Each year, DOK Leipzig invites an esteemed group of filmmakers, artists, and industry experts to join the juries celebrating the most outstanding achievements in documentary and animated film. With deep appreciation, DOK Leipzig welcomes the juries for its 69th edition, who will lend their expertise and sensibilities to recognise this year’s finest works.
The jury for this year’s International Competition Documentary Film features Raul Niño Zambrano, Ivan Ramljak, and Diana El Jeiroudi, who will choose the winner of a Golden Dove for best feature documentary and best short documentary from the 9 nominated features and 13 nominated short films. They will also select the recipients of a Silver Dove for best feature documentary and best short documentary by an up-and-coming director.
Bringing a wealth of experience in programming and curation of innovative, socially engaged programmes, Raul Niño Zambrano joins the international jury. As creative director at Sheffield DocFest, he has steered the festival’s artistic direction and programming since 2023, spearheading the launch of TV documentary series premieres, the innovative Podcast Pitch, and the Queer Realities Director’s Lab, providing LGBTQIA+ filmmakers with a space to advance bold, boundary-pushing queer non-fiction storytelling. Before joining Sheffield DocFest, he served as a Senior Programmer at IDFA, where he started in 2008. His fellow juror is Ivan Ramljak, a Croatian filmmaker with an impressive slate of documentaries that have screened at over 100 festivals and garnered numerous accolades, including most recently “Peacemaker”, which snagged the Golden Dove at DOK Leipzig 2025. Beyond his filmmaking, he established the Human Rights Film Festival in Zagreb in 2003, curated the “Short Tuesday” film programme at Cinema Tuškanac between 2013 and 2022; and served as artistic director of Tabor Film Festival until 2023. The jury is reinforced by Diana El Jeiroudi, a Berlin-based Syrian director and producer, and a co-founder of No Nation Films and DOX BOX. Drawn to documentary film where form and politics inextricably intertwine, she produces compelling works, marked by political resonance, formal sensibility, and the lived depth of personal histories. Her body of work includes “Silver Water, Syria Self-Portrait”, which world-premiered at Cannes 2014, and Venice-debuting “Republic of Silence” (Goethe-Institut Documentary Film Prize 2021), which she directed. Committed to championing diverse voices, she mentors filmmakers at international labs, including Berlinale Talents. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the German Film Academy.
The jury for the German Competition Documentary Film comprises Stefanie Eckert, David Bernet, and Adele Kohout, who will pick the winners of a Golden Dove for best feature documentary and best short documentary from the 8 nominated features and 12 nominated short films.
Lending his discerning eye and critical perspective is German-Swiss documentary filmmaker David Bernet, known for his inventive engagement with social and political issues. His repertoire features “Solidarity”, “Democracy”, and “Raising Resistance”. Since February 2020, he has been co-leading AG DOK as managing director and chairman of the Board. With experience in a different part of the film landscape as DOK.fest München’s festival director, Adele Kohout brings a deep understanding of the industry ecosystem. Before taking on artistic direction and management in 2025, she co-helmed the festival with Daniel Sponsel and had worked in various other capacities. Rounding out the jury is Stefanie Eckert, managing director of the DEFA Foundation since 2020, who draws on her extensive expertise in film heritage while navigating cultural and political challenges tied to it. One of her key focuses is integrating DEFA cinema into academic discourse while making its film heritage accessible to broader audiences.
The jury for this year’s International Competition Animated Film includes Waltraud Grausgruber, Edmunds Jansons, and Matea Radic, who will select the winner of a Golden Dove for best animated feature and best animated short film from the 5 nominated features and 19 nominated shorts.
Co-founder of Tricky Women Tricky Realities in Vienna, known for its distinct focus on animated films by women and/or genderqueer artists, Waltraud Grausgruber advances her commitment to opening up the medium to new, vibrant forms of dialogue and critical engagement — efforts that she deepens with Culture2Culture, pushing animation into educational, activist, and civic spaces. Joining the jury is Edmunds Jansons, an award-winning Latvian animation director, whose works are shaped by formal playfulness, rooted in Baltic animation traditions. Spanning short films, television projects, and feature films, his work includes “Choir Tour” (2012), “The Isle of Seals” (2014), “Guard of Honour” (2021), “Freeride in C” (2024), and “Born in the Jungle” (2026), which debuted at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival earlier this year. Beyond filmmaking, he is also the founder of the animation studio Atom Art and a well-known children’s book author and illustrator. Completing the jury is multidisciplinary artist Matea Radic. Born in Sarajevo and based in Winnipeg, Canada, she traverses geographies and artistic fields in her practice, from animation to directing, painting, and sculpting. Her 2025 film “Paradaïz” scooped a Golden Dove for best short animation film, telling a wistful tale of a return to childhood during the Bosnian War, punctuated by “exploding tomatoes and bullet-riddled walls”.
Recipients of a Golden Dove for best animated short film as well as those awarded in the International Competition Documentary Film qualify for nomination at the annual Academy Awards, provided they meet the Academy’s requirements.
This year, the winner of a Golden Dove for best feature documentary in the Audience Competition will be decided in an online vote.
DOK Leipzig’s coveted Golden and Silver Doves will be presented to the winners during the awards ceremony on 1 November at Schaubühne Lindenfels.
