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Location | Leipzig, Germany |
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Established | 1955 |
DOK Leipzig is a documentary film festival that takes place every October in Leipzig, Germany. It is an international film festival for documentary and animated film founded in 1955 under the name "1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural and Documentary Films" and was the first independent film festival in East Germany. In 1995 a separate competition for animated films was added and in 2004 a film industry program, DOK Industry, was initiated to allow a networking and contact platform for industry professionals. Shortly after German reunification attendance figures dropped, with just 5,500 people coming in 1993; however, they quickly picked up and in 2008 the festival had more than 27,000 attendees. DOK Leipzig is part of the Doc Alliance – a creative partnership between 7 key European documentary film festivals.
The initiative for the 1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural and Documentary Films came from West German journalist and film critic Ludwig Thomés who, in the course of a discussion with the East German filmmakers club, Club der Filmschaffenden der DDR, proposed establishing a festival in Leipzig both as a counterpart to the Mannheim Culture and Documentary Filmweek (now known as International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg) and as a platform for productions from East Germany. After receiving permission from the responsible authorities, the inaugural festival was held from 11 to 17 September 1955 with Walter Kernicke as director.
However, no sooner had the festival started than it was stopped. Following harsh media criticism of the political influence over and the organization of the 1956 festival the organizers attempted to force changes. The response of the Government was to cancel the 1957, 1958 and 1959 festivals. The official reasons given were: the deteriorating situation in West German film making (1957), the loss of the original function of the festival as a German cultural and documentary film week, (1958) and plans to establish a cultural and documentary film week of the socialist states (1958).
In 1960 the festival returned under the name International Leipzig Documentary and Short Film Week and in 1962 the Gold and Silver Doves were introduced as prizes and the white dove appeared for the first time as the festival logo. The dove had been designed by Pablo Picasso for the Paris World Peace Congress of 1947 and the organization committee asked French author Vladimir Pozner if he could seek his friend's permission to use the dove for the festival. Picasso readily agreed.
In 1964 Wolfgang Harkenthal replaced Walter Kernicke as director and his first festivals took place against the backdrop of international conflicts and increasing politicization of the festival. In 1965 the 20th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War was marked by a retrospective titled "Films against fascism". In addition, Peter Ulbrich, Stanley Forman and Joris Ivens appealed to all documentary film makers to give their support to Vietnam and to inform the civilian population of the behavior of the US Army. In the official festival bulletin they wrote "No responsible film maker may remain apathetic to the Vietnam question." The 1966 festival opened with a blood collection for the people of Vietnam. The tone changed somewhat in 1967 with ban being put on all Czech films documenting the developing "Prague Spring" movement.
In 1968 the festival was renamed the International Leipzig Documentary and Short Film Week for Cinema and Television and despite the name change the festival continued to be overshadowed by bans on films critical of official East German policy, especially regarding films on the situation in Czechoslovakia and Latin American; conflicts on censorship and freedom that were to remain a feature of the festival until 1989.
In 1973 Ronald Trisch took over the post of director and in 1974 Jane Fonda attended to promote the Vietnam film "Introduction to the Enemy".
From 1983 to 1995 the Findling Award was given for the best film.
Following the political changes in East Germany in 1989, the festival was assured of financial support from the transition authority and re-branded itself in 1990 the International Leipzig Film Week for Documentary and Animation Film under the directorship of Christiane Mückenberger.
The early 1990s were characterized by extremely low attendances and half empty cinemas. In 1992 a competition as run with the buyer of the 3000th season pass being awarded a return flight to London. However, over the course of the decade visitor numbers started to recover with some 16,000 attendees in 1997.
In 1994 Fred Gehler took over the mantle of festival director and oversaw the introduction of the separate animation competition in 1995. In 1998 the first golden dove for lifetime achievement was awarded to Santiago Álvarez and Fernando Birri. In 1998 the festival moved to its current home in the Passage Kino.
Following Fred Gehler's retirement after the 2003 festival, Claas Danielsen was appointed new festival director and introduced the DOK Industry program as a platform for industry professionals to meet and exchange ideas. In 2005 the short title DOK Leipzig was officially launched alongside the formal International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film.
Between 1960 and 1989 the selection of the retrospectives occurred in cooperation with Staatliches Filmarchiv der DDR, the East German Film Archive. Since 1991 this function has been taken on by the Film Department of the German Federal Archives.
Georg Henri Anton "Joris" Ivens was a Dutch documentary filmmaker. Among the notable films he directed or co-directed are A Tale of the Wind, The Spanish Earth, Rain, ...A Valparaiso, Misère au Borinage (Borinage), 17th Parallel: Vietnam in War, The Seine Meets Paris, Far from Vietnam, Pour le Mistral and How Yukong Moved the Mountains.
