A successful festival week lies behind us: This year, 53,000 visitors attended the screenings, events, and industry activities. We would like to thank everyone for their interest and for all the wonderful and valuable encounters!

Our Festival Director Christoph Terhechte sums up:

“The fact that so many festivalgoers and accredited guests once again flocked to the cinemas, to DOK Neuland and to the DOK Industry events continues to show how great the demand is for artistic engagement with global political issues and diverse lifestyles,” concludes festival director Christoph Terhechte. “This year, we observed a striking number of film talks in which the audience not only asked questions but also engaged in lengthy and lively discussions about the films. There is a thirst for dialogue held face-to-face – and it remained respectful throughout the festival. This is the approach to discourse we like to see.”

More than 2,000 industry professionals were accredited. Highlights of DOK Industry included the DOK Talks “Doc Together: Documentary as Resistance” and “Anidox Lab – The Alchemy of Animated Documentaries.”

A tip for all those who can’t get enough of DOK Leipzig: One final part of our programme is still to come. The third part of our Retrospective “Un-American Activities: Films from the ‘Other America’ at the Leipzig Documentary Film Week from 1962 to 1989” will take place on 7 and 8 November at Luru Kino in the Spinnerei.

Looking back on six years under Christoph Terhechte’s direction

The 68th edition of the festival marked the final one under Christoph Terhechte, who took over as Festival Director in January 2020. Since then, he has streamlined the film programme, strengthened the presence of feature-length animation at the festival, and championed emerging talent and cinema culture. He also established the Audience Competition and the sections “Panorama: Central and Eastern Europe” and “Camera Lucida.”

On 1 January 2026, Ola Staszel will assume the position of Festival Director and Managing Director of Leipziger Dok-Filmwochen GmbH.

The 69th edition of DOK Leipzig will take place from 26 October to 1 November 2026.

Read more in our press release.

It’s award time at the 68th edition of DOK Leipzig! Ten Partnership Awards were handed out at the Schaubühne Lindenfels in Leipzig on Saturday. We congratulate all the winners!

These films have been awarded:

ver.di-Prize for Solidarity, Humanity and Fairness (2,000 €):
 “The Woman Who Poked the Leopard” by Patience Nitumwesiga 

DEFA Sponsoring Prize (4,000 €):
 “The Woman Who Poked the Leopard” by Patience Nitumwesiga 

MDR Film Prize (3,000 €) 
“Welded Together” Anastasiya Miroshnichenko

Prize of the Interreligious Jury (2,000 €)
“The Thing to Be Done” by Srđan Kovačević’s

Special Mention:
Jennifer Chiu’s “Clan of the Painted Lady”

Young Eyes Film Award (2,000 €):
“Fantastique” by Marjolijn Prins

Prize of the International Film Critics (FIPRESCI Prize): 
“The Red Moon Eclipse” by Caroline Guimbal

mephisto 97.6 Award:
“Once in a Body” by María Cristina Pérez.

Gedanken-Aufschluss Documentary Film Award:
“Sediments” by Laura Coppens’ 

Gedanken-Aufschluss Animated Film Award:
“Clot” by Levi Stoops

film.land.sachsen Prize for Film Culture in Rural Areas
“Intersection – It’s Political” by Karoline Rößler

Film Prize Leipziger Ring (2,500 €):
“A Simple Soldier” by Juan Camilo Cruz

Congratulations to all film teams!

We let the Doves fly! Seven Golden and two Silver Doves were awarded at the 68th edition of DOK Leipzig at the Schaubühne Lindenfels in Leipzig on Saturday. Ten Partnership Awards were also presented earlier in the afternoon. Big congratulations to all the winners!

International Competition Documentary Film

In the International Competition Documentary Film, the Golden Dove Feature-Length Film went to Ivan Ramljak’s “Peacemaker”. The Golden Dove is sponsored by Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk and endowed with 10,000 euros. The jury comprised Heleen Gerritsen, Alain Kassanda, Annie Ohayon-Dekel, Kazuhiro Soda, and Jim Stark. 

The Golden Dove Short Film, carrying a prize money of 3,000 euros, went to Matilde-Luna Perotti’s “After the Silence”. 

The Silver Dove Feature-Length Film went to “Elephants & Squirrels” by Gregor Brändli. The award is sponsored by 3sat and endowed with 6,000 euros, recognising the best documentary feature by an up-and-coming director.

The Silver Dove Short Film went to “String Pieces” by Vatae Kimlee. The 1,500-euro prize, sponsored by the independent Saxon State Media Agency (SLM), recognises the best short documentary by an emerging director.

The recipients of Golden Doves in the International Competition Documentary Film qualify for nomination for the annual Academy Awards®, provided they meet the Academy’s standards. 

International Competition Animated Film

In the International Competition Animated Film, the Golden Dove Feature-Length Film, which comes with 3,000 euros, went to Seth Scriver and Peter Scriver’s “Endless Cookie”. The jury composed of Betina Kuntzsch, Aneta Ozorek, and Jonatan Schwenk.

The Golden Dove Short Film, endowed with 1,500 euros, went to Matea Radic’s “Paradaïz”. 

The recipient of a Golden Dove Short Film in the International Competition Animated Film qualifies for nomination for the annual Academy Awards®, provided it meets the Academy’s standards.

German Competition Documentary Film

In the German Competition Documentary Film, the Golden Dove Feature-Length Film went to “Active Vocabulary” by Yulia Lokshina. This 10,000-euro award is donated by Doris Apell-Kölmel and Michael Kölmel.

The Golden Dove Short Film, which comes with 1,500 euros, went to Jana Rothe’s “Boma a Bopa”. The jury featured Maike Mia Höhne, Gerd Kroske, and Ines Weizman.

The short film “Cold Call” by Stefanie Schroeder received an special mention.

Audience Competition

In the Audience Competition, the Golden Dove was presented to Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni’s “Cutting Through Rocks”. The audience jury this year consisted of Henry Engelberg, Fine Fritzke, Lara Goldberg, Višnja Jurić-Krappmann, and Moritz Mahltig. The 3,000-euro award is granted pro rata by Leipziger Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Filmkunst e. V. and the Leipzig Stiftung.

Congratulations! Find out more about the awards and juries here.

Ola Staszel will 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 and the city council has voted for Ola Staszel 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 and are thrilled to get to know Ola’s visions for the festival!

By the way: On 30 October, festival director Christoph Terhechte has discussed the past and future of DOK Leipzig with Ola Staszel at the “Festival Visions” DOK Talk.

Watch the DOK Talk with Ola Staszel now (in German).