Daniel Sager’s Behind the Headlines will open DOK.fest München 2021 @home on May 5. Additionally, six nominees are named to compete for DOK.fest Award SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit, valued at €3000 and awarded to films that ‘show the perspective of children and young people in a remarkable way.’
Behind the Headlines offers a riveting insight into the hidden world of investigative journalism. Two reporters from the “Investigative Research” department of the Süddeutsche Zeitung meet Edward Snowden, investigate the weapons business and continually chase hot and cold leads. Then a story emerges that overturns Austrian politics: the “Ibiza affair” involving the FPÖ politician and then Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache. The film is described by the festival as “pure suspense and a plea for serious journalism in times of populism, fake news and social media.
Director Daniel Sager and the protagonists will talk about the film and its production, as well as the Ibiza affair ,during the opening ceremony from the (empty) Deutsches Theater München via a live link with presenter Christina Wolf and festival director Daniel Sponsel. The film and the opening ceremony are available on the DOK.fest München website.
The festival also announced the nominees for DOK.fest Award of SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit. The films are:
Far From You I Grew, France 2020, Marie Dumora
Follow You Home, Denmark 2021, Kathrine Ravn Kruse
School of Hope, Finland, France, Morocco 2020, Mohamed El Aboudi
Shadow Game, Netherlands 2021, Eefje Blankevoort, Els van Driel
Skies Above Hebron, Netherlands 2020, Esther Hertog, Paul King
Wandering, A Rohingya Story, Canada 2020, Mélanie Carrier, Oliver Higgins
The DOK.fest Award of SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit is endowed with 3,000 euros. The prize is awarded to films that show the perspective of children and young people in a remarkable way. Jury (https://www.dokfest-muenchen.de/Jury_sos_kinderdoerfer_weltweit)
The nominated films can be seen online as part of DOK.fest München 2021 @home from 6 to 23 May 2021.
As reported earlier, four major competitions will present the highlights of international filmmaking. The guest country of the festival this year is Canada. The festival retrospective presents five decades of DEFA documentary film and the homage of the DOK.fest München 2021 @home is dedicated to distinguished Czech director Helena Třeštíková, who herself once described her working method as “time-lapse filmmaking.”
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The industry platform DOK.forum @home offers case studies, workshops, panels and a marketplace that brings together filmmakers and decision-makers from German-speaking countries – live and online.
