At the Blois 2026 Rendez-vous de l’histoire, a major history-themed event in France, the Prix Médias awarded the Grand Prix du documentaire ex-aequo, or shared top prize, to two documentary films: Haute solitude by Laurent Véray and Je n'avais que le néant. Shoah par Lanzmann by Guillaume Ribot. This decision marked a rare occurrence, as the jury commended the exceptionally high quality of the documentary submissions, leading them to divide the top honor between the two works. The event, which brings together historians, filmmakers, and scholars, is a significant platform for historical documentaries and their impact on public understanding of the past. Haute solitude explores the life of Jean Zay, a former French minister of Education and Fine Arts during the Popular Front government led by Léon Blum. Zay was arrested in Morocco in 1940 aboard the ship Massilia, along with other parliamentarians. Despite having resigned from his posts in 1939 to join the army, he was accused of desertion and condemned to deportation to French Guiana. His sentence was later reduced to internment in France due to the ongoing war. Historian and filmmaker Laurent Véray reconstructs Zay’s time in detention across several French cities, including Clermont-Ferrand and Marseille, until his assassination by the Milice, a French fascist militia, in 1944. The film uses photographs, letters, and modern images of the places where Zay was imprisoned to create a powerful visual representation of his inner thoughts and reflections during his time in captivity. Guillaume Ribot’s Je n'avais que le néant. Shoah par Lanzmann delves into the making of Shoah, the groundbreaking 1985 documentary by Claude Lanzmann. The film uses rushes—unedited footage from the original production—to reveal the creative process behind the film, including the challenges of finding witnesses and shaping the narrative over an eleven-year period across fourteen countries. It highlights the determination and complex decisions involved in producing what is widely regarded as one of the most important cinematic works about the Holocaust. For the Prix Georges-Duby, awarded to a documentary on a historical topic, Les Soldats français du Reich (Temps noir) by Jean Bulot was the winner. The film examines the roughly 30,000 French individuals who joined the Nazi forces during World War II, often motivated by anti-Bolshevik views, antisemitism, or personal gain. These individuals fought in various theaters of war, including the Soviet Union and Poland, and were involved in tracking down partisans, Jews, and those resisting France’s STO (compulsory labor service). The film is based on extensive archival research and expert analysis by historians, as well as testimonies from individuals with direct ties to the period. A special mention was given to L’Évangile de la révolution by François-Xavier Drouet, which explores the influence of engaged Catholicism and liberation theology in Latin America. The documentary highlights figures who have inspired movements in the name of a Christ opposed to injustice and oppression, using both historical and contemporary footage to illustrate the role of Christian values in the fight for social justice.