Priit Pärn is an Estonian cartoonist and animation director whose films have enjoyed success among critics as well as the public at various film festivals.
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Cinema of the Netherlands refers to the film industry based in the Netherlands. Because the Dutch film industry is relatively small, and there is little or no international market for Dutch films, almost all films rely on state funding. This funding can be achieved through several sources, for instance through the Netherlands Film Fund or the public broadcast networks. In recent years the Dutch Government has established several tax shelters for private investments in Dutch films.
The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan.
The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival is an international documentary festival held every March in Thessaloniki, Greece. TDF, founded in 1999, features competition sections and ranks among the world's leading documentary festivals. Since 2018, TDF is one of the 28 festivals included in the American Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences Documentary Feature Qualifying Festival List. TDF is organized by the Thessaloniki Film Festival cultural institution, which further organizes the annual Thessaloniki International Film Festival, held every November. French producer Elise Jalladeu is TDF's general director; film critic Orestes Andreadakis serves as its director.
The Song of the Rivers is a 1954 documentary film production by the East Germany film studio DEFA. Dutch filmmaker Joris Ivens was the leading director. The sprawling film celebrates international workers movements along six major rivers: the Volga, Mississippi, Ganges, Nile, Amazon and the Yangtze. Shot in many countries by different film crews, and later edited by Ivens, Song of the Rivers begins with a lyrical montage of landscapes and laborers and proceeds to glorify labor and modern industrial machinery. The musical score is by Dmitri Shostakovich, with lyrics written by Bertolt Brecht, and songs performed by German communism's star Ernst Busch and famous American actor, singer and activist Paul Robeson who also narrates. Song of the Rivers is an ode to international solidarity.
Cinéma du Réel is an international documentary film festival organized by the BPI-Bibliothèque publique d'information in Paris and was founded in 1978. The festival presents about 200 films per year in several sections by experienced documentary directors as well as first timers. The screenings take place at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and in several movie theaters partners of the festival.
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Are You Listening!, is a Bangladeshi fiction-non-fiction film written-directed by Kamar Ahmad Simon and produced by Sara Afreen. The "OPENING FILM" of Open Doors Screening at LOCARNO Film Festival, 'Are You Listening!' has been invited to more than 40 International Festivals including "OFFICIAL SELECTION" of 25th IDFA, the largest documentary festival of the world and "OPENING FILM" of 55th Dok Leipzig, the oldest documentary festival. It was also exhibited on special occasions of Conference of Youth (COY) in Paris, Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) London, Cinema Louxor in Paris, Stadkino Basel in Switzerland and many more.
Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, known as MFDF Ji.hlava or Ji.hlava IDFF, is a documentary film festival in Jihlava, Czech Republic, normally held in late October. The 28th edition of the festival will run from 25 October to 3 November 2024.
The Findling Award or short Findling was a German film award donated by the umbrella organization of cultural cinemas and film clubs Verband für Filmkommunikation. It was founded in 1982 in GDR and was awarded on several film festivals. Far more than hundred filmmakers received this award. The prize itself is a stone on a pedestal with a metal plate designed by sculptor Peter Lewandowsky. Part of the prize's endowment was a tour of the winning film with its director and a critic, often with Sven Eggers, to cultural cinemas, art houses and film clubs. The award was named after a glacial erratic, but plays with the word as it also means "foundling". Sometimes, though wrong, you read Findling Prize.
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Last Day of Freedom is a 2015 American black and white and color animated short documentary film about racism, the US Criminal Justice System, and mental health issues. The documentary was well received by critics and earned numerous awards at various film festivals, and The International Documentary Association Best Short Documentary Award, at the 31st Annual IDA Documentary Awards. Last Day of Freedom was shortlisted with ten other documentaries from 74 entries submitted to 88th Academy Awards in Documentary Short Subject category, and eventually received a nomination in this category. In June 2016 the film won an Emmy Award for News and Program Specialty -Documentary-Topical, at the 45th Annual Northern California Area Emmy® Awards. The film was a finalist for a Documentary Short, 59th Cine Eagle Award.
Oksana Cherkasova - Soviet and Russian director of animation films and animator. She received the State Prize of Russian Federation in 1996. She is a Member of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation, and Member of the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science Nika Award.
Alain Kassanda is a Congolese French film maker, film director and cinematographer, and founder of Ajímatí Films. He is known for his highly acclaimed documentary films Trouble Sleep (2020), Colette & Justin (2022), and Coconut Head Generation (2023).
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