DOK Leipzig has announced the films that will be screened in competition at the 67th edition of the festival. Now that all the short and feature-length films have been nominated for the four competitions, the lineup is complete. The festival will present a total of 209 films and XR works from 55 countries.
“It is hard to reduce the films of DOK Leipzig 2024 to a common denominator, and that is a good thing,” says festival director Christoph Terhechte. “They bear witness to a diverse and complex world. Many of them point out alternatives to the status quo. They give hope. They do not deny the looming destruction of our natural resources; instead they are dedicated to examining what we want to preserve.”
This year, 73 feature-length and short films, including 33 world premieres, are competing for the Golden and Silver Doves.
The International Competition Documentary Film is presenting eight feature-length films from Argentina, France, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Mexico, the United States and Colombia. Among them is the latest film by renowned French director Dominique Cabrera, to whom the festival is dedicating a homage this year. In “La Jetée, the Fifth Shot”, Cabrera’s cousin recognises himself in a shot from Chris Marker’s classic film “La Jetée” (1962), prompting an exploration of the family’s history. The majority of the feature-length films in competition are by emerging directors. These films tell the story of a woman who, against all odds, cultivates a small plot of land in Kyiv (“Flowers of Ukraine” by Adelina Borets), portray gender identity and socioeconomic background as facets of everyday life (“Luciano” by Manuel Besedovsky), or are dedicated to the legacy of a Catalonian architect (“Miralles” by Maria Mauti). They observe gold mining in Venezuela (“Morichales” by Chris Gude) and an attempt to understand one’s grandmother by arranging objects reminiscent of her (“Things of a Lifetime, Intimate Archeological Exercises” by Céline Ségalini), deal with the mass murder of the Haitian population in the Dominican Republic in 1937 (“Twice into Oblivion” by Pierre Michel Jean) and scrutinise the effects of a US satellite communication system in Sicily on the people living there (“Valentina and the MUOSters” by Francesca Scalisi).
The eleven short films in this competition, each nominated for a Golden Dove and a Silver Dove, offer a wide range of creative perspectives, for example on people’s longing for a place to call home and be accepted, our approach to “nature”, the colonial past and the cultural significance of the birthday cake (see the list of films).
Five works have been nominated in the International Competition Animated Film for the Golden Dove Feature-Length Film, which was introduced in 2023. “Pelikan Blue” by László Csáki, based on a true story, is about three broke friends in Hungary who forge train tickets in order to travel to the West after the fall of communism. “Olivia & the Clouds” by Tomás Pichardo Espaillat visualises the complexity of romantic relationships by using a variety of artistic techniques. In “Ghost Cat Anzu” by Yôko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita, an eleven-year-old girl makes friends with a giant talking cat and is ultimately led to hell by the god of poverty, while “Animalia Paradoxa” by Niles Atallah follows a human-amphibian hybrid in search of water in a post-apocalyptic world. “Memory Hotel”, which director Heinrich Sabl spent more than 20 years completing, is dedicated to the German-Soviet history of guilt and coming to terms after the Second World War.
The 20 short films in this competition are fascinating in their artistic approaches, individual creative styles and moving narratives that examine the body and its associated power structures or the relationship between man and machine (see the list of films).
The German Competition brings together nine feature-length documentary films, all of them world premieres. In addition to Thomas Riedelsheimer (“Tracing Light”, the opening film in 2024), director Daniel Abma is also returning to the festival with his latest film. “Im Prinzip Familie” observes a community of young people in the care of social workers and how they relate to them. “Lichter der Straße” by Anna Friedrich reveals what a nomadic life in Germany entails. “Barbara Morgenstern und die Liebe zur Sache” by Sabine Herpich accompanies the titular singer and composer during the production of her latest album. In “Spielerinnen”, Aysun Bademsoy returns to her former protagonists, female Turkish-German footballers in Berlin. “Tarantism Revisited” by Anja Dreschke and Michaela Schäuble and “Sonnenstadt” by Kristina Shtubert look at various forms of religion and spirituality. “Moria Six” by Jennifer Mallmann deals with EU migration policy by reflecting on the fire in the refugee camp on Lesbos. And in “Truth or Dare” by Maja Classen, the protagonists explore sex-positive interactions and talk about lust and personal boundaries.
The ten German short films reflect (dys)functional family relationships, the capabilities of technology and algorithms, the inscription of history in buildings and monuments, and the first East Germans to visit Mallorca after the Wall came down (see the list of films).
In the Audience Competition, a five-member jury comprised of audience members from Leipzig will award a Golden Dove. Ten feature-length documentary films have been nominated, some of which have premiered at prominent international festivals (such as “Wishing on a Star” by Peter Kerekes, “Elementary” by Claire Simon, “Sabbath Queen” by Sandi DuBowski and “The Battle for Laikipia” by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi).
The world premieres at DOK Leipzig include “Naima” by Anna Thommen, about a 46-year-old Venezuelan woman who starts a new life when she moves to Switzerland. “Blueberry Dreams” by Elene Mikaberidze also observes a daring step into the unknown as a family from the country of Georgia decide to cultivate blueberries. A number of entries tell of powerful endeavours. In “Marching in the Dark” by Kinshuk Surjan, the widows of men who committed suicide find solidarity despite being disadvantaged in India’s patriarchal society. In “Once upon a Time in a Forest” by Virpi Suutari, an environmentalist takes on the Finnish forestry industry. Last but not least, two of the films in the competition reflect on the conflict in the Middle East and tell of efforts to achieve reconciliation (“I Shall Not Hate” by Tal Barda and “There Was Nothing Here Before” by Yvann Yagchi).
All screening times can be found on our website starting today, with tickets going on sale online at the same time.
DOK Leipzig will be held in Leipzig from 28 October to 3 November. Additionally, a film will be available online each day for 24 hours in the DOK Stream.
Lists of all competition titles: Film Lists Competitions
Find the film programme incl. all dates here: DOK Leipzig Programme
