DOK.fest München Podcast. Im Kino. Zuhause.

LIGHT FALLS VERTICAL, DE, IT, NL, ES 2022, Efthymia Zymvragaki

How deep can you look into a perpetrator’s soul? We meet Ernesto, a man who wants to face up to the violence that he inflicted on his family. The filmmaker not only examines the personality of this desperate man, she also draws on his memories, in order to find the key to her own painful ones. Two people: a perpetrator and a victim.

Biography

Efthymia Zymvragaki
After graduating in Psychology, Efthymia Zymvragaki studied photography and completed a Masters in Production and Artistic Research at the University of Barcelona. She co-founded the production company Gris Medio with Angelo Orlando.

FR 2023, Delphine und Muriel Coulin 

A self-portrait, the chronicle of a life, the suffering of an entire generation. Charlotte Salomon depicted her life story in more than 1300 pictures - from her childhood in 1930s Berlin, through the rise of National Socialism to her escape to France. The Coulin sisters draw a moving portrait of an artist, her tragically short life and her avant-garde work. 

Biography

Delphine and Muriel Coulin
The sisters have been working as a directing duo for over 20 years. Muriel Coulin works as a cinematographer, her sister Delphine also works as a novelist. They became known for their feature film 17 GIRLS. CHARLOTTE SALOMON is their third feature film.

WIR UND DAS TIER – EIN SCHLACHTHAUSMELODRAM, DE 2023, David Spaeth

Many people have become completely disconnected with the process of killing in which meat production originates. What does it mean for the people whose job it is to slaughter? And what impact does it have on us to face up to it? There are no ready-made answers. That is what we learn from this intelligent film that observes processes, listens and makes the meat-eating viewers step out of their comfort zone. 

Biography

David Spaeth first studied humanities at the Ruhr University in Bochum and then directing at the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy. The documentary director teaches at the Filmakademie and at the HFF Munich. His film BETRUG was awarded the Grimme Prize 2019.

SEVEN WINTERS IN TEHRAN, FR, DE 2023, Steffi Niederzoll

“I wish for the day when no girl is raped anymore. I wish for the day when the rights of the weak are not violated anymore.” Reyhaneh Jabbari killed in self-defence, stood up for her rights and was sentenced to death. She was 26 years old. The protagonist’s courage and absolute determination leave a deep impression. Against the background of the current women’s rights movement in Iran, this is an explosive and depressing film. Helga-Mari Steininger

Biography

Steffi Niederzoll
Studied audiovisual media art in Cologne and in Cuba. Her short films have been screened at numerous international film festivals such as the Berlinale. She took part in various directing master classes and was a scholarship holder at the Cultural Academy Tarabya, Turkey. Together with Shole Pakravan, she wrote the book "How to Become a Butterfly", which will be published in 2023. SEVEN WINTERS IN TEHERAN is her first feature-length documentary film.

UMBERTO ECO – A LIBRARY OF THE WORLD, IT 2022, Davide Ferrario

“Without a memory it’s impossible to build a future.” The writer and philosopher Umberto Eco opens the doors to his private library – a memory bank. With interviews and tracking shots through libraries, the film approaches the fascination for the collection and collation of knowledge. The portrait shows Eco as an intelligent and self-deprecating man whose encyclopaedic hunger is infectious. Michael Kohl

 Biography

At a young age, Davide Ferrario worked as a film critic and wrote his first screenplay in 1986. He then began directing himself, alternating between documentaries and feature films. He received a David di Donatello for the film DOPO MEZZANOTTE.

MOTHERLAND, NO, SE, UA 2023 , Hanna Badziaka, Alexander Mihalkovich

National service in Belarus lasts 18 months. Nikita gets called up and has one last party with his friends before he dons his uniform and starts his duties. Svetlana’s son Sascha returned from his barracks in a coffin covered with bruises and with strangulation marks on his neck. After the rigged elections in 2020, the militarised violence is unleashed on protestors. Silvia Bauer

Biography

Hanna Bedziaka has an MA in Philology and worked as an independent video and TV journalist in Minsk.
Belarusian-Ukrainian filmmaker Alexander Mihalkovich has a PhD in library science and subsequently studied directing.

