Films from these parts of the world have traditionally a strong historical connection to our festival. With the section titled “Panorama: Central and Eastern Europe”, we have created their own platform last year. Many of the films from this year selection reflect Russia’s influence and the threat of Russian imperialism. The section includes a portrayal of the courageous and undaunted activists in Belarus as well as the opposition to Putin’s regime in Russia prior to the invasion of Ukraine and children of Kharkiv who experiences the nightmare of wartime from an underground station and struggle to find the miracle of hope.

This is complemented by the “Focus: Post-1991 Slovenian Documentary Films” and with our short film event 5x5 Shorts from the East, which presents 25 documentary and animated films on 14 October at the Polish Institute in Leipzig - free of charge and smart on a “hop on, hop off” basis.

Last but not least, we will be screening several short documentaries from the Doc Alliance Award competition held by this festival network, to which DOK Leipzig and six other European documentary film festivals belong. Doc Alliance promotes documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe.

You can find more information about the programmes in our press release.

With the dialogue format “Animation Perspectives” and the film series “Beyond Animation”, we invite you to discover different facets of animation at DOK Leipzig 2023.

“Animation Perspectives”: One workshop, two approaches to art

This year we could win the multiple award-winning animation artists Anne Isensee and Michelle Brand for our section “Animation Perspectives”. We are looking forward to the workshop discussion with them, when they introduce their work and vision to each other and the audience. Whether a “Megatrick”, a choreography of lifelines or suggestions on how to dance the compromise out of the world - worlds are taken apart and redrawn her. Save the date: 12 October, 21:00 at Passage Kinos.

“Beyond Animation”: Home as a safe place or a source of danger

“Home – Floor Plan, Elevation & Life” is the title under which the “Beyond Animation” film series will present animated film as the perfect medium for portraying “home” as an elusive place. “Home” is so much more than a place on a map.

To depict this “somewhere”, the artists behind the films in the “Beyond Animation” series use a variety of techniques. These range from digital matte paintings and cross-fading, to stop-motion, to hallucinatory and intoxicating images, which gleefully comb conventional associations against the grain.

“The architecture of ‘home’ is not functional but emotional,” André Eckhardt – curator of the series – concludes. “It is built upon imagination, misfortune and fortune.”

Read more about the art of animation at DOK Leipzig 2023 in our press release. Tickets will be available from 21 September.

The world premiere of Arndt Ginzel’s documentary “White Angel – The End of Marinka” will open our this year’s festival edition.

This film documents evacuation and rescue operations in the small town of Marinka in the Donetsk region from the spring to the autumn of 2022. The impressive close-up footage of the operations is from a GoPro camera worn by police officers who repeatedly drive around the town in a white van which the civilians call the “White Angel”. In the spring of 2023, Arndt Ginzel and his team returned to Ukraine and spoke with the rescuers and survivors about their traumatic experiences – and about the demise of their home town, which no longer exists.

“The survivors’ testimony speaks of loss, of pain and grief, but also of hopes and dreams,” comments festival director Christoph Terhechte. “More than a film about war, ‘White Angel – The End of Marinka’ is a document of humanity and a longing for peace.”

Our opening ceremony will take place on Sunday, 8 October 2023 at 7 pm in CineStar 4.

“White Angel – The End of Marinka” will be screened in cinemas on two days during the week of the festival. We will publish our programme including all dates on 21 September, when ticket sales will also start.

You can find more information about the opening film in our press release.

We are thrilled to welcome 35 new documentary film projects from 30 countries. At our DOK Co-Pro Market (9 and 10 October), they will meet potential co-production, financing and distribution partners.

Some of the selected projects tackle pressing issues of our time, while others contemplate the future and offer alternative visions of society. The selection features four animated documentary projects and three projects that expand the genre of true crime.

Part of the selection are also five promising projects that the DOK Industry Team scouted at trusted partner training initiatives and film markets: East Doc Platform, Durban FilmMart, CoPro Israel, BDC Discoveries and DOC LAB POLAND’s DOCS TO START.

The projects span across geographies, coming from Europe, the US, three South American countries, six Asian countries and six African countries, including one fixed co-production between Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Ivory Coast.

Some of the invited directors and producers have already shown their films at our festival in the past. Filmmakers from Leipzig Jonas Eisenschmidt and Constanze Wolpers are returning with their new project. Petit à Petit Production will also be back at the festival with a new project.

Check out the 35 projects here and find more information about the selection in our press release. Congratulations to the teams!

Call for Producers without a Project

Producers who are actively looking to co-produce new audio-visual works and have a relevant track record of international co-productions can still apply for participation in the DOK Co-Pro Market without a project. The deadline is 7 September. Read more and apply here