…and the four time winner is Jonathan Schörnig with EINHUNDERTVIER!

Altogether, 24 awards were presented at DOK Leipzig. At the 66th edition of the festival, 225 films and extended reality works from some 60 countries were screened at the venues around Leipzig. The festival's opening film, WHITE ANGEL – THE END OF MARINKA by Leipzig journalist Arndt Ginzel, can be seen in cinemas across Germany from October 19, 2023.

 

…and the four time winner is Jonathan Schörnig with EINHUNDERTVIER
here with protagosnist Clara Richter
 

 

In the German Competition Documentary Film, the Golden Dove Feature-Length Film went to EINHUNDERTVIER by Jonathan Schörnig, a real-time documentation of a rescue at sea on the Mediterranean. "The film team and the crew of the rescue ship show us clearly what it means when we look the other way every day. But they also show that help is possible and needed," the jury emphasised. This 10,000-Euro award is sponsored by Doris Apell-Kölmel and Michael Kölmel. AND the Goethe-Institut Documentary Film Prize, which includes 2,000.– Euros, licensing and subtitling in eight languages, was also awarded to EINHUNDERTVIER by Jonathan Schörnig. EINHUNDERTVIER further received the 1,500.– Euro  ver.di Prize for Solidarity, Humanity and Fairness, bringing the total to four awards, making this the film earning the most honours at DOK Leipzig 2023, because the Film Prize Leipziger Ring, which honours a documentary film about human rights, democracy or civic engagement, sponsored by the Stiftung Friedliche Revolution and includes 2,500.– Euros in prize money goes ex aequo to Jonathan Schörnig for EINHUNDERTVIER and Nantenaina Lova for WHERE ZEBUS SPEAK FRENCH as well. Nantenaina Lova observes in the village SITABAOMBA not far from the capital Antananarivo at Madagascar, how foreign interests find their way into the country through corrupt politics and how the people deal with the foreign interests: Laughing in the face of injustice is the motto. With Tema Ndrota, Gégé Rasamoely, Company Miangaly and Claudia Tagbo as narrator.

The Golden Dove Short Film, in conjunction with 1,500.– Euros, was awarded to Franzis Kabisch for getty abortions, a desktop video essay that explores how media illustrate the topic of abortion. "Our award-winning film finds a convincing contemporary form to address an ancient and at the same time highly topical issue," said the jury comprised of Birgit Kohler, Claus Löser and Serpil Turhan.

The DEFA Sponsoring Prize, which includes 4,000.– Euros and is granted by the DEFA Foundation, went to Julia Charakter for THE CHILDREN OF KORNTAL. 

The Gedanken-Aufschluss Award went to Nele Dehnenkamp for her first feature-length documentary film, FOR THE TIME BEING. This award was voted on by a jury comprised of prisoners at the Juvenile Detention Centre Regis-Breitingen.

All awards and jury members at 66 DOK Leipzig browse here.

 

 

 

Belarusian director Daria Yurkevich and her project GENESIS (Belarus, Germany) receiving the Saxon Award for the Best Documentary Project by a Female Director. 
 

DOK Industry Awards Winners 2023 announced, including German productions and co-productions, such as:

  • At DOK Preview Germany, JOHATSU – INTO THIN AIR (WT) by Andreas Hartmann, Arata Mori, P: Ossa Film, Germany, Japan has been awarded with the D-Facto Motion Works-in-Progress Prize, which comes with the post-production grant of 10,000 euros, sponsored by D-Facto Motion GmbH.
  • At the DOK Co-Pro Market, a total of three awards have been presented. Belarusian director Daria Yurkevich and her project GENESIS (Belarus, Germany) has received the Saxon Award for the Best Documentary Project by a Female Director. The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros, sponsored by the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism. Production company is Jyoti Film GmbH.
  • Winner of the ARD TopDocs__Competition is DER AUTOKRATEN CODE produced by Bremedia Produktion.