LÁZARO AND THE SHARK. CUBA UNDER THE SURFACE, CU, US 2022, William Sabourin O'Reilly

Once a year, the inhabitants of Santiago de Cuba pour into the streets for carnival. It is both the expression of joie de vivre and of subtle criticism – arrests are quite likely. Dance and rhythm unite Cuban identity. Without huge financial resources but instead great inventiveness, the people craft their costumes and floats themselves. A celebration of perseverance in Cuba! 

Biography

Born in Havana, Cuban director William Sabourin O'Reilly moved to the USA to study at the College of Fine Arts in New Orleans. There he worked on the Emmy award-winning film Witness Katrina and as a cinematographer for various shows on HBO, PBS and Telemundo.

GRETAS GEBURT, DE 2023, Katja Baumgarten

Greta, a little girl, is stillborn. Four years later, her midwife is on trial for manslaughter. The charge is unusually severe. The court works meticulously. Perceptions and interpretations arise in the reconstruction of Greta’s birth, because social issues are also discussed at the same time as the case. A documentary narrative spanning ten years. 

Biography

Katja Baumgarten
1981 Midwifery examination. Studied fine arts at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hanover, then film studies at the University of Fine Arts Braunschweig. Founding member of the Filmwerkstatt Dokumentarisch Arbeiten e.V. in Hamburg. Freelance filmmaker since 2000.

AFRICA, I WILL FLEECE YOU, CM 1992, Jean-Marie Teno

Filmmaker Jean-Marie Teno wanders the streets of Yaoundé with his companion Marie in search of Cameroonian culture. With snarky humour, Teno guides us through the complexities of colonialism and its consequences. Archive material, fictional elements and interviews combine to create a piece of film art that represents a new decolonialised aesthetic and a cinema of resistance. 

Biography

Jean-Marie Teno studied audiovisual communication at the University of Valenciennes. He worked as chief editor for the French television channel France 3 from 1985 to 1997. He has lived in France since 1978 and travels annually to Cameroon.

THE DECREE, TR 2023, Nejla Demirci 

When a wave of dismissals follows the attempted coup in Turkey, Yasemin, a doctor, and Engin, a teacher, are among those who suddenly find themselves on the streets. They try in vain to get their jobs back or just to find out the reason they were fired. For President Erdoğan however it is clear: those affected are not real Turks but “terrorists.” Then the film project also draws the attention of the authorities… 
Biography

Nejla Demirci
After completing her sociology studies, Demirci worked in various service sectors. In 2010, she made her first documentary film SUNFLOWER. Like her follow-up film CONFRONTATION, it won numerous awards.

COWBOY POETS, UK, US 2022, Mike Day

Cowboys and poetry? Every year in Nevada, these two seemingly incongruous things come together. The poets recount their unique way of life, their connection to nature and their identity. In their everyday lives they grapple with environmental threats and you can sense a political rift. Songs and poems glide over impressive images. A documentary western about a lyrical cowboy lifestyle. 

Biography

Mike Day
Scottish director and cinematographer Mike Day began his professional career as a lawyer. In 2009 he founded the company Intrepid Cinema. His films, supported by the Sundance Institute among others, have screened at international festivals and earned him prestigious nominations and awards.

FREE MONEY, KE, US 2022, Lauren DeFilippo, Sam Soko

“Nothing is for free. How can you give us money without wanting anything in return?” the inhabitants of a village in Kenya ask. The American NGO GiveDirectly will pay every villager 22 US dollars per month for 12 years. The universal basic income is funded by the likes of Google. An experiment on people that aims to combat poverty but also raises moral questions. 

Biographies

Sam Soko is a Kenyan director, producer and editor. He screened the world premiere of his debut film SOFTIE at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. He is the co-founder of LBx Africa, a Kenyan production company that brings African perspectives to international audiences.

