This winter, the Castlemaine Documentary Festival looks for the light.

A Festival Pass gives you access to all 11 sessions over 3 days and nights, including live music, hosted conversations and immersive documentary experiences, all woven through this year’s theme, Love – The Antidote.

ALL FESTIVAL PASS PURCHASES FROM MAY 30th will not be guaranteed a seat at the Friday 8 pm LOCALS screening. If this is the case, you will be offered a pass to our encore screening ( TBA).

Across the weekend of June 26-28, you’ll find documentaries that stay with you, conversations sparked, a porridge breakfast with Duang, a film that turns into a party with DJ Jen Moore, hot soup cooking throughout the weekend, with CDoc special cocktails on offer and access to specials from our friends:

Theatre Royal: $30 Pizza deal Pizza + house wine (one per pass holder per day).
Love Shack: 10% off a meal (one per pass holder per day).
Love Shack: A free pot or glass of wine (one per pass holder per day).

Love – the Antidote is the guiding theme for CDoc 2026, and a declaration that what is required of us now is a return to our shared humanity. Across three days and nights, the festival will present documentaries that value connection and curiosity above certainty and division. Stories that celebrate community, courage and care. Stories that let in the light.

You’ll watch films from across the globe, sitting alongside our Local stories made by local filmmakers from right here in Central Victoria.