Finally it‘s this time of the year again: For a whole week, we‘ll be having a programme full of documentary and animated films, XR works and events in our festival cinemas and venues!

Today (27 October) we opened this year‘s festival edition CineStar cinema with a screening of Claire Simon’s documentary “Writing Life: Annie Ernaux Through the Eyes of High School Students”. Prior to this, we screened Matea Radic’s short film “Paradaïz”, in which she revisits her childhood during the war in Bosnia.

At the opening of this, the last edition of the festival under his direction, festival director Christoph Terhechte emphasised the value of culture and film festivals: “Culture is at risk. It is threatened by dwindling resources, by political influence, by self-censorship, and, last but not least, by indifference. So we decided to open our 68th festival with a film about the potential and the value of culture. Over the next few days, numerous filmmakers will be here in Leipzig to show the world or international premieres of their works. They have spent years developing their animated and documentary films and they are eagerly anticipating the moment when they can share them with a large audience for the first time. This audience consists of fans of the festival, but also numerous film enthuasiasts, guests and industry representatives, some of whom travel from far away. At DOK Industry, they present their projects in development and find financing and co-production partners. We are proud that, as a festival, we can play our part in ensuring that powerful, socially and politically relevant films that promote a democratic mindset find their way to audiences worldwide.“

Dr Skadi Jennicke, the Mayor and Councillor for Culture of the City of Leipzig, also spoke at the opening.

Further, the first award was presented: The Saxon Award for the Best Documentary Project by a Female Director, worth 5,000 euros and commissioned by the Saxon Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism (SMWK) went to Ana Vijdea for her project titled “nava mamă”.

The opening event concluded with a screening of the opening film, followed by a discussion with director Claire Simon.

Read the press release here.

Ola Staszel is set to become the new general manager of DOK Leipzig and managing director of DOK Leipzig from 1 January 2026. A selection committee led by Dr Skadi Jennicke, the city’s mayor for arts and culture, made this recommendation. Leipzig’s mayor, Burkhard Jung, has now confirmed the resulting decision. The city council is expected to vote on the appointment at its meeting on 29 October – fittingly right during the festival week.

Dr Skadi Jennicke says: “In Ola Staszel, the city of Leipzig will gain a general manager for DOK who brings with her a broad artistic vision as well as considerable experience in the documentary film industry and a thoughtful approach to it. Additionally, Ms Staszel is known for focusing on Eastern European topics in her work to date. This will prominently carry forward an emphasis that the DOK Leipzig Film Festival has traditionally had with a view to current social challenges,”

We are delighted with the decision, eagerly await the city council vote and are curious to get to know Ola’s visions for the festival!

By the way: On 30 October, festival director Christoph Terhechte will join Ola Staszel in discussing the past and future of DOK Leipzig at the “Festival Visions” DOK Talk. This event will begin at 11:30 at the Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig and is open to the public. Admission is free of charge.

You can’t make it to Leipzig? During the festival week, selected films will be available for online viewing throughout Germany via the website’s DOK Stream function. Each day from 28 October all through 2 November 2025, a new feature film or a short film reel will be accessible for 24 hours, from midnight to midnight, for 5€. 

These films are part of the DOK Stream:   

Tuesday, 28 October

„The Woman Who Poked the Leopard“
Vulgar expressions, bare breasts, and the right arguments. Ugandan feminist Stella Nyanzi provokes head of state Museveni, in office since 1986, and runs for office herself.

Wednesday, 29 October

„Take the Money and Run“
A portrait of the artist as a rogue: Jens Haaning was lent 74,000 euros by a museum and never returned them. A breach of contract as a work of art – can this end well?

Thursday, 30 October 

„A Simple Soldier“
In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion Artem Ryzhykov joins the Ukrainian army. Equipped with a machine gun and a camera, the filmmaker documents his life as a soldier

Friday, 31 October

„Balentes“
In 1940, two friends who grow up like brothers rescue horses destined for war in Sardinia. Only one of them will survive. An equally dark and poetic animation.