Lauren DeFilippo works as a director and producer for Insignia, a New York-based production company. In 2021, she was named to DOC NYC and HBO's annual list of "40 Under 40" documentarians to keep an eye on.

IRON BUTTERFLIES, DE, UA 2023 – Director: Roman Liubyi

Iron Butterflies, butterfly-shaped projectiles disintegrated and brought down the passenger plane MH17 over eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014. All 298 people on board were killed. While the mills of the law took years to convict the perpetrators, a rock-solid web of lies had been erected around the downing of the plane in Russia soon after. The film is a meticulous and artful approach to what remains when truth collides with grotesque falsification. With archival footage from international and Russian media, voices of eyewitnesses and perpetrators, the film examines how a world has been created in Russia in which violence can only be defended by lies and lies can only be maintained by violence. 

Biography

Roman Liubyi is a Ukrainian filmmaker and editor working in cinematography, theatre and music. His documentary debut WAR NOTE is a surreal cinematic journey to the frontline of the war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, edited together from found footage of Ukrainian soldiers from 2014. Since 2013, Liubyi has been part of the film collective Babylon'13: Cinema of Civil Society.

EREN, DE 2023, Maria Binder

Lawyer and activist Eren Keskin has advocated for the rights of women, minorities and LGBTIQ in Turkey for over 30 years – not allowing herself to be deterred by the constant risk of being jailed. The director has followed Keskin over many years. Her film draws a portrait of a fearless women and her battle against oppression and violence. 

Biography

Maria Binder is a German documentary filmmaker and human rights activist. She develops content for the educational and cultural sector. Her documentary work focuses on human rights, gender and (anti-)racism.

VAI CAVALO, BR, FR 2022, Harold Grenouilleau, Vincent Rimbaux

The idyllic greenery of their surroundings is deceptive: Dirlinho and his cousin’s childhood is marked by deprivation and violence. They try to escape by working as jockeys. While the punters – mostly older men – bet on them, they gamble with their lives for a better future by riding doped horses. Always on the protagonists’ eye level, the film captures their balancing act between hope and hopelessness. Sara Gómez Schüller

Writer: Harold Grenouilleau. Camera: Vincent Rimbaux. Sound: Harold Grenouilleau. Editing: Fabian Remy. Music: Vitor Cozilos. Production: Babel Doc. Producer: Stéphanie Lebrun. Length: 66 min.

Biography

Harold Grenouilleau has worked as editor-in-chief and later as artistic director for France Télévisions, Canal+ and Europa Corp. VAI CAVALO is his first film as writer/director.

Vincent Rimbaux is chief cinematographer, editor and director. He is primarily active as a cinematographer.

MARGOT, PT 2022, Catarina Alves Costa

A perspective on a perspective that seeks to document what has seemingly disappeared. On several occasions between 1958 and 1961, the anthropologist Margot Dias visited the Makonde in Mozambique to record their art and culture. The director rediscovers these recordings and travels to their place of origin. In Mozambique she shows the material to the descendants of the Makonde and symbolically returns it to them. Sara Gómez Schüller

Biography

Catarina Alves Costa
The assistant professor works at the NOVA University of Lisbon in the field of visual anthropology and film and has long been active as an international filmmaker and lecturer for various universities. She has received numerous awards for her films.

SCAB VENDOR, BR 2022, Mariana Thome, Lucas De Barros

Jonathan Shaw’s life could have been written by Charles Bukowski. Between Brasil, New York and L.A., drug addiction and art, surrounded by stars and his famous clients and friends – Johnny Depp, Jim Jarmusch and Iggy Pop – the tattoo artist is constantly finding new ways to manifest himself: he is an illustrator, dropout and author – and at the same time remains an outlaw at heart. 

Biography

Mariana Thome grew up on the island of Florianopolis in southern Brazil and studied at the New York Film Academy. Today she lives and works in Los Angeles. As Creative Director of the artist collective MARACA from Venice Beach, she has produced several internationally successful short films.

