Cinematic panoramas of the state of the world, defiant protagonists, visually engaging works and philosophical views of humanity and the environment: the films of the German competitions at DOK Leipzig have been finalised. 

“For the programme of the German Competitions, we’ve been able to draw from a variety of themes and perspectives on the world. Most of all, the range of cinematic styles is highly gratifying; it demonstrates the artistic possibilities of today’s documentary filmmaking. Young talent eager to experiment encounters established artists in the competitions,” festival director Christoph Terhechte says about the selection. “It doesn’t stop at a close look at Germany. A far-sighted cross-border vision of the world testifies to an intense curiosity about international locations and local stories outside of Germany. Some of the films are profoundly exploratory, some are panoramas of vast landscapes, some are strong portraits and explorations of family ties, and a few are simply hilarious.”

The selection committee has chosen a total of 17 productions for the German Competition Long Documentary and Animated Film and the German Competition Short Documentary and Animated Film. Among them are twelve world premieres, one European and four German premieres. In both competitions, the gender ratio of the directors is balanced. The other competitions of the festival, to be announced in the coming weeks, are also gender-balanced in terms of directors. 

Some of the films deal with pressing issues of our time, such as the approaching end of nuclear power generation in Germany and the question of permanent storage, the urbanisation of African societies using the example of Addis Ababa, and the perilous flight across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe of people seeking refuge. The latter topic is of current political relevance, as the Sea-Watch reconnaissance aircraft Moonbird, from which the film “Operation Moonbird” was filmed above the Mediterranean Sea, was grounded by the Italian government this month. This is hindering the continuation of the reconnaissance and rescue mission.

Other works encourage reflection on identity, prejudice and discrimination. For example, problematic aspects of the German fascination with North America’s indigenous population, the so-called “Indians”, and the cultural appropriation associated with this are discussed. A satirical look at the art business calls existing gender roles into question. Stories of emancipation and empowerment emerge for young Egyptian women who lift weights and a Syrian Orthodox nun who asserts her identity in a Muslim environment.

Some of the directors participating this year have previously had films screened at DOK Leipzig. Andreas Voigt, for example, returns to Leipzig with a film about people in the border area between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. In 2015 he opened the festival with his long-term observation “Alles andere zeigt die Zeit”. Carsten Rau was last represented in Leipzig in 2014 with his very popular film “Willkommen auf Deutsch”. Martina Priessner attended the festival’s industry platform, DOK Industry, last year with her current production: her film was one of the rough cuts presented at DOK Preview Germany. And animated filmmaker Anne Isensee received the Golden Dove in Leipzig 2017 for her film "Megatrick".

This year’s award-winning films will be presented on the Sunday of the festival (1 November 2020). The films in the German Competition Long Film are nominated for a Golden Dove, the films in the German Competition Short Film for a Silver Dove. Members of the jury are film editor and filmmaker Bettina Böhler, actress Anne Ratte-Polle and Alex Moussa Sawadogo, artistic director of the Afrikamera festival.

Some of the films are also nominated for partner awards: the DEFA Sponsoring Prize, the Goethe-Institut Documentary Film Prize, the Ver.di Prize for Solidarity, Humanity and Fairness, the MDR Film Prize, the Gedanken-Aufschluss Prize, the Young Eyes Film Award and the Mephisto 97.6 Audience Award.

A list of all the films nominated in the German Competitions can be found in the pdf file.