 

The 66th edition of DOK Leipzig came to a close on Sunday, 15 October. The Golden and Silver Doves as well as the partnership awards were presented in two award ceremonies on Saturday. In total, the festival counted 45,500 attendees at its cinema screenings, panel discussions, industry events and the DOK Neuland XR exhibition. From 8 to 15 October, audiences had the opportunity to see 225 films and XR works from around 60 countries in venues around Leipzig. In addition, one film a day was available online for 24 hours throughout Germany in the DOK Stream.

Festival director Christoph Terhechte looked back upon an eventful and intense festival week: "The cinemas were packed, and there were many excellent discussions about film in which the audience was very involved. Although the week was overshadowed by the recent massacres, expulsions and bombings in Israel and Palestine, Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine, many of our attendees used the festival as an opportunity to exchange views on those issues and current events."

The DOK Industry events also met with great interest. At the second edition of the DOK Archive Market, more international archives and footage libraries introduced their collections than in the previous year. All in all, DOK Industry welcomed more than 1,700 accredited professionals.

 The 67th edition of DOK Leipzig will take place from 28 October to 3 November 2024.

 

 

 
 

 

The 66th edition of the DOK Leipzig film festival is presenting some 225 films and extended reality works from around 60 countries. WHITE ANGEL – THE END OF MARINKA | WHITE ANGEL – DAS ENDE VON MARINKA by Leipzig journalist Arndt Ginzel is premiering as opening film. As every year, the festival centre is located in the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig.

 

© 2023 Journalistenbüro Ginzel Kraushaar Datt GbR

The impressive close-up footage of the operations is from a GoPro camera worn by police officers who repeatedly drive around the town in a white van which the civilians call the White Angel, documenting the evacuation and rescue operations in the small town of Marinka in the Donetsk region from the spring to the autumn of 2022. Spring 2023, Arndt Ginzel and his team returned to Ukraine and spoke with the rescuers and survivors about their traumatic experiences – and about the demise of their home town, which no longer exists.

 

 

 LineUp German productions and co-productions [work in progress]

 

During the festival week, DOK Leipzig is showing one festival film fresh out of the cinema online as VoD in the DOK Stream. Each film is available for 24 hours throughout Germany. Only available at dok-leipzig.de, from 9 to 15 October.  

 

 

DOK Leipzig Retrospective focuses on resistance to communist regimes in the Eastern Bloc including German productions such as:

  • [Kurt Biedenkopf besucht ein sowjetisches Panzerregiment] by Klaus Wilhelm, 8min, ©1991, Germany [Matinee Saxon State Archive]
  • BEGEGNUNGEN by Alfred Dorn, 15min, ©1970 [Matinee Saxon State Archive]
  • DREI JAHRZEHNTE SPÄTER by Volker Kastius, 15min, @1977, GDR [Matinee Saxon State Archive]
  • HUNGARY IN FLAMES | UNGARN IN FLAMMEN by Ferdinand Khittl, Stefan Erdélyi, 83min, © 1957, C: Bundesarchiv [Film and Protest]
  • One Wednesday in June – 20 Years Ago: People’s Uprising, Workers’ Revolt or Secret Services Putsch? | Ein Mittwoch im Juni – Vor 20 Jahren: Volksaufstand, Arbeiterrevolte oder Agentenputsch? by Lutz Lehmann, 60min ©1970, C: OneGate Media GmbH,[Retrospective]
  • RÜCKGABE DER KUNSTSCHÄTZE AN DAS GRÜNE GEWÖLBE by anonym, ©1958, 5min [Matinee Saxon State Archive]
  • SOVIET TROOPS IN PRAGUE AND BUDAPEST | SOWJETISCHE TRUPPEN IN PRAG UND BUDAPEST (Panorama, 29.7.1968), 18min © 1968, C: OneGate Media GmbH [Retrospective]
  • UPRISINGS IN THE SOVIET SPHERE OF INFLUENCE by Ralph Giordano, Hans-Ulrich Barth, 24min, ©1961, [Retrospektive]
  • WEHE DEN BESIEGTEN by Andrea Ritterbusch, 87min, ©1990, GDR [DEFA Matinee|

