Phantom dachshunds, „Planet B“ and the daughter of a Shaolin master – our Kids DOK programmes this year show documentary and animated films for kids and teenagers told from young people’s point of view, stories that are on their level and tales from worlds unfamiliar to them.

Five programmes for five age groups

The youngest filmfans aged 4 and up can marvel at sea creatures fending off a ravenous seagull, the tumultuous journey of a giant crate and life on a farm in Senegal.

For the 6+ age group, there is a programme of animated films about arriving, saying goodbye and belonging, as well as a documentary about fighting spirit and perseverance.

Eight- to eleven-year-olds can expect four stories in which their peers encounter things in their everyday lives that move them, challenge them, and prompt them to reconsider: a career wish is abandoned, a dream is adapted to the circumstances, an unplanned adventure is surmounted.

The programme for ages 12+ tells of female skateboarders who face a ban in their city, of girls in boot camps and of others who are on a mission to bring fledging puffins back to a cliff so that they can learn to fly.

For everyone over 14, there is a film about enthusiastic clima activists against climate change and an upbeat animated film about the most beautiful aspects of solitude.

Tickets for Kids DOK will be available from 21 September. Daycare groups can already register with us. Read more hot to sign up with your group here.

DOK Education: Inspiring offers for teachers and schoolchildren

DOK Education gives schoolchildren and teachers the opportunity to become familiar with documentary and animated film as a form of cinematic expression.

The DOK Spotters workshop is aimed at young people between the ages of 14 and 20 who are interested in film journalism. At this year‘s Teachers Day, a full-day workshop for teachers the focus is on “Sick Girls” by Gitti Grüter. This striking festival film, which is having its world premiere at DOK Leipzig, is a very personal reflection on dealing with ADHD. DOK Leipzig is also organising a school screening of “Sick Girls” in late November.

Registration for both – DOK Spotters and Teachers Day – is now open!

More on DOK Education on our German website

We are happy to introduce the first guests of our 2023 festival! Our homage is dedicated to filmmaker Peter Mettler. Animation artist Tess Martin will present a number of her works at the “Animation Night”.

Homage Peter Mettler

Our homage this year is dedicated to the renowned Swiss-Canadian filmmaker Peter Mettler. His films create a space for exploring humanity’s search for meaning and questions about its existence in a reverent way.

Peter Mettler received the Grand Prix of Visions du Réel this year for the first two chapters of his seven-part cinematic diary "While the Green Grass Grows". These two chapters will be part of our International Competition Documentary Film.

Our "Homage" programme will also include two of his earlier films: “Picture of Light” (1994), in which his team goes in search of the Northern Lights, and “Gambling, Gods and LSD” (2002), a film about people in search of transcendence and ecstasy.

In a public masterclass, Peter Mettler will provide insight into his unique, process-oriented approach to filmmaking and present previously unreleased excerpts of other instalments of “While the Green Grass Grows”. Admission to the masterclass is free.

Animation Night with Tess Martin

We are also looking forward to welcoming animation artist Tess Martin to our festival. She was born in the USA and, after living in Italy, Ghana and the UK, now lives in the Netherlands.

Her experience of growing up amid different cultures allows her personal perspective on such themes as belonging, identity, interpersonal issues and historical events to inform her art. In her films, she explores different media and styles, from charcoal drawings to painted glass, to photo cut-outs and pixilation, to Phonotrope animation.

In the "Animation Night" on the festival Friday, 13 October, Tess Martin will present a number of her short films – a glimpse into the artist's mind and soul. The first part of the evening will be dedicated to the works she has created as a professional filmmaker. The second part will explore the inspiration for her earlier works and their connection to her current project, which is still in the production stage.

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

With our this year’s retrospective “Film and Protest – Popular Uprisings in the Cold War” we look back at the resistance against Soviet regimes in the Eastern Bloc. Despite the danger of censorship and political persecution, there were courageous filmmakers in many countries who captured in picture what the rulers would have preferred to keep invisible.

22 Feature and Short Films from the Cold War Period

The seven programmes include subversive animated films to footage smuggled into Western countries and unusually candid films that could only be made as a result of a brief relaxation of censorship. The films range from the East German protests of 17 June 1953 to the “Prague Spring”, to the bloody struggles for independence in the Baltic states after 1990. The retrospective’s kick off will be on 9 October with three short films, shown free of charge at the main station in Leipzig.

By staging this retrospective we are also reflecting on our own history. Films which were not shown at our festival in the GDR period due to ideological reasons, are included in this year’s programme.

DEFA Matinee and Saxon State Archives Matinee tie in to this theme

With the film “Woe to the Vanquished – The Workers’ Uprising, 17 June 1953” (1990) by Andrea Ritterbusch in the DEFA Matinee, we are screening a cinematic recreation of the popular uprising in the GDR. The Matinee Saxon State Archive will contribute by reflecting critically on so-called “German-Soviet friendship” and its chequered history.

More information, also about the film programmes, can be found in our press release.

The Retrospective was produced in cooperation with the Cinémathèque Leipzig and the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Studies in Dresden. We would like to thank the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany, the DEFA Foundation and the Saxon State Archive for their funding and support of the film programmes.

Film Still: “Undefeated” (Poland, 1984), directed by: Marek Drążewski 

Our this year‘s festival poster design was created by the graphic designer and illustrator Stefan Ibrahim again. It shows a pair of paper scissors, whose real-life model is a found object from our film storeroom.

“As in previous years, we have deliberately chosen an everyday object that can be associated with many things,” festival director Christoph Terhechte explains. “Scissors are a tool for shaping and forming objects. Every day, they are used for many types of art, including animation. Scissors create new things and achieve clarity; they can also symbolise letting go and adopting a new perspective. The films we show also use artistic means to present snippets of the world and offer fresh perspectives.”

Presenting a special film programme at the Festival of Lights

Speaking of film programmes: We are pleased to open our 2023 Retrospective “Film and Protest – Popular Uprisings in the Cold War” at the Leipzig Festival of Lights on 9 October!

In the East Hall of the Leipzig main station, we will be screening three short films made between 1989 and 1991 that document the anxiety and hope felt during this time of upheaval: “Sitis” by Rainer Schade (GDR 1989), “The Wall” by Anatolijs Pjatkins (Latvia 1991) and “Exit” by Małgorzata Bieńkowska-Buehlmann (Poland 1990). The screening starts at 6 pm. Admission is free.

An extra day for the festival

Because of this, our festival will begin one day earlier, on Sunday, 8 October, with the opening ceremony at CineStar. During the week leading up to 15 October, we will present about 200 documentaries and animated films in numerous venues across the city. Additionally, each day during the week of the festival, a different film will be available online throughout Germany for 24 hours in the DOK Stream.

Mark your calendars! The complete schedule of films, including all the dates, will be online from 21 September, when ticket sales start.

Get your accreditation

Film professionals can already secure their accreditation for access to film screenings, talks with inspiring guests and DOK Industry events. Start here and get ready for DOK Leipzig 2023!