Titled “Un-American Activities: Films from the ‘Other America’ at the Leipzig Documentary Film Week from 1962 to 1989”, this year’s Retrospective delves into a lesser-known chapter of the festival's history: films from the United States – perceived at the time as coming from the heartland of the “class enemy” – that were screened, discussed, and awarded in Leipzig during the GDR era. These films were seen as testimonies to a “different America” because they took a critical look at their own country and denounced societal ills such as racism and social inequality, the Vietnam War, and the anti-communist hysteria of the McCarthy era. Films from the US that documented labour disputes, strikes, and alternative histories silenced by those in power were also welcome in Leipzig.
These films also harboured a certain potency when it came to reflecting on the GDR’s own situation. “A number of contributions could definitely be seen as critical interventions against the rather self-complacent world view that prevailed in Leipzig at the time. When they denounced the arrogance of power, for example, reported on prison revolts or reminded their viewers of unfulfilled hopes of progress, they also touched on neuralgic issues of the SED (the Socialist Unity Party of Germany) state. Such spillover effects in turn were presumably even desired and intended by some of the decision-makers in Leipzig. On no side and at no time were things ever clear-cut,” say the curators of this year’s Retrospective, Tobias Hering and Tilman Schumacher, who in their extensive research came across a surprisingly diverse spectrum of critical documentary films from the United States that were presented in Leipzig at the time.
“In view of the unprecedented dismantling of liberal democratic values during the administration of Donald Trump, many of the issues of that time are once again frighteningly relevant today,” says artistic director of DOK Leipzig Christoph Terhechte, who stresses the pertinence of the theme. Given the wealth of finds, the curators and the festival decided to extend “Un-American Activities” beyond the usual six-day programme during the festival week. The additional, thematically conceived programmes of the Retrospective will this time be shown at the Luru Kino in the Spinnerei, an art-house cinema in the west of Leipzig with an established repertoire of archival programmes. The Retrospective will open there the weekend before the festival with five films by Emile de Antonio, the legendary cinematic rebel in 'Cold War America', whose films are rarely seen today. While de Antonio was mostly perceived as a solo activist, the programme will, after the festival, familiarise the audience with two film collectives at the Luru Kino: the Chicago-based production group Kartemquin Films and the Newsreel Collective.
The part of the Retrospective that will be held at CineStar 5 during the festival week reflects the diverse themes and cinematic styles present in the US films brought to Leipzig. The six programmes cover the period from the 1960s to the 1980s. They focus on stories of discrimination against people of colour, including Mexican farm workers and Native Americans, emancipation processes as seen through a female lens, and perspectives on labour movements and critiques of capitalism, among other topics. Filmmakers Deborah Shaffer, Barbara Kopple, Allan Siegel, and Gordon Quinn are expected to attend the film talks accompanying the Retrospective in Leipzig. Robert Cohen, Christine Choy and Jim Klein will join the discussions online. In conjunction with the screenings, the Luru Kino will also hold a discussion featuring US panellists that centres on the Vietnam War as a turning point both in global politics and in filmmaking.
Tilman Schumacher is a film historian, curator, and critic. He is a research assistant at the Zeughauskino of the German Historical Museum (DHM), co-curator of the GEGENkino Festival in Leipzig and the Berlin cinema collective Zelluloid42, and editor of the film history journal Filmblatt. His curatorial focus lies in German and American film and cinema history.
Tobias Hering is a freelance film curator and publicist, specialising in thematic retrospectives and archival projects. Recent projects include film series on the lives and works of Amos Vogel and Jay Leyda, as well as multiple programmes on film relations between the GDR and the United States, which will continue with the retrospective “Un-American Activities.”
The Matinee Saxon State Archive entitled “More Than a Story: The Book City Leipzig Portrays Itself” picks up on this year’s themes that honours the history of the 'City of Books' during 2025. From its collection, the Saxon State Archives will present, among other things, historical films about the International Book Art Exhibition (IBA), a promotional film where the Publishers’ and Booksellers’ Association encourages people to buy books,as well as films about factories in Leipzig that made folding and stapling machines, offering historical insights into the 'machinery' of production and distribution.
The DEFA Matinee, titled “For Christiane Mückenberger, the Undaunted One”, is honouring the late film scholar who assumed the helm of DOK Leipzig in 1990 and whose commitment ensured that the festival would survive the turbulent post-reunification period. In the GDR, she had fearlessly expressed her opinions and was banned from her profession for 10 years as a result. At the DEFA Matinee, DOK Leipzig is screening the film “Forgive Me for Being Human”, which Mückenberger played a major role in creating. This film is a remarkable family portrait of Friedrich Wolf as a politically engaged writer and doctor, told from the perspective of his children, including Markus Wolf, who served as a head of the GDR’s foreign intelligence service for many years, and Konrad Wolf, one of DEFA's most accomplished feature film directors.
The complete schedule for DOK Leipzig 2025, including all dates, will be announced on 9 October. Tickets will go on sale on that day.
Schedule for the 2025 Retrospective:
Emile de Antonio, On a Permanent Mission
24–26 October, Luru Kino
Front Lines
28 October – 2 November, CineStar 5
Collective Action
7–8 November, Luru Kino
Dates of the Matinees:
Matinee Saxon State Archive
2 November, Passage Kinos Wintergarten
DEFA Matinee
1 November, Passage Kinos Wintergarten
This Retrospective is funded by the Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany. DOK Leipzig would like to thank the Saxon State Archives and the DEFA Foundation for their support in making the matinees possible.
List of films in the programmes described above: Film Lists 2025
Download Film Still: Press Photos
