Starting this month, Nadja Tennstedt will be in charge of DOK Leipzig’s industry offerings. She succeeds long-time head Brigid O’Shea.

Active in the film sector for many years, Tennstedt has focused increasingly on documentary and independent film. Most recently she coordinated DocSalon, the documentary film platform at the Berlinale’s European Film Market (EFM), where she led networking and community building activities within the documentary industry.

“We are fortunate to welcome Nadja Tennstedt to our team, an experienced collaborator who is highly regarded by documentary creatives around the world, and who has earned her reputation through passion, imagination and her dedicated advocacy for diversity,” festival director Christoph Terhechte says.

“Changes in the international film industry, which have been greatly accelerated by the pandemic, pose great challenges to the entire documentary community. At the same time, they present opportunities to rethink and change existing models and structures. I am very much looking forward to accompanying and promoting these developments alongside Christoph Terhechte and all of my colleagues to support the doc community. My goal is to constantly develop DOK Industry’s offerings and adapt them to changes in the financing, production and distribution of documentaries,” Tennstedt says, and she adds: “Particularly important to me in my work is a focus on the participation by creatives from underrepresented groups and challenging power structures that exist in the documentary industry.”

We are happy to welcome you as a new member to our DOK team, Nadja!

Read more in our Press Release.

Further information about this year’s DOK Industry programme will be announced soon.

We are happy to launch our Open Call for XR works for our DOK Neuland exhibition.

Since 2015, DOK Neuland opens its doors each year during the DOK Leipzig festival week and invites our audience to discover new boundaries in film with virtual and augmented reality experiences.

Want to be part of this year’s DOK Neuland edition? Submit your works until 1 July 2021!

“Chaos and Order have always been part of our realities. In the midst of a global pandemic, the illusion of order and control broke apart. Chaos revealed a collective Weltschmerz and issues that have been ignored for too long. What happens when we embrace chaos and dynamic instabilities? It can reveal an outburst of creative energy, connection and communication, but foremost a transformation into the unknown”, says DOK Neuland curator Lars Rummel. “Be bold, be irrational, dare to feel safe, be who you are! Send us your XR works and be part of the show. We are eager to share them with our audience!”

What kind of works can I submit?

Virtual reality or augmented reality experiences, 360° films, multimedia or sound installations, and media art in a completely new form – or other XR formats we can’t even imagine right now.

DOK Neuland is a curated exhibition. No specific premiere status is required to qualify for the submission. Older pieces are also eligible for DOK Neuland 2021.

The physical exhibition is open to everybody during the DOK Leipzig festival week and admission is free.

How does the submission work?

You find the submission form in our myDOK area of this website. Read more details about DOK Neuland and our XR submission rules here.

Want to show your new documentary or animated film at DOK Leipzig this fall? The Call for Entries to our 64th festival edition is now open!

“We can't wait to host DOK Leipzig again as a festival for our local audience. We are optimistic that this will be possible again in October. For this we are looking for films that bring us along on their narrative journey, that raise questions, provide food for thought, and above all inspire and challenge us artistically,” says our festival director Christoph Terhechte. “Dear filmmakers, we look forward to your surprising insights, your bold visions and your original methods. We look forward to receiving numerous submissions!” 

What kind of films can I submit?

You are welcome to submit artistic documentaries and animated films of all lengths as well as hybrid films between the two genres.

To be considered for the competition sections, it is important that the production year of your film is either 2020 or 2021. In addition, your film should not have been shown publicly before October 2020 and it needs to celebrate at least a German premiere at DOK Leipzig.

Don’t miss our submission deadlines!

We have two deadlines for film submissions: 1 May 2021 for films completed until that date and 1 July 2021 which is our final deadline.

Ready to submit?

Please jump to our submission page and check our FAQ and the submission rules for more details. 

We are exited to get to know your works!

Brigid O’Shea, the long-time Head of DOK Industry, is leaving DOK Leipzig at the end of February to dedicate herself to new endeavours. 

As part of our team for 11 years, taking over as Head of DOK Industry in 2015, O’Shea has made a lasting impact on our film industry platform.

“We are deeply grateful to Brigid O'Shea for her many years of creative work. She has developed DOK Industry into one of the most important international industry platforms for documentary film and created a place in the festival that is known for its commitment, warm atmosphere and intensive exchange,” festival director Christoph Terhechte said. “Her approach has always been the expression of an emancipative festival policy. We see it as our challenge to further develop the programme in this direction.”

O’Shea’s passions were equal participation for all, creating a strong sense of community, and of course the great pleasure of personal exchange and networking between film professionals. She developed numerous formats for the festival and put a great deal of energy into the equal promotion of women directors. Several development awards were launched in this area during her time at DOK Leipzig. Promoting underrepresented filmmakers and questioning power structures were imperatives that she pursued wholeheartedly.

“Over the past decade, to grow DOK Industry Programme and make a small contribution to the long history of DOK Leipzig has been an absolute honour and privilege. I want to thank my immediate team and colleagues for their support and hard work. Leaving such a beautiful job was not an easy decision, but I hope I am leaving fertile earth for those who come next,” O’Shea said. “Most of all, I want say thank you to the partners, accredited guests, and of course the amazing projects and films that have been through our markets, meetings and events over the years.”

O'Shea will now focus on her work with the Documentary Association of Europe (DAE), of which she is a founding member. Dear Brigid, we wish you all the best for your future endeavors!

For more details please read our press release.

We will announce more personnel changes for the DOK Industry section soon.