PIANOFORTE, DE, PL 2023, Jakub Piątek

Steinway or Kawai? The choice of grand piano is just one of many critical decisions that those taking part in the international Chopin competition must make. Every five years, the most promising upcoming pianists compete here. Talent alone is not enough. We closely follow six competitors who have to demonstrate their self-discipline and ability to handle stress on a daily basis. Which of them will end up winning the race? Anja Klauck

Biography

Jakub Piątek
Graduated from Łódź Film School, teaching feature film directing there since 2021. Worked as a journalist and cultural manager before graduating.

FLOATING ISLANDS, DE, CH 2023, Simone Fürbringer, Nicolas Humbert

“We are what we see and what we don’t see.” How did we get to where we are now? What is lurking in this cinematic dragnet of film fragments and somnambulistic snippets of the present day? “The images help us to accept reality like a spoon helps us to eat,” this extravagant stream of consciousness tells us. Curtain up: open ending guaranteed. 

 Biographies

Simone Fürbringer
Born in Basel in 1957, Simone Fürbringer is a filmmaker and editor who has worked as a cinematographer, journalist, photographer and acrobat and studied at the HFF Munich (graduating in 1994).

Nicolas Humbert
Born in 1958, the director and producer was a co-founder of the filmmakers' cooperative "Der Andere Blick" and studied at the HFF Munich (graduated in 1987).

The pair has worked together successfully since 1993.

The 21st century is marked by wars, the climate crisis and political extremes. If we understood what went wrong in the past, could we learn from our mistakes? The director poses this question to herself and to Hans Blix, the former UN weapons inspector and an important player in the political crises of recent decades. A fascinating look at 60 years of world history. 

Biography

Greta Stocklassa comes from a Czech-Swedish family. She has been studying documentary film at FAMU in Prague since 2013. Her films straddle the line between documentary, fiction and experiment and tell of the darker side of affluent Western society.

BLUE ID, TR 2022 – Director: Burcu Melekoğlu, Vuslat Karan

During his gender reassignment, Rüzgar, an actor, was publicly outed and vilified by the transphobic Turkish tabloid press. With a strong will and steady support, he fights for the recognition of his identity within the dominant conservative blue/pink framework. In lively Istanbul, Burcu Melekoğlu accompanies him on this long journey that leaves you little room to breathe.

 Biography

Burcu Melekoğlu, a graduate of the UCLA School of Film and Television, works as a director and editor in Istanbul and is the founder of the production company Moxie. BLUE ID is her first feature-length documentary film.

ART TALENT SHOW, CZ 2022, Adela Komrzy

What do young artists need to shape the world of tomorrow? Is it enough to just be talented or does art go beyond that? The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague offers an invitation to an entrance examination: portfolios and candidates are inspected, artistic aspirations are discussed as well as gender issues and life plans. Intimate and multi-layered – and often magnificently offbeat. Selime Schauer-Altinbilek

Biography

Adéla Komrzý
The Czech filmmaker studied art history at Charles University in Prague and documentary film directing at the Academy of Performing Arts. In 2018 she was among the "Berlinale Talents". Her film ART TALENT SHOW was awarded at the 2022 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

ALONE, IR 2022, Jafar Najafi

Since Amir’s father died some years ago, the 14-year-old has been responsible for his younger sisters. Against resistance from the village, he tries to save his sisters from being married off. The film shows how global changes in society reach all the way to the rural areas of Iran. Dayela Valenzuela

 Biography
The Iranian filmmaker began in cinema as a sound assistant and photographer. He then studied film at the Tehran University of the Arts. His works have been shown at numerous festivals and have won prestigious awards.

ADIEU SAUVAGE, BE 2023, Sergio Guataquira Sarmiento

Colombia, Amazon: the Cácuas are supposedly incapable of love, because they don’t have any words for such a feeling. At the same time, there is an increasing number of suicides within their community committed by young men suffering from a broken heart. The filmmaker, himself a descendent of indigenous people, wants to get to the bottom of this phenomenon and travels to the jungle to spend some time living with the people there. A relationship that could almost be described as tender begins to develop. 

