DOK Leipzig 24

'La Jetée, the Fifth Shot' by Dominique Cabrera was awarded the Golden Dove in International Competition Documentary. The Golden Dove Short Film went to celebrated British experimental filmmaker John Smith for 'Being John Smith,' while The Silver Dove Long Film, given to the best feature-length documentary film by an up-and-coming director, was won by Pierre Michel Jean for 'Twice Into Oblivion.' All awards…

The 2024 DOK Neuland programme presents eleven works from the fields of VR, AR, 360° film, gaming, installation and participatory film. The associated exhibition runs from 29 October to 3 November and is spread across four locations in Leipzig: in the Museum of Fine Arts (MdbK), at the main station, in the Galerie KUB and in the Cinémathèque Leipzig.

Maja Classen’s feature documentary world-premiering in Leipzig, may be highly explicit in its depiction of ‘sex positivity,’ but love, care and consent are at the heart of all the encounters we observe. “My purpose is to build a bridge with this film and to reach a wider audience, people who might be scared and have prejudices against queers and promiscuity,” the director tells BDE. “I want to gently take them by the hand and show them, that there is nothing to be afraid of. It’s all human.”

For German Films MD Simone Baumann, it may be “a pleasure” to promote German docs throughout the year, but she can’t hide her frustration at her government dragging its feet in passing new and long-awaited film legislation. This means docmakers (and the wider production community) don’t know where they stand either in terms of future funding or what they can offer international co-pro partners. “These are crucial elements in the whole reform of the funding system - and everybody's waiting for it to be resolved,” Baumann tells BDE.

The 2024 jury for the International Competition Documentary Film consists of Maria Bonsanti, Sylvaine Dampierre, Eric Hynes, Avi Mograbi, and Akram Zaatari. The five jury members will present Golden Doves to both the Best Feature Documentary and the Best Short Documentary. Silver Doves will be awarded to the best feature-length documentary and the best short documentary by an up-and-coming director.

Anja Reiss and Jann Anderegg’s Traces of Responsibility offers a multi-perspective exploration of the origins and aftermath of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. In the interactive film, the audience is taken on a journey through modern-day Rwanda but can, at strategic points, choose from the film’s numerous editorial lines, whether they be first-hand testimony, modern-day analyses of events, the trial of a war criminal, or expressions of hope for the future by Rwandan youth.

The festival welcomed a total of 55,000 filmgoers this year – more than ever before. Last year, the festival attracted 45,500 filmgoers. The previous record (48,000) was set in 2019, the year before the pandemic. This enabled “lively discussions in sold-out cinemas and memorable feedback for the numerous filmmakers who came here from all over the world,” comments Festival Director Christoph Terhechte. “This is a good sign for cinema screenings of documentaries and animated films.”

The 67th edition will present a total of 209 films and XR works from 55 countries. “The films bear witness to a diverse and complex world. Many of them point out alternatives to the status quo. They give hope. They do not deny the looming destruction of our natural resources; instead they are dedicated to examining what we want to preserve,” says festival director Christoph Terhechte.

Local myth had it that when women in southern Italy were bitten by a tarantula, the only way to get rid of the poison seeping through their system was to dance out the toxin in a mad frenzy. “It is clearly related to extremely restrictive gender roles,” co-director Schäuble reflects on a sickness which seemed primarily to affect those already regarded as outsiders. “They were very often people who did not comply with strict gender norms and expectations.” The film world premieres in Leipzig.

In her feature doc that world-premiered recently in Leipzig, Anna Maria Friedrich goes in search of nomadic life in Germany and talks to its exponents, such as Journeywoman Magdalena in traditional costume or former tightrope artist Elwera, a member of the small but vocal Yenish community. As elegiac as their lives sound, these are women who live very much in the present. “The existences that I encountered are mostly very modern and very adaptive,” Friedrich tells BDE.