1.1 About DOK Leipzig

The International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film – in short: DOK Leipzig – is an annual festival for documentary and animated film. The festival is organised by the city of Leipzig. It commissions the non-profit Leipzig-based Dok-Filmwochen GmbH with the preparation, realisation and management of the festival.

The 69th edition will take place in Leipzig from 26 October to 1 November 2026.

1.2 About DOK Neuland

Since 2015, DOK Neuland has provided an exhibition platform for Extended Reality and Expanded Filmmaking projects such as 360° films, virtual reality experiences, augmented reality experiences, mixed reality experiences, participatory films, media and web-based art, multimedia installations, apps, games, and hybrid performances. As we look towards the future, we are excited to discover and showcase even more technologies and media we may not even be aware of yet.  At the intersection of technology and storytelling, DOK Neuland is a playground for new modes of filmmaking and breaking the frame.

The exhibition takes place every year during the festival week and is open to everybody. Admission to the exhibition is free.

We are excited to work with artists to support their vision and bring their works to the public. In cooperation with the artists, we strive to create an exhibition environment which corresponds with each individual piece, as well as relates to an overarching theme. Audience outreach is of particular value to DOK Neuland, and we actively bring the exhibition to the public, and engage in year-round community outreach.

2.1 Application Procedure

XR projects will be considered for our DOK Neuland exhibition. The application form can be found at www.dok-leipzig.de/en/mydok from 10/3/2026 until 1/7/2026. Any number of works can be sent by one person or company if the open call requirements are met.

The application form asks for all information important for the processing and evaluation of your work. The person applying must be authorised to send the work to the festival by the rightsholders – and possibly confirm a selection in the DOK Leipzig programme.  

2.2 Application Deadline

The first and final application deadline is 1 July 2026. A later application may not be possible. Early submissions are encouraged. Complicated proposals are asked to apply sooner rather than later.

2.3 Application Fee

Applying to DOK Neuland is free of charge.

2.4 Premiere Regulations 

DOK Neuland is a curated exhibition without a premiere regulation. No specific premiere status is required to qualify for consideration. Older pieces are also eligible for DOK Neuland 2026, though newer projects will be prioritised. Showing a piece before the festival is therefore not a problem.

2.5 Application Copy

We ask you to provide a link that gives us access to your work in addition to a read-me document giving information on installation and computer requirements.

If you upload your content to an online platform, please include the link in your entry form. Please name your online content the same as the title of your work in your entry form. Please ensure that when you fill in the entry form, you enter the direct link to your project.

If you chose to give us access to your work via file transfer, please specify on the application form which File Transfer Service you are using, including the URL. If the download link changes, please notify xr [at] dok-leipzig [dot] de (xr[at]dok-leipzig[dot]de) with the new updated version. DOK Leipzig will then download your project for viewing, but please make sure not to add download links that expire within a short time frame. You may also include any links to your work and/or installation plans (on PDF) in the form, containing measurements and associated materials and tech riders for complex installations.

Trailers and film clips will not be accepted as application copies.

2.6 Technical Requirements and Selection Process

During our selection process, we’ll have access to VR headsets and tablets for AR experiences, as it is important for us to actually experience your pieces. To get the best sense of the projects, we ask that you send us files which correspond to the projects’ media. If the project is still in development or beta, please send us as much information as possible, to help illustrate the final experience. For multiplayer experiences and more complex projects, we kindly ask for a walkthrough/gameplay in addition to final project files. Please make sure to be available for questions after the application deadline.

Technical devices we typically use for the selection process are Quest 3, Smartphone, Tablet, and gaming PC. Please let us know if another tool would be necessary.

For those working in immersive virtual reality, please give us access to an executable file and associated content folders or APK format. If your project is a 360° film video, please include a link to access a high-quality video file. The file should be an MP4 (H.264 or H.265container) or MPK. For those proposing performances or large installations please provide documentation of the experience or a video to the direct intended project. We want to get the best sense of what you're proposing. Please be specific, detailed, and concrete as possible.

2.7 Prototypes

The festival allows the application of prototype versions. When applying with a prototype, it should be taken into consideration that the selection process does not allow for the viewing of several versions. Therefore, when applying with a prototype, it should be ensured that it accurately reflects the final version in broad outline or via additional material such as a storyboard (etc.).

