With the world premiere of the documentary film “White Angel – The End of Marinka” by Arndt Ginzel, our festival was opened on Sunday, 8 October at the CineStar theatre. This film documents evacuation and rescue operations in the small Ukrainian town of Marinka in the Donetsk region between the spring and autumn of 2022.

In his welcoming remarks, our festival director Christoph Terhechte emphasised the social and political relevance of the films that the festival is screening: “Not only is the war being waged against Ukraine a theme in several of the films in this year’s programme. Many of them also generally address the relationship between Russia and the now independent states that were once within the Soviet sphere of influence. The retrospective ‘Film and Protest: Popular Uprisings in the Cold War’ provides the historical perspective on this.”

Dr Skadi Jennicke, the City of Leipzig’s Deputy Mayor for Arts and Culture, emphasised the importance of DOK Leipzig in a time of uncertainty and the struggle for truth: “A clear commitment to facts, to the strength of the argument and to a critical debate that does not shy away from dissent. Defending these values also means defending our democracy. DOK Leipzig is a good venue for this. For the City of Leipzig, the festival is an indispensable highlight of the arts scene and an ambassador for Leipzig.”

Saxon Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Barbara Klepsch, who was unable to attend the opening, also expressed support for DOK Leipzig in her remarks: “The opening of the DOK festival begins a week-long international dialogue between representatives of the film industry and the audience, turning the eyes of the entire world to Leipzig and Saxony. The films that have been selected are not only entertaining; they also draw from current political discussions and take a critical look at the world in which we live.”

Markus Franke, head of the ministry’s arts division at the Saxon Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism announced the recipient of the Saxon Award for the Best Documentary Project by a Female Director, which is endowed with 5,000 euros.  The award went to the Belarusian filmmaker Daria Yurkevich for her project titled “GENESIS”. This film will portray a married couple who run a horse-farming collective and are doing everything they can to save the last remaining breed of Belarusian horses from extinction and release them into the wild.

We are screening 225 films and extended reality works from around 60 countries, including 44 world premieres, in eleven different venues until Sunday (15 October). From 9 to 15 October, one film per day will be available online for 24 hours throughout Germany in the DOK Stream.

“White Angel – The End of Marinka” will be in cinemas across Germany from 19 October.

Browse the Festival Programme

Three juries comprised of distinguished filmmakers and arts professionals, as well as a jury of audience members, will decide on the winners in the competitions at our 66th festival edition. Seven Golden Doves and two Silver Doves will go to films in four competitions.

International and German Competitions

The 2023 jury of the International Competition Documentary Film is comprised of Jennifer Fox, Radu Jude, Marie-Pierre Macia, Steven Markovitz and Rima Mismar. These five jury members will award a Golden Dove to one short film and one feature-length film from among 10 feature-length documentary films and 13 short films that have been nominated. One Silver Dove each will be awarded to one short and one feature-length film by an up-and-coming director.
 
This year, the jury of the International Animated Film Competition is comprised of Pavel Horáček, Anne Isensee and Irina Rubina. During the week-long festival, they will view 23 works that have been nominated and will choose recipient of the new Golden Dove for an animated feature film as well as of the Golden Dove for an animated short film.
 
The jury of the German Competition Documentary Film will award a Golden Dove for a feature-length documentary film and a Golden Dove for a short documentary film. Birgit Kohler, Claus Löser and Serpil Turhan are the jury members who will view and award these nine feature-length and eight short film productions from Germany.

Read more about the jury members

Audience Competition

Film buffs and long-time festivalgoers once again have the opportunity to be on the jury for the Audience Competition. Billie Bauermeister, Fritz Czaplinski, Anna Eulitz, Charlotte Hennrich and Annegret Weiß will be representing the DOK Leipzig audience as jury members this year. They will award a Golden Dove to one of eight feature-length documentaries that have been nominated.

These awards will be presented at DOK Leipzig 2023

“After quite a lot of films with personal approaches were made during the pandemic, this year the films are again looking more at socially and politically overarching themes. Also to understand what is happening in the present or how we can shape the future differently”, says festival director Christoph Terhechte about this year’s programme.

71 films are competing for the Golden and Silver Doves this year, and a total of 225 films and XR works will screen at the 2023 festival. We are proud and full of anticipation to see the works on the big screen soon! The release of the film schedule also marks the start of online ticket sales for the festival. Find all films and tickets here.

Four competitions with 35 world premieres

The International Competition Documentary Film includes 10 feature-length films and 13 short films. Debut films as well as productions by established filmmakers are part of the programme: Peter Mettler reflects on human existence, while Nikolaus Geyrhalter observes the stasis of life in Vienna during the times of Corona. A young Armenian family embarks on a quest for queer normality, and in Rwanda, young filmmaker Sarah Mallégol documents the impressive strength of the survivors of the genocide 1994.

For the International Competition Animated Film, a total of 27 productions have been selected. A virtual game and dystopian scenario becomes the place where filmmakers interview their protagonists, while in “Sultana's Dream” we travel to the utopian land of women. John Heartfield posthumously politicises a local graphic designer and in China the graduate of a music school is confronted with the professional reality of artists.

The German Competition Documentary Film features 8 short and 9 feature-length documentaries. Grit Lemke portrays the forgotten culture of the Sorbs, “One Hundred Four” documents a rescue at sea in the Mediterranean in real time and “Sick Girls” deals with ADHD from the female perspective. Old Super 8 footage of an idyllic family life uncovers the bitter truth of domestic violence, while three films deal with Germany's colonial past and and its remnants in the present day.

Eight feature-length documentaries have been nominated for the Audience Competition. Many of them have already made a name for themselves at major international film festivals. Some films in the competition tell true crime stories or look behind the scenes of Italian beach holidays. Others follow an 84-year-old female DJ through the night, and in “Bye Bye Tiberias”, actress Hiam Abbass (“Succession,” “Blade Runner 2049”) takes her daughter back to the Palestinian village she once called home.

Strong Artistic Signatures: 5 Films at Camera Lucida - Out of Competition.

In our section Camera Lucida we show five artful films - a must for all cinephile fans! Jim Finn returns to Leipzig with a humorous, psychedelic montage about the work of the apostle Paul, “The Tuba Thieves” explores the meaning of sound and listening, and “Man in Black” traces the cruelties of the communist regime in China with the artist portrait of composer Wang Xilin.

For more info on our competitions, see our press release.

“The world is constantly changing, but its discouraging structures remain,” says Lars Rummel, the curator of the exhibition presented this year under the title “Nowhere Is Only Somewhere”. The ten selected extended reality works throw down the gauntlet once again in the knowledge of the feat of strength that every utopia requires. They address war, colonialism and repression, also as patriarchal and heteronormative abuses of power. But they don't stop there, they invite everyone to open up to others, share thoughts and form collective identity.

DOK Neuland takes place from 10.10. to 15.10. at the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig (MdbK) and is open to the public free of charge. The exhibition takes place with thanks to Lars Rummel (curation), Marie Hinkelmann and Johanna Gerlach (production). As with previous years, the scenography was created in collaboration with artist Paula Gehrmann.

“DOK Neuland does not offer to contemplate in immersive worlds. Instead, we call for exiting the matrix in our minds,” says Lars Rummel. The audience is invited to witness, to feel community, and to take collective responsibility for ensuring that no fate is forgotten. “In the end, despite everything and perhaps because we have little left to stand on, we remain hopeful.”

XR, VR, AR, KI & Co

DOK Industry’s events include an exhilarating programme on interactive and immersive storytelling with extended reality (XR) or the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Discover the conference details of DOK Exchange XR and the European Creators’ Lab here.