Lorena Luciano’s ‘Nuns vs. the Vatican’ Wins DocLands Documentary Film Festival’s Audience Choice Award

The 2026 DocLands Documentary Film Festival wrapped on Sunday, with the Audience Choice Award going to director Lorena Luciano for Nuns vs. the Vatican.

The film follows Gloria, a former nun who breaks decades of silence to expose the sexual abuse perpetrated by a world-renowned priest, celebrated as the “Michelangelo” of the modern Catholic Church and courted by Popes and cardinals, and to confront the institutional systems built to protect power at any cost. Executive produced by Mariska Hargitay, Trish Adlesic, Lauran Bromley, Regina K. Scully, and Amanda Stephens, the documentary is a searing and galvanizing work of nonfiction filmmaking.

The festival opened on April 30 with the Bay Area Premiere of American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, directed by David Alvarado, and closed with the California Premiere of Jesse Lauter’s Little Feat: The Documentary, featuring never-before-seen footage and stories from iconic fans and friends, including Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, and Jackson Browne

“The 10th anniversary of DocLands was a unifying force,” comments the California Film Institute’s Founder and Executive Director Mark Fishkin. “Filmmakers and audiences bound by stories with something to say. Whether exploring the defining challenges of our time or the intimate moments that connect us, these films reminded us of our common humanity. Good storytelling transcends the screen. On this shared home we call Earth, that power matters. In my mind, that’s what the 2026 DocLands Documentary Film Festival reflected.”

“Gauging by the deep level of engagement by filmmakers and filmgoers alike, and the animated comments of appreciation for the film program, I feel a new level of success was achieved during DocLands’ 10th Anniversary,” added Joni Cooper, DocLands Director of Programming. “From the Opening Night Film American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez by director David Alvarado, to the Audience Choice Award winner Nuns vs. the Vatican by director Lorena Luciano, the films held the audiences in their seats, and the conversations were lively, hugely informative, and laced with entertaining, unexpected, and in some cases profound stories by the directors and special guests. If I had to name a theme, it would simply be inspiration, the kind that comes from stories of experience and discovery that only a documentary can tell.”