Clara Stella Hüneke’s documentary Sisterqueens will open the inaugural Dokumentale International Documentary and Media Festival Berlin, running 10 to 20 October.
The graduation film from the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy documents the eponymous hip-hop project in Berlin-Wedding, which has been supporting girls between the ages of 8 and 18 for eight years. Under the guidance of mentors such as rapper Ebow, the Sisterqueens learn the craft of rap and grow together as a community. For the film, Hüneke accompanied her protagonists for four years.
Dokumentale (10-20 October) is described as “a festival for documentary formats dedicated to the promotion of film, new media, non-fiction and podcasts.” The new festival provides a forum for exchange between filmmakers, journalists, authors, artists, academics and the public and will takes place annually in Berlin. The festival also offers an extensive professional programme in the form of D’Hub, which takes place from 14 to 17 October.
The full programme will be announced soon, but pre-announced films include The Hexagonal Hive and a Mouse In A Maze, in which Tilda Swinton and Bartek Dziadosz invite us to reflect on the future of learning, and D.W. Young’s Uncropped, produced by Wes Anderson, dedicated to photographer James Hamilton whose images of New York in the 1970s and 80s have become part of the collective visual memory.
The world of cinema itself is also the subject of productions such as The Lives and Deaths of Christopher Leeby Jon Spira, and Greta Gerwig: Itinerary of a Rising Star by Pierre-Paul Puljiz.
The festival also offers an extensive VX programme. Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in new worlds and narratives through VR projects and interactive installations, such as Pedro Rebelos and Frank Delaney’s SARC x 20 which explores the complex relationships between art, technology and society. The live performance Red Redemption, by European Film Award winner Total Refusal, takes the capitalist logic of exploitation ad absurdum in a gaming context.
Feminist perspectives are also explored in two VR works. Draw for Change: Existimos, Resistimos by Mariana Cadenas Sangronis and Mar Maremoto shows how art can function as an act of resistance. The Matriarx by Julia Bruton invites us to imagine a world where matriarchy has prevailed.
The three-day D’Hub professional programme (14 to 16 October) is designed “to foster collaboration, innovation and impactful storytelling in the realm of non-fiction media…offering a dedicated space and a tailored program of events for all creatives working in the non-fiction space – documentary filmmakers, authors, journalists, media makers, and scientists alike.”
The three-day program from October 14-16 will include panels, networking opportunities, workshops, as well as co-creation spaces and safe spaces to talk about the challenges of our work. During the talks, themes to be explored include: the importance and threats of non-fiction storytelling nowadays; legal and emotional care for others and oneself in this process; activism and social commitment; collective concern, and collective care.
“Anchored at the heart of Dokumentale, D’Hub reinforces the fundamental importance of the documentary genre and is committed to continuously strengthening its role in our society,” write organisers.
At the heart of the D’Hub is The Good Media Pitch (October 15), an exclusive one-day celebration of film and impact. Six outstanding projects will meet with decision-makers, influencers, civil society representatives, and foundations to find partners to realize their impact campaigns. Participants are invited to join, share their thoughts and perspectives, and learn from different approaches in the field of film and impact.
