DOK Leipzig is launching the fifth season of the DOK Industry Podcast on 3 July. From its start, the podcast are in collaboration with the Programmers of Colour Collective (POC2) and the What’s Up with Docs podcast, the seven new episodes will be released in the run-up to the festival in autumn.

The DOK Industry Podcast offers a dedicated space for dialogue and debate to meaningfully address the status quo of the film industry in terms of position of power and lack of representation.   Its episodes aim to create pathways into criticism, alternative perspectives and works from filmmakers, curators, artists and writers from marginalised groups.  It strives to act as a platform where listeners explore the nuances of a complex reality, engage,  empathise and seek courage through truthful conversations between sparring partners. 

“Since its first season five years ago, the DOK Industry podcast was conceived as an inspirational tool for change in the international documentary landscape,” reminds Nadja Tennstedt, head of DOK Industry. “In the current reality marked by harrowing wars and social, humanitarian, political and ecological crises, it can be difficult to not feel stuck but forge ahead in mapping possible futures. All the more, It’s a privilege and great pleasure to amplify the voices of our curators and speakers who envision and work towards a more just, inclusive and collaborative industry where access for marginalized professionals is a priority and decision-making power is genuinely redistributed.”

The curators of this year’s DOK Industry Podcast are Lucy Mukerjee, Themba Bhebhe, Toni Bell, Weronika Lewandowska, Shakira Refos, Meena Nanji, Sunil Sadarangani, Judy Kibinge, Mungai Kiroga, Emily Rogers, Erika Dilday and P. Mudamba Mudamba.

In the first episode of the new season, Shakira Refos talks to Lanaa Dantzler, scriptwriter, filmmaker and alumna of the  Black Girls Film Camp, about her experience in the training programme, the impact on her professional and personal journey and how she envisions her future as an emerging filmmaker in the film industry. The camp provides a mentorship programme where young Black women seek support in a dedicated, safe space for producing a (first) short film. The conversation continues with filmmaker Contessa Gayles stretching out more insights about the importance of pipeline programmes such as fellowships, art residencies and labs and how to find empowerment and success outside academia.  

Another episode turns the spotlight on filmmaking industry in India. Producer, journalist and festival curator Sunil Sadarangani invites producer Apoorva Bakshi, activist Srishti Bakshi and filmmaker Selvamani Selvaraj to discuss the current documentary film scene based on their experiences and the story arc of the documentary film "WOMB: Women of My Billion" and the documentary series "The Hunt for Veerappan".

Focusing on the Kenyan film industry, Judy Kibinge, Mungai Kiroga and P. Mudamba Mudamba talk about DOCUBOX,  an initiative that has been a dynamic hub supporting filmmakers from the region for more than ten years. They dive deep into  their journey as initiators of a grassroots movement that has created a wide range of opportunities for its independent filmmakers, including the first of its kind film grant in sub-Saharan Africa for creative documentaries, the East African Documentary Film Fund. 

Inney Prakash, Jean-Marie Teno, Pratibha Parmar and Meena Nanji examine initiatives from Cameroon and the United States for creating discursive spaces for films outside the commercial structures that have an impact on  the visibility and narratives in the content of streaming services and established festivals. Together they discuss new ways of presenting, sharing and distributing films that are experimental and more radical than those of mainstream cinema.

American Documentary is a well-known nonprofit media arts organization in the United States. Part of their programming is POV, the longest-running showcase for independent nonfiction films broadcast on PBS. Emily Rogers and Erika Dilday, part of the AmDoc editorial team, invite BIPOC filmmakers and protagonists who have worked with POV to probe the complexities of working in the industry as a BIPOC storyteller, the considerations and responsibilities in telling stories for and by communities of colour, and the nuances of navigating life after one’s story is published.

Curator, XR creator, researcher, and lecturer Weronika Lewandowska is hosting a podcast episode with a focus on immersive audio, showcasing new dimensions of XR storytelling through spatial sound, to complement this year's DOK Industry programme DOK Exchange XR.

This podcast is supported by Docs in Orbit, a podcast hosted by a community of international filmmakers, and film.macht.kritisch – The Podcast about the *Other* Cinema from programmer  Canan Turan.

The DOK Industry podcast is funded by Creative Europe, BKM, MDM and the City of Leipzig.

All episodes are available on the DOK Leipzig website as well as on Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts.

First episode of the fifth Podcast season: DOK Industry Podcasts