The first episode of our sixth season of DOK Industry Podcast is out! Four new episodes will be released in the run-up to the festival in autumn. The podcast is produced in collaboration with our long-term partners Programmers of Colour Collective (POC2) and What's Up With Docs Podcast — and brand new on bord: Talking Shorts.

As in our previous seasons, we will continue exploring burning issues in the documentary film industry with a special focus on power structures and lack of representation. The DOK Industry Podcast aims to inspire discussions about equality, solidarity and participation in documentary and animated film. Contributions are intended to question existing power structures and initiate change. Read more in the press release

The Curators

of this year’s DOK Industry Podcast are Toni Bell, Qila Gill, Sanne Jehoul, Weronika Lewandowska, Lucy Mukerjee and Niels Putman.

In the First Episode

Qila Gill, Nihan Sivridag (Selection Committee Berlinale Shorts) and Puiyee Leong (Programme Director of Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film Singapore) discuss the self-understanding of cultural institutions and their own roles as cultural workers in the face of today’s global political climate. How can they offer filmmakers an environment that is both appreciative and respectful? What does community building look like within cultural spaces such as festivals? How can institutions practice hospitality when filmmakers from different cultural backgrounds participate? Gill, Sivridag, and Leong talk about solidarity, art as a political moment, and the need to see one's own role as an enabler of open spaces for art and discourse, rather than a gatekeeper. They also reflect on the creative freedom that lies in the short film format—especially in light of the fact that it meets with little commercial interest.

Further Episodes

of Season 6 will focus on the US organisation “Disability Media Alliance”, which is set to launch in the summer; the political impact of cinematic storytelling; the unique characteristics and production conditions of short films; the responsibility of XR art towards young people; and unconventional distribution models used by filmmakers to reach their audiences — with a special spotlight on the research and networking project UNITED SCREENS.

Tune in to episode 1 – “Short Films, Big Questions”