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CPH:DOX, also known as Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival, has teamed with European Film Promotion for Europe! Docs for a second-year. The objective for the showcase is to spotlight outstanding European documentaries and boosting market access in North America.

The online showcase, which takes place ahead of the festival, is designed to generate early buzz and attract industry attention. It is jointly curated by EFP and the CPH:DOX programming team.

The showcase presents U.S. buyers and distributors with six European documentaries from this year’s CPH:DOX lineup. All films are world premieres and screened in the festival’s flagship competition section, DOX:AWARD. They have been selected to highlight “the diversity and creative strength of contemporary European documentary filmmaking.”

“Continuing our collaboration with CPH:DOX is a real pleasure,” said Sonja Heinen, managing director of EFP. “In its second year, Europe! Docs provides a unique platform connecting European filmmakers directly with key North American industry players. By showcasing carefully selected films ahead of the festival, we create early visibility and open the door to new partnerships, reinforcing our commitment to bringing European cinema further and making a real impact in the U.S. market.”

Mara Gourd-Mercado, head of industry and training at CPH:DOX, said: “We’re very happy to continue building Europe! Docs together with EFP in 2026. The initiative adds real value to CPH:Market by giving outstanding European documentaries early exposure to U.S. buyers and decision-makers, while creating space for meaningful exchange around the films. It’s an important step in strengthening international pathways for European non-fiction and further underlines CPH:Industry as a key meeting point for the global documentary sector. We’re looking forward to another strong and inspiring showcase.”

Resurfaced decades after it was shot, Nathan Grossman’s “Amazomania” (Sweden, France, Denmark, 2026) revisits footage from a 1996 expedition to document the isolated Korubo people triggering a renewed examination of that first contact and the implications that followed.

Honored with the Kompagnon-Fellowships Prize (Berlinale Talent 2020), “Arctic Link” (Switzerland, 2026) is Ian Purnell’s hybrid documentary and visual essay, moving between a fiber-optic cable-laying vessel and a remote Alaskan community where hopes for connection collide with fears of dystopian change made possible by the realities of climate change.

Told from the inside, Karl Friis Forchhammer’s “Christiania” (Denmark, 2026) traces 50 years of Copenhagen’s experiment in freedom and consensus democracy, where radical creativity and idealism exist alongside violence, drugs, internal conflict, and mounting pressure from the outside world.

“The Cord” by Nolwenn Hervé (France, 2026) focuses on Venezuela. In a broken health system where life hangs by a thread, Carolina rises as a “maternity warrior.” Drawing strength from her past, she relentlessly preserves the vital cord between pregnant women and their babies. “The Cord” received the IDFA Forum Award for Best Rough Cut Project for its “raw emotional power and intimate approach.”

Shot on 16mm, Pieter-Jan De Pue’s “Mariinka” (Belgium 2026), selected as the opening film of CPH:DOX 2026, is a long-term documentary following several young Ukrainians whose lives have been shaped by more than a decade of war in the Donbas “where survival, belonging, and national loyalty can fracture even family ties.”

British-Romanian filmmaker Rachel Close’s “Something Familiar” (Romania, U.K., 2026), winner of the Cineuropa Marketing Award and first place in the Romanian CNC Development Fund in 2022, begins as Close helps a fellow adoptee search for her birth mother, before launching her own search for missing sisters and confronting a family legacy of abuse and exploitation in an attempt to write a new script for the future.

In addition to the showcase, Europe! Docs includes a press and promotion campaign, featuring an online press event with leading industry media, as well as “tailor-made industry preparation for participating filmmakers, offering guidance on U.S. market strategies and targeted introductions.” On-site at the festival, the program also offers an in-person networking event at CPH:Forum, facilitating face-to-face meetings between European filmmakers and North American decision-makers.

Tucked away in a quiet corner of North London sits the iconic Abbey Road Studios — a pillar of history where recorded music began in 1931, the Beatles found their artistic home and the world’s most celebrated artists still come to create new hits. Though tourists flock to the street crossing just outside where the Beatles shot their 1969 “Abbey Road” cover, the studio itself is closed to the public and shrouded in secrecy. However, on Saturday night, down in the basement that houses Studio One, Abbey Road hosted its first-ever rave for 300 lucky guests.

For music fans, walking inside the studio’s famed wooden double-doors is like stepping into the Vatican. Even in the reception, bits of music history are everywhere — decades-old gear, signed posters from James Bond movies that recorded their iconic opening songs there and black-and-white photographs of all the legends who have graced the storied halls, from the Beatles to Oasis to Frank Ocean. Though just touring the building would have been exciting enough, on Saturday night Studio One — Abbey Road’s biggest space, typically used for recording film soundtracks — was transformed into a dance hall.

Behind the operation were David and Stephen Dewaele — the Belgian brothers and electronic pioneers better known as Soulwax — who were shocked when Mark Robertson, Abbey Road’s director of marketing and creative, came to them with the idea. “We were surprised they even knew who we were,” David says with a laugh, speaking to Variety on Zoom from Abbey Road two days before the event.

“You rarely get the chance to be in one of the most iconic studios in the world and get sort of a carte blanche to do whatever you want to do — and then have it culminate into the first-ever rave, which we hope is not going to be the last,” Stephen adds.

