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. They also harboured a certain potency when it came to reflecting on the GDR’s own situation.
“Un-American Activities: Films from the ‘Other America’ at the Leipzig Documentary Film Week from 1962 to 1989”
Given the wealth of finds, the curators Tobias Hering and Tilman Schumacher, and the festival decided to extend the Retrospective beyond the usual six days during the festival week. The additional programmes will be shown at the Luru Kino in the Spinnerei.
Before and after the festival
The Retrospective will open on the weekend before the festival with 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.
During the festival week
This part of the Retrospective will be held at CineStar 5 and reflect 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.
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 of amateur films from Saxony, 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. We are screening the film “Forgive Me for Being Human”, which Mückenberger played a major role in creating. It is a remarkable family portrait of Friedrich Wolf as a politically engaged writer and doctor, told from the perspective of his children among whom are DEFA director Konrad and Markus, head of the GDR foreign intelligence service.
You can find more information in our press release. Explore all films of this series in the film list 2025.
The complete schedule for DOK Leipzig 2025, including all dates, will be announced on 9 October. Tickets will go on sale on that day.
This Retrospective is funded by the Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany. This year, the Retrospective takes place in cooperation with Luru Kino. DOK Leipzig would like to thank the Saxon State Archives and the DEFA Foundation for their support in making the matinees possible.
