After a full programme presented in selected Leipzig cinemas 25-31 October, DOK Stream will offer a selection of festival films accessible online by the German public during the first two weeks of November. Film professionals to meet again in Leipzig during DOK Industry, with online participation still an option.
In 2021 the complete film programme of DOK Leipzig will screen in selected Leipzig venues during the festival week running 25-31 October. Then the DOK Stream service will kick in, featuring a selection of festival films accessible to the German public, running the first two weeks of November.
The 17th annual DOK Industry Programme for film professionals will also be the first major German platform of its kind to combine in-person and online collaboration, the June 9 festival statement points out.
“This year’s film programme is primarily intended to happen in the cinemas. With this, we are promoting a physical fresh start after a cultural dry spell,” comments festival director Christoph Terhechte. “The online and offline film programme will not take place in parallel, because in 2021 we want to give priority to the cinemas.”
In its statement the festival stresses that in 2021 the number of festival films is expected to rise to more than 200, though still with a reduced programme in some areas compared to 2019, “for both practical and artistic reasons.” Other curated programmes will be included in the line-up including the Retrospective which had to be suspended in 2020, but which will be shown on the big screen once again. “We’re hoping for adjusted hygiene concepts and a further easing of the situation by fall, which will allow a greater utilisation of the cinemas compared to last year,” Terhechte says.
Film professionals will be able to take advantage of all the established formats of DOK Industry at the end of October, the statement further advises. These include the DOK Co-Pro Market, the short film pitch DOK Short n’ Sweet, the rough-cut presentations DOK Preview, the DOK Film Market, the XR conference DOK Exchange, Meet the Experts, and talks. Partner presentations and podcasts will also be included. Almost all formats will be simultaneously hosted both on-site and online.
“With a hybrid offering, we want to facilitate the industry’s great desire to meet in person again, while ensuring that everyone can participate regardless of possible travel restrictions or other hurdles,” says Nadja Tennstedt, who took over as head DOK Industry in early 2021. “The last 15 months have been marked by huge upheavals for the audiovisual industry. The DOK Industry team is aware of the great challenges facing the international documentary community and wants to promote co-operation and togetherness among all participants with the first hybrid Industry Programme. In doing so, we’ll focus on bringing offline and online participants together in a way that creates enriching and effective meetings that will also be a lot of fun.”
As at Berlinale (where Tennstedt headed up Doc Salon until this year), the DOK Industry team aims to maintain a focus on diversity and inclusion. “One of our central concerns is including new groups of participants and making DOK Industry offerings accessible to people from marginalised groups,” Tennstedt says.
As regards the combining of online and offline, she adds: “Hybridity is here to stay. We are actively learning along with the documentary community just how important this development is in terms of funding, distribution, sustainability and inclusion. We see the hybrid edition of DOK Industry as an exciting start to sustainable development.”
