DOK Leipzig owes a huge debt of gratitude to a number of long-standing and new partners, sponsors and patrons for their valuable support. Without their crucial support, this major cultural event, which is so vital to the arts, the film industry and the city, would not be possible.
The City of Leipzig, as the proprietor of Leipziger Dok-Filmwochen, supports the festival in a major way. It provides the primary source of funding for DOK Leipzig, as does the Free State of Saxony. Alongside the institutional funding from the Saxon Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism, the Free State is once again allocating project funds for programmes of inclusion in order to facilitate the participation of everyone interested in film. This measure is co-financed by tax revenue according to the budget adopted by the Saxon State Parliament.
At the EU level, DOK Leipzig is supported by Creative Europe Media and is involved in two funding programmes which benefit the public festival and DOK Industry. Creative Europe Media also supports the Doc Alliance documentary film festival network, of which DOK Leipzig is a founding member. The Central German Media Fund and the German government’s Commissioner for Culture and Media (BKM) provide crucial support to the festival and its events and activities for the film industry. The Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony represents a further source of funding for DOK Leipzig. This measure is co-financed by tax revenue according to the budget adopted by the Saxon State Parliament. The Goethe-Institut supports the festival with funds from the de⁺ mobil film festival funding in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office. The retrospective at DOK Leipzig is again receiving support through funds from the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany.
A total of 61,250 euros in prize money and non-cash benefits will be awarded at DOK Leipzig this year. Stalwart partners of DOK Leipzig include Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF). Since 2013, MDR has sponsored the 10,000-euro Golden Dove for the International Competition Documentary Film as well as partnership awards for eastern European films.
This year, 3sat will again be sponsoring the Silver Dove in conjunction with 6,000 euros for the best entry by an up-and-coming director in the International Competition Long Film. The broadcaster has been supporting the documentary film scene by being involved in production and offering airtime since 1993. By sponsoring this award for young directors at DOK Leipzig, 3sat is reaffirming its commitment to talented international directors. The Silver Dove Short Film in the amount of 1,500 euros is provided by the Saxon State Institute for Private Broadcasting and New Media (SLM) for the best short documentary by a talented up-and-coming director. As a partner and award sponsor of DOK Leipzig, the SLM not only supports young filmmakers but also stages events to promote critical thinking and media literacy among viewers of all ages. It supports the organisation of the DOK master classes and the DOK Neuland XR event as well as the pedagogical activities of DOK Spotters and DOK Education.
The 1,500-euro Golden Dove Short Film award in the International Competition Animated Film is sponsored by the Deutsches Institut für Animationsfilm e. V. Founded in 1993, the DIAF preserves, researches and presents the legacy of German animated film. Doris Apell-Kölmel and Michael Kölmel are supporting the German Competition Documentary Film with 10,000 euros in prize money for the Golden Dove. The Leipziger Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Filmkunst is co-sponsoring the Golden Dove in the audience competition.
Further partners are supporting DOK Leipzig through financial and non-cash contributions and are thus instrumental to its success. The German-French arts and culture channel ARTE is one of the long-standing partners, as is BIG Cinema, whose technical support makes possible the film screenings in the East Hall of Leipzig Central Station. DOK Leipzig enjoys strong visibility around the city thanks to its collaboration with partnering regional printer MaXx Print. Mo Systeme supports the festival’s events through its Modulbox systems, while Die Leipziger (L Gruppe) is generously providing DOK Leipzig with advertising services. Further supporters include SEE NL, German Films and the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig, which is once again hosting the DOK Neuland exhibition. The Polish Institute is also making its premises available to DOK Leipzig. The Regis-Breitlingen juvenile detention centre is DOK Leipzig’s most unusual venue and is actively involved in presenting an award.
DOK Neuland receives generous support from the Museum für bildende Künste Leipzig as well as from the Saxon State Institute for Private Broadcasting and New Media (SLM), INVR.SPACE, MDR Media, Werkleitz and the Wert collective.
DOK Industry receives support at the European level from Creative Europe Media and at the national level from the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM) and the BKM.
DOK Industry is supported by the Saxon Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism with an endowment of 5,000 euros for the Saxon Award for the Best Documentary Project by a Female Director. The 2,000-euro Current Time TV Award honours a project from central or eastern Europe at the DOK Co-Pro Market. Unifrance provides support in kind for the Unifrance Doc Award. D-Facto Motion also offers the Works-in-Progress Award, which is endowed with 10,000 euros in kind. The Short Film Agency Hamburg supports the recipients of its award with a letter of intent and know-how as they work towards realising new projects.
The festival further relies on the commitment of a large number of patrons, sponsors and partners who help to make possible everything that is offered here.
DOK Leipzig will be presenting some 225 films and extended reality works from around 60 countries from 8 October to 15 October this year. Opening the festival on 8 October will be the world premiere of White Angel – The End of Marinka, a documentary by Leipzig journalist Arndt Ginzel. As every year, the festival centre is located in the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig.
An overview of the awards, prize sponsors and juries at DOK Leipzig can be found here: Awards & Jurys
All supporters of the festival are listed here: Partners & Sponsors
