Festival Review 2025
From 27/10 to 2/11, the audiences had the chance to find 252 films and XR works from 55 countries in venues all over Leipzig. In addition, one film per day was available online for 24 hours throughout Germany in the DOK Stream.
The 68th edition of the documentary and animated film festival DOK Leipzig was exceptionally well received by audiences and members of the film industry. The festival drew a total of 53,000 filmgoers this year. The films in the Audience Competition and in the short film reels as well as events such as Animation Night and Animation Perspectives were particularly well received.
We are also delighted with the great demand for the long animated films, the retrospective and the matinees. The free screenings at the main railway station were also extremely popular. Last but not least, our XR exhibition DOK Neuland attracted more than 1.500 visitors in 6 days.
A new highlight of this year's programme was Doc Together, a joint initiative by DOK Industry and the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival. Dedicated to supporting filmmakers working in exile, under threat or in particularly challenging conditions, the initiative fostered dialogue on funding, mobility, visibility and sustainable support structures. The Doc Together Think Tank gathered NGOs, film funds, festivals, lawyers, filmmakers, and industry professionals to share expertise and co-create long-term solutions for filmmakers at risk.
The Industry Talks addressed, among other things, ways of supporting film professionals working in precarious conditions, non-fiction cinema as a space that can reimagine queer expression and representation, offering more honest, complex, and empowering portrayals of LGBTQIA+ lives, and the current state of accessibility in film production and at festivals.
In addition to the on-site events, accredited guests also had the opportunity to follow panel discussions and project presentations online via livestreams.
23 partnership awards were presented, as well as nine Golden and Silver Doves. The 10,000-euro Golden Dove Feature-Length Film in the International Competition Documentary Film went to Ivan Ramljak for his documentary “Peacemaker” (Croatia). The Golden Dove for a feature-length animated film went to Seth and Peter Scriver for “Endless Cookie” (Canada).
As part of DOK Industry, twelve awards were given out to outstanding documentary film projects in development or in production. The awards were presented in cooperation with international partners.
