DOK Leipzig teams up with the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival to launch "Doc Together", a new initiative dedicated to supporting displaced or exiled filmmakers and those working under perilous conditions in their home countries. "Doc Together" aims to explore how these professionals can access funding, resources and industry support in their current locations or in their countries of origin if they are excluded from national funding opportunities or unable to receive support.

The initiative was officially presented yesterday at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival by Nadja Tennstedt (Director of DOK Industry, DOK Leipzig) and Angeliki Vergou (Head of Agora, Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival) together with Talal Afifi (filmmaker, producer and founder of Sudan Film Factory) and producer Thomas Kaske (Seera Films). The event was moderated by Alex Shiriaieff (co-founder of B2B Doc and Chief Executive Producer of Euro Arctic Media Group).

Initiators Angeliki Vergou and Nadja Tennstedt: "Documentary filmmakers often face significant challenges in their home countries, compelling many to relocate for a variety of reasons. Some are persecuted due to their political views or aspects of their identity, including ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, as oppressive regimes or religious establishments impose restrictions on freedom of expression. Others are forced to flee as wars devastate their homelands, while some struggle with the lack of necessary infrastructure to sustain a filmmaking career. At the same time, there are also filmmakers who choose to remain in their countries, navigating hardships while finding ways to continue creating under difficult circumstances. On countless occasions, documentary filmmakers have had to re-establish their careers in foreign countries." 

As part of this initiative, the Leipzig and Thessaloniki festivals will host events that foster critical discussions on these issues. These events will also provide a platform for selected filmmakers to present their works and share their stories, ensuring that their voices are heard and their creative endeavors are supported.

With "Doc Together", DOK Leipzig and the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival reaffirm their commitment to fostering inclusivity and resilience in the documentary film industry, advocating for filmmakers whose creative expression is at risk.

Christoph Terhechte, artistic director of the DOK Leipzig festival for documentary and animated film and managing director of the Leipziger DOK-Filmwochen GmbH, has decided to terminate his contract for personal reasons two years before its expiry on 31 January 2028. He will therefore remain in his position until 31 January 2026 before taking early retirement. This means that the 68th edition of DOK Leipzig, which will take place from 27 October to 2 November 2025, will be the last under his direction.

"Guiding DOK Leipzig through the past five years and defending the international standing of the world’s oldest festival of documentary and animated film was a challenge for the team and for myself as artistic director", said Terhechte. "Our combined effort enabled us to rise to the occasion. Health issues have now prompted me to step down. I shall nonetheless remain loyal to the festival and hope that our recent successes can be continued."

Over the years, Terhechte has implemented a number of innovations: By launching a new programme structure and reducing the number of films, he streamlined the programme to create a clear, concise profile. With the introduction of a Golden Dove for feature-length animation films and the reorganisation of the competitions, he has strengthened the role of animated film at DOK Leipzig. He also established the audience competition with a jury of Leipzig film enthusiasts and created two new out-of-competition sections. "Panorama: Central and Eastern Europe" reflects an important regional focus of the festival and "Camera Lucida" brings together challenging and artistically outstanding films. After a hybrid festival edition in 2020 due to the pandemic, Terhechte consciously set the focus back on in-person events and emphasised the importance of cinema culture. He also expanded the festival's presence during the year with the "DOK Days" and the summer cinema.

"I deeply regret Christoph Terhechte's decision. With him at the helm, we were able to put the DOK-Filmwochen GmbH back on a solid economic footing. After the difficult years that the coronavirus pandemic caused for the festival industry, Mr Terhechte and his team have done an excellent job in stabilising the festival and recently achieved a record number of visitors in 2024," said Dr Skadi Jennicke, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Arts of the City of Leipzig.

Upon being informed of Christoph Terhechte’s decision, the Supervisory Board took steps to initiate the process of choosing a successor, which will begin shortly. A selection committee consisting of the chairwoman of the Supervisory Board, Dr Skadi Jennicke, members of the Supervisory Board and external consultants from the film and documentary film industry will work together to fill the position. A suitable successor is expected to be found by the third quarter of 2025.

Christoph Terhechte has been a key figure in the international film festival scene for 25 years. From 2001 to 2018, he was Head of the International Forum of New Cinema at the Berlinale, making it a global catalyst for independent artistic cinema. Before taking over as director of DOK Leipzig on 1 January 2020, he was artistic director of the Marrakech International Film Festival. Prior to his involvement in film festivals, Terhechte, who studied political science and journalism, worked for many years as a film critic in Paris and Berlin.

The festival network Doc Alliance is happy to reveal this year’s guest festival. At the regular Doc Alliance meeting in December 2024, the seven partner festivals thanked the 2024 guest festival Docudays UA for the fruitful collaboration and welcomed Punto de Vista, the International Documentary Film Festival of Navarra, as their partner for 2025.

As the DA guest festival, Punto de Vista will participate in joint events and meetings at which the network members exchange experiences and ideas regarding topics such as educational practices, supporting emerging talents, XR programming, inclusive programming and sustainability. Furthermore, the festival will nominate one short and one feature-length film for the Doc Alliance Award and co-select this year’s jury.

On 28 February, Punto de Vista will screen the latest Doc Alliance Award winner “The Landscape and the Fury” by Nicole Vögele as part of their festival edition (24 February – 1 March, Pamplona). The festival will also host two Doc Alliance presentations. In a long-term research project, the network has been collecting information about all of the network festivals, focusing on several areas. Two of the research packages are now being presented. On 27 February, FIDMarseille will shine a light on how the festivals support emerging talents and on 28 February, Millennium Docs Against Gravity FF will give an overview of the festivals’ educational practices. A delegation of Doc Alliance representatives will also be part of a programme of professional one-on-ones with Spanish filmmakers.

Punto de Vista is an annual event featuring the latest trends in the field of documentary film. Since the festival’s first edition, staged in 2005, it has been inspired by Jean Vigo’s film and ethical principles. Promoted by the Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism of the Government of Navarra, and organised by NICDO, the festival is hosted in the city of Pamplona every year. You can find the full programme of this year’s edition at puntodevistafestival.com. 

The Doc Alliance network of documentary film festivals supports emerging talents in European documentary film. Each of the seven members (CPH:DOX, Doclisboa, DOK Leipzig, FIDMarseille, Ji.hlava IDFF, Millennium Docs Against Gravity FF and Visions du Réel) as well as the guest festival select one short and one feature-length documentary film to compete for the Doc Alliance Award.

The shortlisted films for the 2025 Doc Alliance Award will be announced in early May. The winners will be presented at Cannes Docs (Marché du Film, 13 – 21 May). 

The network cordially invites European documentary film festivals to apply as guest festival 2026. Application forms can be found on the Doc Alliance website: Application

For more information contact Galya Stepanova, coordinator of the festival network: barbora [at] dafilms [dot] com (galya[at]dafilms[dot]com)

More information about Doc Alliance: Doc Alliance website

More information about the guest festival 2025: Punto de Vista

Press contact: Doc Alliance Press Office | press [at] docalliance [dot] org