Since 2015, we dedicate an exhibition platform to immersive documentary storytelling: DOK Neuland. Each year during the DOK Leipzig festival week (27.10.–2.11.2025) we invite our audiences to discover selected international XR pieces in public exhibitions.

The call for submissions to the 2025 DOK Neuland edition is now open. We look forward to receiving your artistic XR contributions until 1 July.

What are we looking for?

XR works that question conventional narrative forms and open up new audio-visual experiences – be it through virtual reality, mixed reality or augmented reality experiences, 360° films, performances, media or web-based art, sound installations, projection mapping or looped films, participatory films or games. We’re also excited to discover and showcase even more media we may not even be aware of yet.

You can submit your XR works until 1 July directly on our website. DOK Neuland has no premiere requirements nor submission fees. We are excited to work with you to support your visions and bring your works to the public!

Head to our DOK Neuland page to find out more about the exhibition, read the regulations, and access the entry form: 

Go to DOK Neuland

Our 68th festival edition will be the last under the direction of Christoph Terhechte. For personal reasons, he has decided to end his contract two years prior to its expiration, remaining in his position until 31 January 2026.

“Leading DOK Leipzig through the last five years and defending the international standing of the world's oldest festival for documentary and animated film was a challenge for the team and for me as director,” says Christoph Terhechte. “We have mastered the task with united forces. Health setbacks have now prompted me to retire. However, I will remain associated with the festival and hope that the recent successes can be continued.”

Christoph Terhechte has introduced a number of innovations over the past five years. He streamlined the programme structure, strengthened the role of animated film at DOK Leipzig and established the audience competition with a jury of Leipzig film enthusiasts. With “Panorama: Central and Eastern Europe” and “Camera Lucida”, he created two new sections out of competition. He always emphasised the importance of cinema culture and also expanded our presence around the year with the ‘DOK Days’ and the summer cinema. 

"I deeply regret Christoph Terhechte's decision. With him at the helm, we were able to put the DOK-Filmwochen GmbH back on a solid economic footing. After the difficult years that the coronavirus pandemic caused for the festival industry, Mr Terhechte and his team have done an excellent job in stabilising the festival and recently achieved a record number of visitors in 2024," said Dr Skadi Jennicke, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Arts of the City of Leipzig.

The process of choosing a successor will begin shortly. The selection committee consists of the Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board, Dr Skadi Jennicke, members of the Supervisory Board and external consultants from the film and documentary film industry. A suitable successor is expected to be found by autumn at the latest.

We would like to thank Christoph Terhechte for his creativity and the great collaboration over the past years. We look forward to celebrating the festival together one more time this autumn.

Read more in our press release.

Show us your new documentaries and animated films! Submission deadline is 1 July.

What kind of films can I submit?

You are welcome to submit creative documentaries and animated films of all lengths. The production year of your film is either 2024 or 2025 and in addition, your film haven not been shown publicly before October 2024? Perfect. Find all other requirements your film must fulfill in the submissions rules and regulations and information on how everything works on our submission page. If you’ve got questions, you will find answers to most of them in this FAQ.

Good to know: The call for Extended Reality works (XR) will open on 10 March.

Let’s go!

Ready to start now? You can submit your film on our website from 10 February until 1 July 2025. Just log in to your existing myDOK account (or register for a new one) where you will find the entry form, and off you go.

We’re thrilled to receive your films!

Begin your submission

The festival week concluded on Sunday with resounding success. We are thrilled by the many full cinema screenings and the overwhelmingly positive feedback. This year, we welcomed a record-breaking 55,000 visitors – our highest attendance yet.

“DOK Leipzig 2024 drew well over two thousand accredited professionals, who boosted attendance at the festival cinemas and noticeably increased the popularity of the industry events,” explains our Festival Director Christoph Terhechte. “But it’s undeniable that sales of individual and season tickets were up as well, enabling lively discussions in sold-out cinemas and memorable feedback for the numerous filmmakers who came here from all over the world. This is a good sign for cinema screenings of documentaries and animated films.”

The films in the Audience Competition and the Short Film Reels, along with events like Animation Night, Interactive Cinema of DOK Neuland, and Animation Perspectives were particularly well received. We are also delighted by the high demand for the feature-length animated films, the Retrospective, and Matinees. The free screenings at the main station were also exceptionally popular, and our XR exhibition, DOK Neuland, attracted over twice as many visitors as last year.

At DOK Industry, DOK Exchange XR, DOK Co-Pro Market, and the events focusing on animated film were particularly well attended and drew a lot of enthusiasm.

We are already excited about the 68th edition of the festival! Save the date and join us for another memorable experience in Leipzig from 27/10 to 2/11/2025.