With the 67th edition of DOK Leipzig about to start, it’s time to thank our partners, sponsors and patrons, both long-standing and new. Their valuable support is crucial in enabling us to hold a cultural event of such prominence, which draws so much attention to the arts, the film industry and the city.
The City of Leipzig, as the proprietor of Leipziger Dok-Filmwochen, is the primary source of funding for the festival. The Free State of Saxony also provides significant financial support through the Saxon Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism (SMWK). Alongside the institutional funding, project funds are allocated for programmes of inclusion in order to facilitate the participation of everyone interested in film. This measure is financed in part 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: one for the public side of the festival, the other for DOK Industry’s events for professionals. In addition, Creative Europe Media provides funding for the Doc Alliance documentary film festival network, of which DOK Leipzig is a founding member. The Central German Media Fund (Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, MDM) and the German government’s Commissioner for Culture and Media (Beauftragte für Kultur und Medien, BKM) provide crucial support to the festival and its events and activities for representatives of the industry. The Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony represents a further source of funding for DOK Leipzig. These subsidies are financed in part by tax revenue according to the budget adopted by the Saxon State Parliament. The festival’s retrospective is once again funded by the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany.
At the 67th edition of the festival, prize money and non-cash benefits totalling 70,250 euros will be awarded. 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. Among the festival’s partnership awards, the broadcaster also awards the 3,000-euro MDR Film Prize, which honours an outstanding eastern European documentary film.
For the International Competition Documentary Film, 3sat is once again sponsoring the 6,000-euro Silver Dove Long Film, which honours the best documentary by a talented up-and-coming director. Since 1993, the broadcaster has supported auteur documentaries by being involved in their production and giving them airtime. 3sat reaffirms its commitment to talented international directors by sponsoring DOK Leipzig’s award for young filmmakers. The Silver Dove for the best short documentary film by a talented director of the next generation is provided by the Saxon State Media Authority (SLM) and is endowed with 1,500 euros. As a partner and award sponsor of DOK Leipzig, the SLM supports young filmmakers in particular as well as events aimed at promoting 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 at DOK Spotters and DOK Education.
For the International Competition Animated Film, the 1,500-euro Golden Dove Short Film award is sponsored by the Deutsches Institut für Animationsfilm e. V. Founded in 1993, the DIAF studies, preserves and showcases the legacy of German animated film. Doris Apell-Kölmel and Michael Kölmel are again supporting documentary filmmaking in Germany with 10,000 euros in prize money for the Golden Dove Long Film, which is presented in the German Competition Documentary Film. The Leipziger Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Filmkunst e. V. 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 Franco-German 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. Mo Systeme is supporting the festival’s events through its Modulbox systems, while Die Leipziger (L Gruppe) is generously providing DOK Leipzig with advertising services. Further supporters include German Films, die Promenaden Hauptbahnhof Leipzig and the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig, which is home to the festival centre and parts of the DOK Neuland exhibition. The Polish Institute is also making its premises available to DOK Leipzig. The Regis-Breitlingen juvenile detention centre is providing DOK Leipzig’s most unusual venue and is actively involved in presenting an award.
The European Foundation of the Rahn Dittrich Group for Education and Culture is funding the 2,000-euro Young Eyes Film Award as well as the guidance of the youth jury from the standpoint of media education by the Landesfilmdienst Sachsen’s Centre for Media and Education. The statuette for the award was created by Leipzig artist Mona Ragy Enayat. The Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig supports the DOK Spotters youth editorial team in DOK Leipzig’s educational programme.
As part of the “film.land.sachsen” programme, the Filmverband Sachsen e. V. and DOK Leipzig are strengthening film culture in rural areas by offering a prize that is awarded directly by the cinema operators in rural Saxony. This programme receives financial support from the Saxon State Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism.
Additional funding for partnership awards comes from ver.di, the Stiftung Friedliche Revolution, VCH Hotels Germany in cooperation with the VCH Hotel Michaelis in Leipzig, the Interreligious Round Table and the Oratorium Leipzig. The DEFA Foundation awards the DEFA Sponsoring Prize in accordance with the motto of its charter, “Rediscover the Past – Support the Future”, in order to support young filmmakers in their critical examination of contemporary issues.
DOK Neuland is part of the DOK young talent programme and is carried out in cooperation with the Saxon State Media Authority (SLM). Alongside support from the Museum für bildende Künste Leipzig, this innovative programme also receives generous funding from MDR Media, the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM) and the US Consulate General Leipzig.
DOK Industry receives support at the European level from Creative Europe Media and at the national level from the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and the BKM. The Saxon Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism supports with an endowment of 5,000 euros for the Saxon Award for the Best Documentary Project by a Female Director. Unifrance provides support in kind for the presentation of the Unifrance Doc Award. D-Facto Motion also offers the Works-in-Progress Award, endowed with 10,000 euros in kind, for a DOK Preview Germany project. At the short film pitch DOK Short n' Sweet, Square Eyes supports with the Square Eyes Festival Consultation Award along with a tailor-made consultation on festival strategy by Square Eyes
The festival is also able to count on the commitment of a large number of patrons, sponsors and partners who help to make possible everything that the festival offers.
DOK Leipzig will be presenting 209 films and extended reality works from more than 55 countries from 28 October to 3 November this year. Opening the festival on 28 October will be the world premiere of “Tracing Light” by director Thomas Riedelsheimer (“Rivers and Tides”), who previously opened DOK Leipzig in 2004 with “Touch the Sound”. “Tracing Light” is a co-production of ZDF/3sat.
You can find an overview of DOK Leipzig partners and sponsors 2024 here.
You can find an overview of awards, award sponsors and juries 2024 here.
