Blame: Major award nomination, release in cinemas, US premiere!
Official press photo for Blame, a movie documentary by Christian Frei. Credit Adam Dean for Christian Frei Filmproductions
“Blame” is a documentary movie by the Oscar-nominated, Sundance Festival award winning Swiss Director Christian Frei. The film focuses on three scientists, Dr. Zhengli Shi formerly of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Dr. Linfa Wang of Duke-NUS Singapore, and Dr. Peter Daszak of Nature Health Global, former President of the now-closed EcoHealth Alliance. Blame tells the story of how this scientific collaboration formed back in the early 2000s to try and understand the origins of SARS which caused global panic when it emerged in Southern China in 2003. It then shows how this research was shattered by conspiracy theories, geopolitics and a rising anti-science agenda during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are more details about the movie on Nature Health Global’s News Section, and on the official Blame website.
Since its world premiere as the Opening Film in Nyon on April 4th, BLAME has since screened around the world at documentary film festivals — and has already won four major awards:
- Main award at the 11th International Festival Signs of the Night held in Bangkok, Thailand July 2025
- Festival Category award: In Truth We Trust at the 20th Doc Edge Festival Awards, Auckland NZ.
- Grand Prix at the 5th International Contemporary Science Film Festival (CSFF) in Moscow, Russia
- Audience Award at the 28th CinemAmbiente Festival in Turin, Italy
Blame has been nominated for a 2026 Swiss Film Award
After receiving four major awards since its release in April 2025, BLAME has been nominated for the Best Documentary prize at the 2026 Swiss Film Award
Nominees for the 2026 Swiss Film Award were announced during the Nominations Night at the Solothurn Film Festival.
The winners will be announced at an award ceremony on 27th March 2026 at the Zurich Convention Center. Up-to-date, and live on the night notifications are on Federal Office of Culture BAK website.
The Zurich Convention Center
Blame will be released in cinemas in Germany, Switzerland
February will be a very busy and exciting month for BLAME. It begins with a pre-release tour and theatrical premieres across Germany. In Cologne, Munich and Berlin we are collaborating with the renowned Max Planck Institute to host scientific panel discussions alongside the screenings:
Similar events will follow in Switzerland, including Zurich and Bern, together with virologist Volker Thiel:
Pre-release tour dates and details from Rise and Shine Cinema:
Pre-release tour dates for the documentary movie BLAME
Theatrical release dates in Germany from April
Kiel: Kommunales Kino in der Pumpe – from April 16th.
Magdeburg: ARTist! eV | Moritzhof – from April 16th.
Regensburg: Kinos im Andreasstadel – April 23rd – 29th.
Saarbrücken: Filmhaus – April 16th – 29th, 2026.
Wesel: Comet Kino Center – April 16th, 19th.
Some recent reviews of Blame
UNITED STATES PREMIERE FEB 22nd 2026!!
We’re excited to announce the US premiere of BLAME on February 22nd 2026! BLAME has been selected for the renowned Sedona International Film Festival in Arizona, a festival that celebrates socially and culturally engaged cinema and documentaries that spark thoughtful discussion.
The official US premiere will be on Sunday Feb 22nd at 10am, with a follow-up screening on Tuesday Feb 24th. Click THIS LINK for full details, and to purchase tickets.
FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT BLAME
To keep up to date with listings, reviews, awards etc. for the movie, please follow Christian Frei on his public Facebook page, checkout the official Blame website, and check in regularly with this UPDATE page – we’re going to post all future screenings of the movie, and any other updates of interest!
Thank you for your support!
The Nature Health Global communications team