“Film and Protest – Popular Uprisings in the Cold War”

Demonstrating crowds, chants, security forces brutally stepping in. Such images come to mind when we think of the uprisings against the communist regimes in the Eastern Bloc. But what are the stories behind them? Filmic depictions of the events in the respective countries meet contemporary “Western” attempts to contextualise them.

Reconstructing a Taboo

17 June 1953 has gone down in history as a popular uprising in the GDR. The GDR leadership, however, declared not the people but agents sent by the West to have been in command. With the political upheaval of 1989/90, the people gained access to the archives. At last, the filmic reconstruction and revision of the events was possible.

German-Soviet Friendship – Fraternisation and Glorification

“Great Socialist October Revolution,” “mortal enemy of the German National Socialist people,” “big brother”: These catchwords outline the chequered relationship of the various German states with the Soviet Union. Archive film material highlights facets of the Soviet Union’s self and external perception, refracted through the view of the GDR and post-reunification eras.

In the beginning was the line. Anne Isensee and Michelle Brand generate intricate paths from it, philosophise through the medium of drawing. In DOK Leipzig’s dialogue series “Animation Perspectives,” their films meet, their views on the artistic possibilities of animation cross – in direct exchange with each other and the audience.

Home – Floor Plan, Elevation & Life

Every emotion, every formative experience is anchored to a place. That place is usually called “home.” What is it made of, how does it protect or become a danger itself, how can it be the most beautiful place for some and the most terrible place for others? “Beyond Animation” undertakes a site visit – in films that design spaces of possibilities.

InBetweens – Meeting and Celebrating Tess Martin

Tess Martin’s poetic stories about belonging, identity and loss ring with echoes of autobiographical experiences. She is present in every single frame of her animated films, leaves fingerprints, edges of shadows, traces of work. The artist invites us to follow those traces with her – in an exclusive commented show of her works.

Are Slovenian documentary filmmakers crazy? Their works were looked down on as “exercises” for feature films, institutional funding was the exception. And yet the lunatics remained true to their passion – and created exciting, poetologically diverse film treasures of timeless validity. DOK Leipzig presents six outstanding works.

If the genre of mindful film existed, Peter Mettler would be one of its major proponents. From the very beginning, his creative practice has been determined by a continuous questioning of the presence and meaning of human existence. The homage will include two of his earlier films and a public masterclass, where Mettler will provide insight into his unique, process-oriented approach to filmmaking.