DIG Festival

About the network

DIG is a non-profit organisation, based in Italy, that explores the world’s current affairs through a radical and critical lens, and supports investigative journalism in all of its forms, around the world.

Through these efforts, DIG seeks to highlight voices and stories that are underrepresented or invisible in the mainstream media by inviting journalists, documentarians, whistleblowers, activists, writers, and artists to the stage. Their vocation is international: from 2015 to date they have welcomed 300 guests from more than 40 different countries.

The name stands for Documentari, Inchieste, Giornalismi (Italian for “Documentaries, “Investigations”, “Journalism”) and plays with the concept of digging for truth. The motto is “I wanna be your watchdog”.

Every year, the team organizes DIG Festival: a unique, free-of-charge gathering for the best of investigative and independent journalism from all over the world. The DIG Festival takes place every beginning of autumn in Modena, Italy.

A 4-days feast of film screenings, talks, awards and exhibitions, the DIG Festival has become one of the most important appointments for investigative journalism in Europe. 2024 will mark the 10th edition.

During the festival, they assign the DIG Awards, prestigious prizes to the best investigative documentaries, the best video reportages, the best investigative podcasts of the previous year; they also assign a €15,000 funding to a project in development through the DIG Pitch.

The chairmanship of the international jury, composed of relevant figures in the world of journalism, has been held over the years by distinguished figures such as writer and activist Naomi Klein, investigative journalists Gavin MacFadyen, Jeremy Scahill, and Günter Wallraff, reporter and writer Florence Aubenas, Oscar-nominee film director Alexander Nanau, photoreporter Paolo Pellegrin and director Mads Brügger.

Projects

The latest edition of DIG Festival brought more than 120 journalists, documentarists, whistleblowers, activists, writers and artists to the stage, to exchange ideas and share their stories. At the same time, the festival attracted a record number of visitors (10.000+) and reached a significant cultural impact in Italy, South and Central Europe, attracting a growing interest from partners and possible collaborators alike.

They also attract, on average, more than 500 submissions to the DIG Awards competition from 60+ countries and 5 continents.

Contact

Website: https://www.dig-awards.org
Name: DIG Board
Email: info@dig-awards.org