Biography

Sergio Guataquira Sarmiento's name often earned him ridicule in his childhood, as it refers to his indigenous origins. He was born in Bogotá in 1987, the son of a lawyer and a supermarket worker. At the age of 19, he left his country for Europe and enrolled at the Poitiers School of Fine Arts on a student visa. During his studies, he became more and more interested in cinema and eventually successfully passed the entrance exam at the IAD film school in Belgium. In 2018, his graduation film SIMON CRIES was screened at many festivals. ADIEU SAUVAGE is his debut in feature-length documentary filmmaking.

MAGIC MOUNTAIN, GE, PL 2023, Mariam Chachia, Nik Voigt

Pills, card games and cigarettes: this is how the days go by in Abastumani. In a crumbling palatial building high in the Georgian mountains, people who are chronically ill with tuberculosis live in complete isolation – until they find out that their unloved home is to be demolished. In calm and clear images, MAGIC MOUNTAIN tells of a parallel world and how it begins to falter. 

Biography

Mariam Chachia graduated from Shot Rustaveli Georgian State University of Theatre and Film in 2003. She worked for film and TV productions for several years, and in 2012 she shot her first documentary film KIROV STREET 8. In 2014 she founded the organisation OpyoDoc, which strives for social change projects.

SHE CHEF, AT, DE 2022, Melanie Liebheit, Gereon Wetzel

Agnes' years as a young chef in Europe's Michelin-starred restaurants are instructive: she convinces the head chefs with her ability, but the pressure is enormous. Can Agnes stand her ground in this male-dominated world? Her self-declared goal is to be the boss in her own restaurant. The directors get right up close to the action in extremely cramped spaces and grant us an insight into new approaches in high-end cuisine.

Biographies

Melanie Liebheit
Studied ethnology in Munich and Manchester and documentary film at the HFF. Liebheit is co-founder and co-director of the Nonfiktionale in Bad Aibling. Together with Wetzel she already realised the film DIE KUNST DER WIDERREDE (DOK.fest Munich 2018).

Gereon Wetzel
Studied archaeology in Heidelberg, later documentary film at the HFF. Since 2008 he has been co-operating with the DVD label and streaming portal DocCollection. He lives and works as a freelance filmmaker, author and lecturer in Eichstätt/Bavaria.

DEMON MINERAL, US 2023 – Director: Hadley Austin

On the territory of the Navajo Nation in USA, disused uranium mines pose an on-going threat to the environment of the indigenous people. Their efforts to reclaim their sacred earth and gain compensation are unfailing. Here the indigenous community of activists, artists and scientists have their say. A film manifesto that is intelligent in both its form and narrative content. Maren Willkomm

Biography

Writer and documentarian Hadley Austin has academic roots in history and social science and works as a lecturer and (audio) producer, among other things. She was a 2020 Redford Center and 2021 Bay Area Video Coalition fellow. As an artist, she publishes poetry and short films.

#RACEGIRL – DAS COMEBACK DER SOPHIA FLÖRSCH, DE 2023,Sonia Otto

Editing: Finbarr Wilbrink, Karoline Schulz

Since she was four years old, Sophia Flörsch has trained to fulfil her life’s dream – to be a Formula 1 racing driver. And she is good. Really good in fact. But what does that mean in an industry fixated on men, where only drivers whose families can provide them with start-up capital have a chance. But giving up is not an option for Sophia, despite all the setbacks. It means everything to her.

Biography

Sonia Otto
After studying Cultural Studies in Berlin and Audiovisual Media in Seville, Otto first worked as a writer and assistant director before becoming a producer in material development. #RACEGIRL is her debut as a director.

KOKOMO CITY, US 2023, D. Smith

Four black trans sex workers speak about their backgrounds and their everyday lives in New York and Atlanta. Their deeply honest stories expose the clichés and taboos in discussions of transsexuality. In striking black and white images and underscored with a Blaxploitation soundtrack, interviews, dramatizations and re-enactments come together into impactful biographical narratives.

