A dachshund loses its life, but is reunited with its grieving friend in an imaginary realm. The daughters of the head of a kung fu school battle not only their opponents, but their stage fright as well. And in “Planet B”, young activists address the urgent question of the possibility of life on a planet that is increasingly being destroyed by humans.

The programmes of films in the Kids DOK section are aimed at five different age groups: 4+, 6+, 8+, 11+ and 14+.

For children in preschool and kindergarten, Kids DOK offers age-appropriate international short films – seven at one blow. From sea creatures fending off a ravenous seagull to the tumultuous journey of a giant crate to life on a farm in Senegal, the range of films shows how imaginative and artistic animated and documentary short films can be.

For schoolchildren and teenagers, there is a captivating mixture of documentary and animated films, divided into four age ranges. These are films from young people’s point of view, stories that are on their level and tales from worlds unfamiliar to them.

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 climate activists against climate change and an upbeat animated film about the most beautiful aspects of solitude.

The international films selected for Kids DOK are either completely without dialogue, are subtitled in German or are dubbed into German, depending on the age group. The morning screenings on weekdays during the festival are particularly suitable for day-care and nursery groups. Individual tickets to the Kids DOK screenings cost five euros.

In addition to its programme of films, DOK Education gives schoolchildren and teachers the opportunity to become familiar with documentary and animated film as a form of cinematic expression. The events range from school screenings of selected festival films to the “DOK Spotters” youth project to “Teachers Day”, a film education workshop for teachers.

The “DOK Spotters” workshop is aimed at young people between the ages of 14 and 20 who are interested in film journalism. Guided by media professionals, they learn techniques of interviewing, photography, and video and audio editing, and publish their reports about the festival on their blog, dok-spotters.de, and in various local media.

“Teachers Day”, a full-day workshop for teachers, will be held in cooperation with Vision Kino in Leipzig on 11 October. This year, 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.

“Our aim is to have a discussion about the reasons why the topic of ADHD – in school, but outside of it as well – is increasingly relevant. Is it possible that our efficiency-oriented society is simply weeding out those who go against the grain faster than before? Or are changing lifestyles actually leading to an increase in neural development disorders?" is how Luc-Carolin Ziemann, who is in charge of DOK Education, describes the thematic focus.

To complement this, DOK Leipzig is organising a school screening of “Sick Girls” in late November. Alongside the screening and a discussion of the film, DOK Education is offering a pre- or post-screening module and providing teaching materials. School classes may still register for this.

The entire Kids DOK selection of films can be found in the PDF file of the press release (see above)

An overview about all offers concerning DOK Education you find here.