Though the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film, or short DOK Leipzig, has still one year to go to celebrate its 60th anniversary, this year’s line-up is gearing up for the big day with 179 films and 6 interactive installations. As the
oldest documentary festival in the world, founded in the then GDR, Dok Leipzig kick-started the career of many filmmakers and introduced them to an international audience. Nearly 50.000 visitors came last year to see the selection that new AD Leena Pasanen and her team had put together.
As political as film festivals come in Germany, DOK Leipzig is even shaking up its structures to reflect new realities:
The formerly "Ecumenical Jury" is now a demonstratively "Inter-religious Jury". Alongside two film experts from the Christian churches, the jury also includes a Muslim and a Jewish member.
The impetus was given by festival director Pasanen in light of the rising number of xenophobic attacks in Europe:
“In our polarised world and a society in which attempts are increasingly being made to marginalise non-Christian religions, we want to set an example of solidarity and open-mindedness.”
This is mirrored in the highly charged and hyper-current film selection. But amid the slew of unquestionably important new docs on war, the international refugee crisis, rape and the disgustingly dire situation of women worldwide --a stand-out example is German-Swiss doc CAHIER AFRICAIN by Heidi Specogna, much lauded at Locarno-- plus an
explosive country focus on Turkey, this year also presents an easy to overlook sidebar of
artist portraits.
One of these, PAVLENSKY, I will review here next.
by
@JuttaBrendemuhl
image: DOK Leipzig courtesy Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R1122-031: American actor Dean Reed at Leipzig Festival 1975
