Lotta and PK gaze at the lights from chandeliers

Audience Award - The Cycle of Love

The 2026 Audience Award is awarded to The Cycle of Love, directed by Orlando von Einsiedel and produced by Chloe Leland, Harri Grace, Karl Mahanandia Von Schedvin, and Emelie Mahanandia Von Schedvin. Our audience votes for the winner from all feature-length films in the programme.

In 1977, PK, a 23-year-old Delhi street artist from a poor, 'untouchable' family, picked up a handful of paintbrushes and a second-hand bicycle and set off on a 6,000-mile journey to find Lotta, the Swedish woman who had captured his heart. A love story like no other, The Cycle of Love is a heart-warming true story and an epic adventure about courage, self-belief and risking everything to follow what your heart tells you.

Orlando von Einsiedel said, "Folkestone Documentary Festival pulls in a brilliant crowd, and screening The Cycle of Love there was such a joy. We are over the moon that PK’s Mahanandia’s story resonated with the festival audience and really grateful to everyone who came to see our film."

The 7th edition of Folkestone Documentary Festival will return in October 2027. Doc Club will return to the Silver Screen Cinema on December 9th with You Can See Everything.

Picture credit: The Cycle of Love, courtesy of the filmmakers