Another international success for Paweł Chorzępa’s “The Tuners”! The short documentary has won the top prize for Best International Short Film at the 21st DocsMX – International Documentary Film Festival of Mexico City. The award marks another major achievement in the film’s remarkable festival journey. “The Tuners” continues to earn recognition from audiences and juries around the world.

DocsMX is one of the leading documentary film festivals in Mexico and Latin America. Established in 2006, the festival provides a platform for showcasing and promoting non-fiction cinema, while also supporting film education, audience development and international collaboration within the documentary community. This year’s 21st edition features productions from around the world across seven competitive sections. “The Tuners” was selected for Fragmentos Internacionales, the festival’s international short film competition.

The Mexican award is the latest milestone in the documentary’s extraordinary international journey. “The Tuners” had its world premiere at FIPADOC in France, before screening at festivals including the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and the Tampere Film Festival in Finland, ahead of its appearance in Krakow.

At the 66th Krakow Film Festival, the documentary won the Silver Dragon for Best Short Documentary. The distinction carries particular significance: “The Tuners” won the Silver Dragon for Best Short Documentary at the Krakow Film Festival, which is a Qualifying Film Festival for the 99th Oscars® in the Documentary Short Film category.

Another triumph followed shortly afterwards, this time in Indonesia. At the Bali International Film Festival – Balinale, the documentary received two awards: Best Short Documentary and the festival’s top short film honour, the Best Short Film Award. “The Tuners” won the Best Short Film Award at the Bali International Film Festival.

The film went on to achieve further success in Japan. At the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia in Tokyo, one of Asia’s leading short film festivals, “The Tuners” received the Non-Fiction Best Short Award.

And the documentary’s success in Japan did not end there. In October, “The Tuners” won the Best Documentary Award at the 21st Sapporo International Short Film Festival & Market.

The film continues to build an impressive presence on the international festival circuit, having been selected for competitions at the Norwegian Short Film Festival, Doc Edge in New Zealand, Alcine in Spain, the Kerry International Film Festival in Ireland, the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival in South Korea, CinEast in Luxembourg and the Tripoli Film Festival in Lebanon.

Its journey across the United States has been equally remarkable. American audiences have had the opportunity to discover “The Tuners” at festivals including DC/DOX in Washington, D.C., Palm Springs International ShortFest, the Indy Shorts International Film Festival in Indianapolis and Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival. In October, the documentary also competed at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, the longest-running documentary film festival in North America.

Another important stop lies ahead: in November, “The Tuners” will have its New York premiere at the prestigious DOC NYC. The documentary has been selected for Short List: Shorts, a programme showcasing short films attracting considerable attention on the international festival circuit and in the running for the most prestigious film awards. Shortly before that, the film will be screened at Doc Stories – the documentary section of the famous San Francisco Film Festival, where it has been selected thanks to a collaboration with the New York Times’ Op-Docs. Prior to this, the film will also be screened at the In-Edit Barcelona International Music Documentary Film Festival, the 44th Sulmona International Film Festival in Italy, the SCANORAMA European Film Festival in Vilnius, the St. Louis International Film Festival in the USA, and the Alcine 55 Festival de Cine de Alcalá de Henares in Spain.

Also in November, the international documentary industry will get to see the film during the Market Screenings as part of IDFA Industry.

“The Tuners” takes viewers behind the scenes of the International Chopin Piano Competition, where another intense rivalry unfolds away from the spotlight, alongside the performances of the world’s finest pianists. For days and nights, expert tuners representing leading piano manufacturers work tirelessly to achieve the perfect sound, hoping that their instrument will be chosen by the competition’s eventual winner.

The film is produced by Joanna Chorzępa of Bees Film House, with KFF Sales handling its international festival distribution.

NOVEMBER 2026