The selection committee has nominated a total of 15 productions for the German Competitions Long and Short Documentary and Animated Films. Some of the directors involved have previously had films screened at DOK Leipzig, for example Katharina Pethke, Betina Kuntzsch and Johanna Seggelke. Female film-makers are heavily represented in the German Competition, having directed seven of the eight long documentary films nominated.
These are the topics of this year’s nominations:
As usual, some of the productions focus on current political issues. Topics include the situation of refugees in Camp Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos, the migration factor for families in the Dominican Republic and the protests against Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus.
Some films draw a connection between political and aesthetic discourse, for example in works about female body hair, a socialist monument in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin and the colour of the 100 yuan note in the People’s Republic of China.
Other works in the competitions portray extraordinary individuals and are partly the result of intimate relationships. Two films, for example, deal in very different ways with the documentary images of a past love. Two other works focus on soundscapes by portraying a musician, who continues her father’s musical legacy, and a passionate instrument-maker.
Who awards the Golden and Silver Dove?
This year’s jury consists of film-maker Maria Speth, festival director Gudrun Sommer and film lecturer and director Carsten Möller. The jurors will jointly determine the winning films of the Golden and Silver Dove in the German competitions of DOK Leipzig.
Read more in our press release and browse the film selection here.
