In a move bound to win approval from the international documentary industry, the key festivals of Doclisboa, DOK Leipzig and Ji.hlava IDFF have agreed to shift dates in 2022 so as to avoid overlap and therefore enable wider industry attendance.
“Next year we will be one after the other sequential,” DOK Leipzig chief Christoph Terhechte told Business Doc Europe. “We are very happy to shift our dates.”
Doclisboa will kick off 6-16 October 2022. DOK Leipzig will pick up the baton and operate 17-23 October. Ji.hlava IDFF will then run October 25-30, retaining its regular timeslot so as to benefit from the public holiday around Czech National Day on October 28.
This contrasts pleasingly with a packed 2021 schedule which sees Doclisboa run 21-31 October, DOK Leipzig 25-31 October and Ji.hlava 26-31 October.
All three festivals are joined in the Doc Alliance network.
“This change will enable further co-operation possibilities and make our activities available to more filmmakers,” says Ji.hlava IDFF director Marek Hovorka. “It has always been crucial for Ji.hlava to connect filmmakers from across Europe – West and East, but also North and South – which will be much easier now. I am looking forward to surprising and intense meetings in Jihlava as well as in Lisbon and Leipzig and I am happy that the documentary world is on the move again, and sparking with energy!”
The 2022 date change is set in stone for Doclisboa, but is not yet guaranteed for following years, although the festival’s co-director Miguel Ribeiro underlines that he hopes it can be permanent.
“It’s important to say that this is something that we have all wanted for a long time now,” he comments. “We all felt that it would be better if we were not on the same dates, but from our [Doclisboa’s] perspective this wasn’t something that we could do before.”