Saturday, 1 November 

A mix of six animated and documentary short films:
„Bar Croquette Freestyle“
„Four Percent“
„How a River is Born“
„Passageways“
„Unyagoni: Bahati’s Sex Education Journey“
„Have Fun in Venice!“

Sunday, 2 November

„The Thing to Be Done“
An office for workers’ rights in Ljubljana. A lawyer, an activist, and a social worker support people who were cheated by companies. This is where resistance is taught.

There is no advance sale for DOK Stream. Online tickets can be purchased directly via the film pages linked above and in our programme as soon as the respective day arrives.

From the teary, bloodshot eyes of call centre monkeys and threads glowing in the darkness, to the resilience of artistic animated films in times of low-cost AI productions: DOK Leipzig is providing a broad platform for animated filmmaking. Join us in the Animation Perspectives and Animation Night sections, as well as in a DOK Talk and in the DOK Industry events. These events focus attention on unusual artistic styles and standpoints, production conditions and current matters of interest.

Animation Perspectives – two artists’ approaches to navigating experimental narration, black humour, and a world that’s falling apart

On the Thursday of the festival, the Animation Perspectives introduces Niki Lindroth von Bahr and Réka Bucsi, two artists working in animation who take a bold, idiosyncratic and fragmentary approach to crafting their own cinematic environments. The artists’ works venture into unexplored territory involving experimental narration, black humour and abstraction to bring forth the unspoken, the painful – but also the beautiful. In absurd modern fables featuring relatable, anthropomorphic animals, Niki Lindroth von Bahr from Stockholm pulls colourful, glowing threads from the darkness and weaves them into an almost intangible “in-between”: futuristic, surreal, and populated by sophisticated characters that only seem to be cute. Bucsi thus encourages us not to block out the darkness in our own lives but to embrace it: only then do magically glowing plants grow, and orange clouds cry.

Back to The Future: The Video Synthesizer

More than half a century ago, the invention of the video synthesizer revolutionised filmmaking by integrating technology in the creation of art. In the mid-1960s, a new generation of artists seeking for innovative forms of expression discovered they could use the medium of video in their work. On the Friday of the festival, Animation Night curator Ben Sassen will draw on a curated programme of films spanning nearly three decades to highlight the role of the video synthesizer in the history of modern filmmaking and showcase some of the major artistic achievements of this period. Following the film screenings, there will be a performance by contemporary audio/video artists CINEMA.AV (USA) and Processing___ (Canada) who will present their new live work, “MICROWAVE”.

Masterclass and DOK Talk Behind the Screens

In the free Masterclass: In Conversation with Punto y Raya, held during the festival on Thursday, curator Franka Sachse will talk to the team behind Punto y Raya, a festival for animated filmmaking that also serves as an international platform at the nexus of visual arts and new technologies. The festival plays an important part in promoting the visibility of an art form dedicated to the most elementary aspects of audiovisual work: form, colour, motion and sound. On the same day, at the DOK Talk „animation@DOK Leipzig – Behind the Screens“, Jana Kraft, the coordinator of the animated film competition, will talk to directors of animated films and share personal insights into working with animation.

DOK Industry: Tackling challenges constructively

At DOK Industry, the Thursday and Wednesday of the festival will also be dedicated to animation. At our annual short film pitch DOK Short n' Sweet eight exciting short film projects in different stages of production will be presented. The DOK Industry Talk Anidox Lab – The Alchemy of Animated Documentaries will shine a light on the magic of animated documentaries when real-life stories and experiences meet boundless possibilities of animation. The partner event AG Animated Film: "AI in Animation – Curse, Blessing or Both" will explore ways to address the surge of purely AI-generated content on streaming platforms, which, because of its speed, low production cost, and often questionable quality, is transforming both production processes and audience viewing habits. DOK Industry: Jump in! invites professionals from the fields of animation and documentary film to come together and exchange ideas. The DOK Industry Talk Shorts, Screened and Streamed: Connecting Audiences to Short Films will examine how short films can reach their audiences through both international film festivals and online platforms.