In “We Shall Return,” we are taken to the West Bank and follow 11 Palestinian communities that are being displaced by Israeli forces and settlers. In an interview, Faiz Abu Rmeleh and Keren Manor paint a picture of the situation in the West Bank, recounting attacks on the film crew and the constant sense of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty.
At this year’s opening of DOK Leipzig, not only was Ina Borrmann’s “Guten Abend, du Schöne” screened, but the stop-motion short film “Zellenkumpel” by Melle Windig was also shown beforehand. We were able to interview the stars of the evening and were joined not only by the director but also by his lovingly crafted puppets: the grumpy raccoon Sam and his good-natured companion, the manatee Bob.
At the heart of “The Nights” is La Pichi, who lives in Buenos Aires, whose life is told in a fairy-tale-like manner through various stories. We conducted an interview with director Ana Bovino and La Pichi, in which we discussed, among other things, change as a constant in life and in film.
Nazieh, Shazieh, and Hanieh from Afghanistan actually wanted to go to Germany with their family. But then they were separated: their mother traveled to Germany, while the sisters remained in a refugee camp in Greece. The film “Moving Sisters” tells their story. We met with two of the sisters and the director for an interview.
DOK Leipzig has a new festival director this year: Ola Staszel. She is no stranger to the festival industry as she has held a leadership position at the German-Polish-Czech Neisse Film Festival since 2014. She is now embarking on her first DOK Leipzig as festival director.
Paul Dallas’s short film *Division* centers on a man named RC, who is forced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to leave his apartment and the country within a matter of days. Who is RC, and what inspired Paul Dallas to tell this particular story? The director answers these and other questions in our interview.
For eight days, 15 youth journalists came together to report on the 68th edition of DOK Leipzig in a total of 17 articles. They had an intense few days: articles were written, videos were shot, audio pieces were recorded, and, of course, countless films from the festival were watched.
In their film “Austroschwarz,” Mwita Mataro and Helmut Karner tell Mwita’s own story. The film depicts everyday racism using not only documentary but also animated elements, transporting viewers into the world of “Greenland.”
“Weißer Rauch über Schwarze Pumpe,” the documentary film by Martin Gressmann and Peter Badel, follows the small town of Schwarze Pumpe in Saxony. To learn more about his film and the people in “Weißer Rauch über Schwarze Pumpe,” we had the opportunity to interview Martin Gressmann.
The film “Melt” focuses on life in snowy regions. Despite using few words and only making small references to climate change, director Nikolaus Geyrhalter succeeds in making people think. We spoke to Nikolaus Geyrhalter about his film and asked him, among other things, about the difficult filming conditions and his favorite type of snow.
The 68th edition of DOK Leipzig has finally begun. The DOK Spotters attended the opening film and took the opportunity to ask the audience outside the cinema a few questions. The diverse answers give the youth editorial team an initial insight into the festival audience and their expectations of the opening film.
Before the official festival week began, we had the opportunity to speak with Luc-Carolin Ziemann, who is part of the selection committee for the German competition at DOK Leipzig. She also shared her personal film recommendations for the festival with us.