Officially titled Abbey Road After Hours, the Dewaele brothers headlined the event under their DJ moniker 2ManyDJs, with friends Erol Alkan and Laima Leyton warming up the crowd. Though many attendees were in the industry, free tickets were raffled off through a hotline that fans could call beginning two weeks before. “About 8,000 people tried,” Stephen reveals. “Shit, really?!” David responds.

“It’s been weird because there’s all these names being added and they’re artists you know and you’re like, ‘We can’t put them on the list!’” Stephen continues. “That’s how it should be with a rave, no? Or we’ll see Paul McCartney come in and go, ‘Oh no…’”

Though the rave started out tame, with only a small group dancing at the front, once 2ManyDJs took to the decks things quickly got sweaty. After playing dance favorites including their remix of Marie Davidson’s “Work It” and vamped-up versions of Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record),” Blur’s “Girls & Boys” and the Rapture’s “House of Jealous Lovers,” the Dewaeles debuted a brand-new Soulwax track that they recorded in Abbey Road’s Studio Two the day before and pressed onto vinyl with the in-house machine.

Soulwax had a “full-on geek fest” recording the track, Stephen says. They used the same grand piano the Beatles and Pink Floyd recorded on and rare stereo microphones, in addition to their own electronic equipment. A big part of their set-up on the night was their Deewee sound system, consisting of four huge speaker stacks in each corner of Studio One for an all-encompassing, soul-pounding sound.

“Most modern clubs have basically maximized the amount of volume and power that you can get out of small speakers. So normally they have what’s called array sound — it’s a lot of stuff hanging at different points all over the place and then subs and that’s how the sound is divided,” David explains. “Whereas what we’re using is a very old-school approach, which is gigantic towers of speakers. They’re humongous.”

The night was filmed and will be broadcast on YouTube on March 5, not unlike the popular “Boiler Room” series. However, Stephen says it will focus more on the historic aspect of the event and less on those behind the DJ booth.

“For a lot of people, this place is the crossing outside, it’s the Beatles. But there’s so much more here, and I think a lot of people forget that this is the first place where music was being recorded,” Stephen says. “Dave and me have been in a couple studios around the world, but there’s something about this one because so much of the musical DNA that we’ve been inspired by comes from this building.”

So, will there be more raves inside Abbey Road? Though Soulwax’s night didn’t go off without a hitch — the event ended 15 minutes earlier than planned due to a noise complaint, and one attendee was removed for rowdy behavior — the Dewaele brothers are hopeful.

“Mark [Robertson, Abbey Road director of creative and marketing] was saying he would like this to be a thing where once in a while we come in and come up with some weird ideas,” Stephen says. “And I was like, ‘Well, we could definitely do that, but I don’t know if you’re gonna like it!’”

Adds David with a smile: “To their credit, they really want us to push the limits, which is cool.”

Banijay Entertainment has struck a partnership with Yoshimoto Kogyo, one of Japan’s largest entertainment groups and the creator behind global phenomenon “LOL: Last One Laughing,” to acquire global format rights to long-running comedic challenge series “You Laugh You Lose.”

Under the deal, Banijay Entertainment will lead adaptations across its 23 territories, with Yoshimoto retaining distribution responsibilities everywhere else.

The show, which has been on Japanese screens since its 2006 debut on Nippon TV, puts a group of comedians through a grueling 24-hour challenge set inside an immersive real-world environment. Each participant plays a character as the day’s situations grow progressively more elaborate – but the one rule that never changes is that nobody is permitted to crack a smile. Do so, and a comedic forfeit kicks in immediately. Unannounced celebrity guests and a steady stream of increasingly absurd scenarios keep the stakes – and the suppressed laughter – ratcheting up until the very end.

The pickup deepens Banijay’s already significant footprint in comedy formats. The company currently produces “LOL: Last One Laughing” through its labels in 11 markets worldwide, and the Yoshimoto deal signals a continued appetite for proven formats in the genre.

“‘You Laugh You Lose’ is a blockbuster comedy classic in Japan,” said James Townley, chief content officer of development at Banijay Entertainment. “It’s playful, unpredictable, and packed with international potential. The 24-hour scenario delivers escalating comedic tension, and the instant penalty gag adds a hilarious format beat. It is incredibly adaptable and complements our portfolio, offering our labels, and clients, a chance to craft a locally distinctive, market-defining hit.”

Hiroshi Fujiwara, director and vice president of Yoshimoto Kogyo, added: “We are truly honored to be working with Banijay Entertainment, home to one of the world’s largest production networks, to drive the international expansion of ‘You Laugh You Lose’ (No Laughing).’ We are proud to count it among Japan’s most popular variety shows, and we look forward to audiences around the world enjoying the format.”

Helen Greatorex, head of format acquisitions at Banijay Entertainment, negotiated the deal. The title slots into Banijay’s third-party showcase for London Screenings 2026, a lineup that also features “Werewolves,” a strategic reality format from Studiocanal and Dreamspark; “Ninja Warrior,” sourced from Tokyo Broadcasting System; and “All Star Hide and Seek,” a digital-first entry from Troot and Rabbit Film.

At the screenings, those acquired titles will share the stage with Banijay’s own new formats, among them “Football Island,” “100 Knives,” “How Old Is Your Brain?,” “Staying Alive,” “The Dinner,” “Who’s Guilty?” and “DecoMasters.”