 

 

 

19 DOK Co-Pro Market

Individual meetings between producers and the selected projects take place on 9–10 October 20223 in Leipzig with complementary online meetings on 16 October. Join as a producer without project - submission possible until September 7.
The 19th edition of the DOK Co-Pro Market welcomes 35 documentary projects from 30 countries that will have the opportunity to find international financing and co-production partners. This year has seen an increase in the number of submissions, totalling 316 projects, including two ukrainian productions as well as seven German co-productions, such as:

 

  • BE MY GUEST WORKER by Sanhah Lee | South Korea, Germany | autumn song production
  • GENESIS by Daria Yurkevich | Belarus, Germany | JYOTI Film
  • GHOST BOAT by Tanim Yousuf | Bangladesh, Germany | Bulldog Agenda GmbH, Mastul Productions         
  • HOW MANY NIGHTS HOW MANY DAYS by Alaa Dajani | Egypt, Germany | Seera films   
  • OVERTONES (WT) by Aygul Bakanova | Kyrgyzstan, Germany | Choku Film, if... Productions GmbH
  • PRISON HONEY by Jonas Eisenschmidt, Constanze Wolpers  | Germany | radpaar films             
  • ZOOTOPIA by Tristan Ferland Milewski | Germany | CORSO Film  

 Find all 35 selected documentary projects listed here.

 

A major focus of the DOK Co-Pro Market is to help create a network of unique professionals dedicated to the co-production of creative documentary works. We invite producers who are actively looking for new audio-visual works to co-produce and to expand their networks internationally to apply as a Producer without a Project for participation in the Co-Pro Market. [DOK Leipzig PR August 31, 2023]

This year’s Industry Programme opens on October 9, 2023 with a panel on the current state of independent Belarusian documentary cinema and the challenges filmmakers face, with the participation of the recently launched Belarusian Independent Film Academy (BIFA).

Among other highlights of the Industry Programme is Short n’ Sweet,  Oktober 11,2023, the 7th edition of the short film pitching event. DOK Archive Market will take place on 12 October, featuring an exciting programme on archival research and production, including one-on-one consultations with archival researchers and producers.

 

DOK Archive Market October 12, 2023, Festival Centre (MdbK) Basement
DOK Industry continues to focus on archives and archive research presenting the second edition of DOK Archive Market. Accredited festival visitors are invited to meet with international archives at the DOK Archive Market, find out about their footage and stills collections and forge connections with the archive representatives. The accompanying panel programme presents exciting discussions offering insights into the nuts and bolts of archival research, production and rights clearances. In one-on-one speed consultations archive researchers and archive producers give concrete advice on researching and licensing footage for documentary projects.

 

DOK Preview Germany is an exclusive showcase featuring up to 8 German feature-length documentaries in the final stages of production. The teams present their projects to international buyers, editors, world sales, festival curators and distributors.
Meet inspiring creatives and dive into diverse topics and unique filmmaking styles presented by experienced moderators Julia Teichmann and Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer. The film teams will give you a sneak peek into their new works to enrich your slates, slots and festivals.
With the project presentation and subsequent opportunity for networking and exchange, we want to support the selected projects on their journey to international distribution and create new working ties.
2023 project selection for DOK Preview Germany wil be announced on September 27,2023. The event wil be moderated by Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer and Julia Teichmann.

  • Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer is an EAVE producers workshop-alumna, has represented Germany as a European Producer on the Move in 2020 and is a member of EWA, DAE, Produzentenverband, AG DOK, the German and European Film Academy.
  • Julia Teichmann is Head of Documentary at German Films and supervises the Marketing & Subtitling Support. She has worked as a curator and is still working as a moderator. She was also a film critic and regularly served on juries at national and international film festivals.

