Trahan (Co-Director) – Dukakis: Recipe for Democracy, Jeff Schmidt (Co-Director) – Dukakis: Recipe for Democracy, Al Crockett (Director) – Body of Noise, Anna Carroll (Director) – The POMtastics, Jeremy S. Levine (Director) – The Return, Kely Maloney (Director) – Keytar Bear, Lorin Granger (Director of Photography) – Your Opinion, Please, Mac Hudson (Director) – Massissippi, Nina Ruggero (Director) – Buzz, Ray Feinleib (Director) – George’s Yard Sale, and Sara Hendren (Director) – Simple Machine.
The presenting sponsor of GlobeDocs 2025 is Cross Insurance. To stay updated on GlobeDocs news and events throughout the year, subscribe to the newsletter here.
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