Show us your new documentaries and animated films!

The call for films for DOK Leipzig 2024 is now open. Until 1 July, you may submit animated or documentary films of any length that were produced in 2023 or 2024 (if they have not been shown public before 15 October 2023). Read more about the requirements your film must fulfill in the submissions rules and regulations.

Questions? We’ve also put together answers to your most important questions about the submission process, such as what kind of premiere your film should be, and how the submission fee works, in this FAQ.

Ready to get started? You can submit your film on our website from 15 February until 1 July 2024. Just log in to your existing myDOK account (or register for a new one) where you will find the entry form, and off you go.

The Leipzig City Council agreed to extend the contract of our artistic director for three years. The Lord Mayor of Leipzig was authorised to take the appropriate decision at the shareholders’ meeting of Leipziger Dok-Filmwochen GmbH.

Christoph Terhechte, who headed DOK Leipzig since January 2020, will continue to run the festival until January 2028 following this decision. Read more details in the press release.  

With this in mind: Happy holidays and a good start to the New Year 2024! We look forward to seeing you at our 67th edition from 28 October to 3 November 2024.

After many years with us, two of our colleagues are moving on to new tasks. We wish to offer Luc-Carolin Ziemann, project coordinator of our media pedagogy department DOK Education, and XR curator Lars Rummel our sincerest thanks for all their inspiring teamwork. Dear Caro, dear Lars, we wish you all the best!

Luc-Carolin Ziemann has been with the festival in various capacities since 1999. From 2009, she oversaw the development of our pedagogical programme, DOK Education. Through numerous school screenings, the youth editorial team DOK Spotters and training courses such as the Teachers Day, she developed a comprehensive media education programme that aims to familiarise pupils and teachers with the genre of documentary film. The last school screening of this year, of “Sick Girls” on 30 November, has been Luc-Carolin Ziemann’s final act as project coordinator of DOK Education. However, she will continue to contribute to DOK Leipzig as a member of our selection committee.

Lars Rummel has curated our annual extended reality exhibition, DOK Neuland, since 2016. Parallel to this, he developed and established new industry events on XR topics at DOK Industry, including the international conference and pitching platform known as DOK Exchange. In DOK Neuland, Lars conceptualised a new space every year in which immersive works redefine the boundaries of film and address pressing social issues. Lars has transformed something that began with a pop-up tent on Leipzig’s market square into an integral part of our programme and one that has had a lasting impact. Some 1,000 people came to see this year’s exhibition, titled “Nowhere Is Only Somewhere”.

Both positions – the coordination and curation of DOK Neuland and the coordination of DOK Education – will be filled early next year. The job advertisements will be announced soon.

We are looking back upon an eventful and intense festival week with packed cinemas and lively discussions. 225 films and XR works from around 60 countries were screened in our eleven venues. In addition, one film a day was available online for 24 hours throughout Germany in the DOK Stream.

DOK Leipzig Key Figures

A total of 45,500 people attended the festival. The films in the Audience Competition and the opening film, “White Angel – The End of Marinka”, which opens in cinemas across Germany on 19 October, were particularly well received. Audiences were also very enthusiastic about the short films in the International Competitions and the Animation Night with Tess Martin. The Animation Perspectives event as well as both matinees related to the theme of the Retrospective “Film and Protest – Popular Uprisings in the Cold War” were filled to capacity.

The free screenings at the main station attracted more than 2,000 people. DOK Neuland was also at capacity. About 1,000 people came to see the exhibition of immersive XR works at the Museum der bildenden Künste.

Festival Review

Festival director Christoph Terhechte: “The cinemas were packed, and there were many excellent discussions about film in which the audience was very involved. Although the week was overshadowed by the recent massacres, expulsions and bombings in Israel and Palestine, Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine, many of our attendees used the festival as an opportunity to exchange views on those issues and current events.”

The DOK Industry events also met with great interest. At the second edition of the DOK Archive Market, in comparison to the previous year, more international archives and archive material providers presented their collections. A total of some 1,700 international film professionals attended the festival.

During the week of the festival, 24 awards were presented, including the nine Golden and Silver Doves. Browse the overview of all winners

We would like to thank our audience, guests and filmmakers for many intensive conversations and for numerous great encounters – and we are looking forward to the 67th edition. Save the date: 28 October – 3 November 2024!

Read more in our press release