NEW YORK -- Two Nikkei video features received gold awards Thursday at Germany's 2026 WorldMediaFestivals, marking a first for a Japanese newspaper company.
Two documentaries from the NIKKEI Film video series received the recognition at the film festival. "The 'megadrought' striking the American Southwest" was awarded in the Documentary: Nature & Environment category, while "Free but unfair: Hungary, the European Union's outlier" was awarded in the Documentary: Social & Politics category.
Established in 2000, WorldMediaFestivals is one of Europe's largest international video competitions and counts news organizations and media companies from across the world as participants. This year, 803 works from 34 countries and regions were submitted. This is the first time a Japanese newspaper company has received an award at this competition.
"The 'megadrought' striking the American Southwest," released in December, follows a worsening water shortage in the U.S. due to climate change. Analyzing data from the past 40 years, the film visually represents the drought using a combination of 3D models and video. Through on-site reporting, it highlights the widespread effect on people's lives, agriculture and resource investment capital.
"Free but unfair: Hungary, the European Union's outlier," released in January 2025 in Japanese, reported on opposition to the authoritarian government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. It included interviews with the leader of the Tisza Party that won the general election last month and achieved a change of government, providing an early peek at that country's unfolding political situation.
NIKKEI Film is a documentary video series that emphasizes storytelling, covering complex international affairs, economic trends and world figures from a global perspective.