 The selected projects in the final stages of production are:

  • ANGRY SPIRITS by Iris Pakulla P: beetz brothers filmproduction, WS: filmdeleights, Germany, Mongolia
  • THE END OF THE ROAD by Marc Eyrich, P: Licht & Stories, Germany, Morocco, Qatar
  • GET PHYSIKAL by Ilker Abay, Miro Wallner, Germany
  • JOHATSU – INTO THIN AIR by Andreas Hartmann, Arata Mori, P: Ossa Film, Germany, Japan
  • OF COYOTES AND THOSE WHO STAYED (WT) by Clara Trischler, P: HORSE & FRUITS Filmproduktion, Germany, Austria
  • PING PONG by Jonas Egert, P: madfilms Cruiziat & Egert, Germany
  • REPRODUCTION by Katharina Pethke, P: fünferfilm, Germany
  • WOMEN SPEAKING (WT) became HOUSE WITH A VOICE by Kristine Nrecaj, Birthe Templin, P: Filmkantine, Germany

 

 

 

 

DOK Industry Talk presents ARTE initiative Generation Ukraine:

In this year's edition, DOK Leipzig is presenting a DOK Industry Talk on Generation Ukraine, a new initiative by the ARTE Group aimed at supporting the Ukrainian filmmaking industry by co-producing 12 documentaries that explore Ukrainian reality in the throes of the ongoing war. The Talk, held on 10 October at 16:30 – 18:00 CEST, will present the ARTE initiative and showcase six of the projects with the participation of the film teams. The Talk will be moderated by documentary film producer and consultant Heidi Fleisher.
Find out more in our NEWS #StandWithUkraine.

 

Discover the international delegations that are ready to meet and mingle at DOK Leipzig 2023! 

Explore all events of the complete Industry Programme in our Industry Timetable or see the A-Z overview here. Get accreditations at the regular rate until September 30, 2023. Last-minute accreditation requests are possible until the end of the festival with an extra fee. 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas Beyer, Susanne Binninger, Samir, Prof. Dr. Sylvia Rothe, and David Bernet
 

KI zwischen Fakt & Fiktion

Join the panel on possible benefits and threats of AI in documentary filmmaking brought to you by AG DOK – German Documentary Association Tuesday, October 10, 10 a.m. at PROPSTEI ST. TRINITATIS,  Nonnenmühlgasse 2, 04107 Leipzig. Stream the event –German only– here.

On the one hand, AI tools now offer great relief possibilities for creatives in manually redundant work steps such as transcription, data and material management, through to editing preparation and research - even in the course of documentary productions. And by making drudgery easier, AI applications ideally expand the space for creative work.
But where is the promise of authenticity in documentaries in the face of deceptively real-looking animations and deep fakes that can no longer be distinguished from real footage by the human eye? Does the expected flood of AI products strengthen the position of documentary filmmakers because they offer originality and authenticity, or is the dissolution of the boundaries between fact and fiction unstoppable?
These questions will be addressed by a panel of filmmakers and experts, introduced by a case study of Swiss filmmaker Samir, who will present footage from his latest documentary created with AI.

Panel moderated by Susanne Binninger and David Bernet, CEOs of AG DOK with
• Prof. Dr. Sylvia Rothe, AI professor at the HFF Munich, mathematician, software developer, filmmaker.
• Thomas Beyer, Editor History and Documentaries with MDR.
• Samir, Swiss based Iraqi director and filmproducer, well known for IRAQI ODYSSEY – A GLOBAL FAMILY SAGA. Find out more about his work in progress 'The Miraculous Transformation of the Working Class into Foreigners', about the making of the film and how they produced the digital animation scenes through motion capture technology and gaming technology. Listen to the podcast by FILMEXPLORER.CH here __German only___ and Samir on new technologies in film.

 

 SAMIR
 Die wundersame Verwandlung der Arbeiterklasse in Ausländer

 

 

 

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•  64 DOK Leipzig 2021 •
•  63 DOK Leipzig 2020 •
•  62 DOK Leipzig 2019 •
•  61 DOK Leipzig 2018 • 

 

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Meet the team:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CxSZpmWM7SC/

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