Amid optical-kinetic wonders, existential musings and shadow parades on the phenakistiscope, this year DOK Leipzig once again presents big names and exciting insider tips from the animation film industry.
At Animation Perspectives, curator André Eckardt will bring two internationally acclaimed young female animation artists to the stage to present their works and share insights into their studios and methods. At first glance, Gudrun Krebitz and Moïa Jobin-Paré’s styles could not be more different. Work by Krebitz, who was born in Graz and lives in Berlin, ranges from freely drawn animated films to expansive installations, while her masterfully laconic and poetic texts lead viewers into the idiosyncratic inner lives of her mostly female characters. Montreal-based Jobin-Paré, who also works as a sound artist, approaches from the opposite direction, editing photos discovered on her adventures with animating traces like layer scrapings.
What they have in common is the intensity and sensuality with which they describe their protagonists, through which they also comment on the world around them. Jobin-Paré and her shadowy proxies creatively appropriate the world by carving bright colours into the images of a dreary cityscape, breathing life into the wasteland. Krebitz's characters strive to orient themselves in the haze of other people's voices and opinions, ultimately preferring to dream at home, entrusting their thoughts to the moon. They are as self-confident as they are elusive, and as stubborn as they are poetic—rounded out by a cigarette's length of existentialism.
On Friday evening during the festival week, DOK Leipzig invites you to Animation Night at the Schaubühne. Also curated by André Eckardt, this night is all about one of the delightful beginnings to animation art: the phenakistiscope, a combination camera and record player. Initially used for the scientific visualisation of a pumping heart, the 19th century technique has long since become part of contemporary club culture. From the hallucinatory visualisation of an electronica track by Max Cooper, to early works of computer animation, all the way back to historical 19th century thaumatrope optical illusion toys, this event will offer fascinating glimpses into the possibilities of animation. To top off the evening, British artist duo Sculpture, who collage snippets of found magnetic sound tapes, will perform a live set.
DOK Leipzig Solidifies its Animation Industry Programme
Along with the thrilling events dedicated to the art of animation in the public programme, DOK Leipzig is further solidifying its programme of animation industry activities during the 67th festival edition. Coming prominently into focus with the dialogue series Animation Perspectives on Thursday, animation remains at the centre stage on the festival Friday. Visual artist and animation artist Isabel Herguera, to whom DOK Leipzig pays homage at this year’s edition, will hold a Masterclass, shedding light on an intriguing interplay between individual and dialogue-based creativity, using select clips from her body of work. A number of dedicated formats for animation film will further take place, including Animation Lab DOK Leipzig (which kicks off on the Monday of the festival in collaboration with CEE Animation), the networking event Animation Meets Doc (which boosts mutual exchange and networking opportunities between documentary and animation film professionals), and the Animation Night.
Underlying the festival’s continued strong focus on animation, director of DOK Industry at DOK Leipzig Nadja Tennstedt says: “Since 2023 DOK Leipzig has awarded a Golden Dove for a feature-length animated film. We are very excited about this extension and have taken it as an opportunity to further develop the animation offerings at DOK Industry this year.” Tennstedt notes, “The focus remains on artistic animation films with a distinctive style and perspective and, of course, on projects that blend animation and documentary elements. With our different offerings we particularly want to promote networking and collaboration between documentary and animation professionals.”
Following a successful inaugural edition, DOK Industry is once again partnering up with CEE Animation (CEE Animation Forum, the largest industry platform for European animated projects in the CEE region) to present the second edition of Animation Lab DOK Leipzig. Documentary producers developing their first animated documentary (short, feature, or series) will hone their knowledge of the production and distribution of animated documentaries in the four-day residential workshop. The workshop will be led by seasoned producer Jean-François Le Corre (Vivement-Lundi!, “Flee”) and multidisciplinary artist Uri Kranot (ANIDOX), accompanied by the CEE Animation team.
DOK Industry further expands its animation industry programme with a case study by Jean-François Le Corre, thus strengthening the focus on animation and connecting Animation Lab DOK Leipzig with the festival’s industry offerings. Le Corre will present a work-in-progress of “Suzanne”, an internationally co-produced animated documentary feature by Joëlle Oosterlinck and Anaïs Caura, which traces the life of the trailblazing Suzanne Noël, deftly using 2D animation and colorised archives. The event is open to accredited guests only.
Please find the full list of films in the programmes described above here:
Film Lists Animation Perspectives + Animation Night