The application form should indicate what changes are to be expected until the final version.

When applying with a prototype, please include a timeline and inform us as to updates in the project’s process. If the project should not be finished in time, please consider applying instead to DOK Exchange XR’s Prototyping Zone.

2.8 Language Versions

For the application, it is necessary that the work is available in German or English. If the original language is not one of these two languages, the work must be provided with appropriate subtitles in German or English.

2.9 Festival Participation

The final decision of the DOK Neuland curation will be announced around the beginning of August at the latest. Selected XR works will receive an official confirmation by email to the person indicated as contact in the application form.

No XR work may be withdrawn from the DOK Festival programme after participation has been confirmed in writing via the participation form.

2.10 Financial Matters

DOK Neuland is a free exhibition primarily supported by public funding, therefore our budget is comparably limited. What we can offer are passion, dedication, care, creative solutions, and an enthusiastic public. What we cannot offer are expensive installations and high artist fees. Despite our humble budget, DOK Neuland strives to exhibit the most exciting and diverse XR works, to support these pieces through thoughtful scenography, and to be true to the artist’s vision.

In accordance with the suggested exhibition fee for a group exhibition, per the German Artists Association (Bundesverband Bildender Künstlerinnen and Künstler), we off a baseline honorarium of 150€ per project. Currently, we are unable to sponsor travel and overnight costs, but are able to provide both a full access festival accreditation, as well as overnight stays with locals kind enough to open their homes to artists and filmmakers. After project selection, we will attempt to fundraise for projects in order to support travel costs, offset project expenses, and raise the baseline artist fee. This is not a guarantee.

All installation elements, including technical equipment, exhibition design, and ephemera, should be covered by DOK Neuland, following an agreement between the artist and the festival. Please consider project feasibility from a financial standpoint when applying with your works. If you are applying with an ambitious installation proposal, please include a detailed tech rider with as much information as possible. We would appreciate as well if it included a financial estimation and/or an actionable realization plan with possible alternatives. If you are planning to participate in the construction/installation yourself, please make sure to have adequate liability insurance. 

By submitting the work, the persons applying declare that they are the owners of all rights of the respective work. For the purposes of these regulations, “rights owners” are the authors of the subject matter or any other natural or legal person or group of persons who has acquired an intellectual property right in the subject matter, which covers the acts referred in these regulations and for which a grant of rights of use or a transfer to third parties is possible.

The persons applying warrant that no legal claims of any kind may be asserted by third parties in respect of the materials made available. If third parties make claims against DOK Leipzig regarding the materials and works provided, DOK Leipzig will inform the persons applying immediately. The persons applying are obliged to clarify the matter with the claimants and to bear the full costs incurred by DOK Leipzig for the necessary legal defence.

DOK Leipzig writes its own texts about the presented works for the festival catalogue, the programme booklet and the website.

DOK Leipzig receives the right to use excerpts from the film of a maximum length of three minutes as well as the PR material provided by the rights holders (such as trailers, photos and stills) for press and public relations work, free of remuneration and unlimited in terms of time and space (for the duration of the protected object). This also includes the distribution of the material to reporting media (television, radio, podcast, social media and other multimedia formats) for non-commercial use as well as the publication of the material on www.dok-leipzig.de and the festival's social media channels. DOK Leipzig guarantees that the length of ten percent of the total running time of the work will not be exceeded.

The festival reserves the right to use and archive selected viewing copies for internal purposes and non-commercial, non-public educational work. Commercial use of the archived view copies by the festival is excluded.

By submitting an XR work, the persons applying agrees to the use and storage of the basic work information for archive and research use in our database, even if the proposed work will not be selected. Find more information about the use and storage of your data in our Data Protection Declaration.

Registration for participation in DOK Leipzig 2026 constitutes acceptance of the above regulations. The festival directors have the right to regulate all cases not provided for in the regulations as well as to allow exceptions in special and justified cases. The festival director decides on all questions not included in these regulations.

In the event of differences between the texts in different languages, only the German version of these regulations is binding.

Leipzig, 7 March 2026

If you need assistance or have further questions on how to apply with your work, please contact DOK Neuland curator Dana Melaver by email at xr [at] dok-leipzig [dot] de (xr[at]dok-leipzig[dot]de).