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Documentary Feature Competition

The Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF) is dedicated to showcasing compelling and thought-provoking documentary films from around the world. The Documentary Feature Competition highlights the work of emerging filmmakers who bring powerful true stories to life through bold storytelling and fresh perspectives.

This category is open to documentary feature films that do not yet have U.S. distribution, providing a unique platform for new talent to share their work with engaged audiences, industry professionals, and fellow filmmakers. SIFF’s commitment to independent storytelling ensures that these impactful documentaries receive the recognition and visibility they deserve.

Set in the heart of California’s wine country, the Sonoma International Film Festival offers an inspiring environment where filmmakers and audiences come together to celebrate the art of documentary filmmaking.

Complete information on our documentary feature competition jury members and films in competition.

Jury Members

Rachel Rosen

Rachel Rosen is an independent film programmer and consultant based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently the West Coast Delegate and selection committee member for the New York Film Festival. She was Director of Programming for SFFILM for over a decade, overseeing curation of the San Francisco International Film Festival as well as year-round programs such as the annual Doc Stories festival. She previously served as Director of Programming for Film Independent and the Los Angeles Film Festival and has also worked for New York’s Film Forum Theater and TriStar Pictures. She is a graduate of Stanford University’s Master of Arts program in Documentary Film.

Brian Brooks

Brian Brooks serves as VP of Documentary Projects at Cinetic Marketing in New York, working with non-fiction titles primarily across the Awards spectrum including the Oscars. Prior to joining Cinetic, he spent nearly three decades in the film journalism space, working at Deadline as a reporter including two weekly columns. Before that, he worked at IndieWire from its early beginnings through the 2000s, overseeing the site’s daily editorial as Managing Editor. Brian co-produced several programs at Film at Lincoln Center including its popular year-round talk series with filmmakers and talent for several years. Brian has regularly attended film festivals throughout North America, Europe as well as Korea. He has served on festival juries at SXSW, Seattle, Denver, Sarasota, Cleveland and Florida Film Festivals.

Jaie Laplante

Jaie Laplante is Artistic Director of DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival. Prior to that, he served for 12 years as Miami Film Festival’s Executive Director & Director of Programming, where he greatly expanded documentary selections and launched successful initiatives such as Google Talks on Gender & Racial Gaps in Film & Technology. He has served on numerous film juries and is a recipient of Knight’s Cross of the Order of Isabel la Católica of Spain, for career work in the exploration of Spanish cinema.