The first edition of the festival was held in 1995 and until 2006 it was held once in two years. That time it was more like theoretic workshop not competition.
Since 2006 the festival officially became annual international documentary film festival with international competition jury and FIPRESCI jury.
The festival laureates are awarded in the following nominations:
- Grand Prix for the best documentary of the festival
- Award for the best long documentary
- Award for the best short documentary
- FIPRESCI Award

The international competition (18 films from 16 countries) including:
"Kinshasa Symphony"
Claus Wischmann, Martin Baer, Germany, 2010, 94 min
Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the third-largest city in Africa. Almost ten million people live here and they number among the poorest inhabitants on
this planet. Kinshasa is the home of Central Africa's one and only symphony orchestra - L'Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste. It is a film about the Congo, about the people of Kinshasa and about music.

"Mugabe and White African"
Andy Thompson, Lucy Bailey, UK, 90 min., 2010
An intimate and moving account of one Zimbabwe family's extraordinary courage in the face of overwhelming injustice and brutality.