Cph:dox, the internationally-renowned nonfiction film festival in Copenhagen, is confronting a dramatically altered geopolitical order, one that threatens the values of freedom of expression upon which the documentary field is founded.

The theme of this year’s festival, decided several months ago, centers on “the state of human rights, civil liberties, and the international rule of law,” festival artistic director Niklas Engstrøm tells Deadline. “We thought it would be very, very timely. I think it became even more timely than we had prepared ourselves for with what is happening right now with the U.S. [Trump] administration de facto trying to change the world order.”

“Talking from a European perspective,” Engstrøm continues, “it’s clear that what the U.S. administration is doing at the moment is really, really impacting Europe in profound ways, and European countries are taking it extremely seriously.”

The festival convened its first ever summit this week,...