Biography

Earlier in her career, D. Smith worked in the music industry as a (read male) producer, singer and songwriter, collaborated with Lil Wayne and Timbaland, among others, and was nominated for a Grammy twice. In 2014, she began her transition to womanhood. As a result, she hardly received any offers as a musician and started working on KOKOMO CITY, her first film, which took a total of three years. The film premiered at Sundance in 2023.

BE WATER – VOICES FROM HONG KONG, DE 2023, Lia Erbal

⁠Umbrella protests in Hong Kong: we hear the voices of people caught between hope for change and brutal repression⁠.

Nathan Law is a young political activist that has been leading the Hong Kong democracy movement. Beginning from the Umbrella Movement in 2014 where he participated as a student leader, he was there on every page of crucial moments of the movement. 

Thorsten Benner is co-founder and director of the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin. His areas of interest include the interplay of the US, Europe and non-Western powers in the making of global (dis)order, German and European policy vis-à-vis China and Asia-Pacific, peace and security⁠ as well as ⁠data and technology politics⁠. 

THE LAST SEAGULL, BG, FI, NO 2023, Tonislav Hristov

For the past 40 years, Ivan has been an escort on Sunny Beach in Bulgaria. He is getting tired and wants to retire and re-establish contact with his son in Kyiv. This is no easy undertaking because of the pandemic and his lack of savings. What’s more, the wealthy Russian women are hard to convince. A sentimental portrait of life with unexpected twists. 

Biography

Tonislav Hristov
The Bulgarian-born director and writer moved to Helsinki in 2003 to study film after graduating in engineering. His film "Hyvä postimies (The Good Postman)" was nominated for the European Film Award in 2017. He lives and works in Finland and Bulgaria.

BE WATER – VOICES FROM HONG KONG, DE 2023, Lia Erbal

The fight for democracy in Hong Kong has long been a battle of systems, as well as a brutal game of economic dependencies. With a collage of found footage, interviews with experts and sketches of the thoughts of young activists, the filmmaker paints a picture of a city between wild hope for change and resignation to the Chinese regime. 

Biography

Lia Erbal sees the work of Johann van der Keuken and her encounters with Bela Tarr and György Ligeti as the most important impulses for her work. Her films focus on the questions of fundamental changes brought about by the era of economic globalisation and what the upheavals do to the lives of each individual. She searches for new ways of working and expressing complexity, the dialogical and the change of perspective.

INNOCENCE, DK, FI, IS, IR 2022, Guy Davidi

Even the youngest are meant to learn to love the army. In Israel, military service is part of every young person’s experience from the age of 18. Those who refuse to take part, have to reckon with hostility and lack of understanding while many are torn apart by doubt. A powerful plea for self-determination and a warning against the dramatic consequences of global militarisation. 

Biography

Guy Davidi
After a year at the Tel Aviv University Cinema School, Davidi first lived in Paris from 2002. Since 2001 he has worked internationally as a cinematographer and director. In 2013, Davidi received an Oscar nomination in the Best Documentary category for 5 BROKEN CAMERAS.

WIR UND DAS TIER – EIN SCHLACHTHAUSMELODRAM, DE 2023, David Spaeth

Many people have become completely disconnected with the process of killing in which meat production originates. What does it mean for the people whose job it is to slaughter? And what impact does it have on us to face up to it? There are no ready-made answers. That is what we learn from this intelligent film that observes processes, listens and makes the meat-eating viewers step out of their comfort zone. 

Biography

David Spaeth first studied humanities at the Ruhr University in Bochum and then directing at the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy. The documentary director teaches at the Filmakademie and at the HFF Munich. His film BETRUG was awarded the Grimme Prize 2019.

LA EMPRESA, DE 2023, André Siegers

In search of a story, a German film crew ends up in El Alberto, Mexico. The village has become famous for the Caminata Nocturna – an attraction that re-enacts illegal border crossings to the USA and is based on the experiences of the locals. This keenly nuanced essay film grapples with the possibilities and limits of cinematic representation. 

Biography

André Siegers studied English in Düsseldorf and film at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg and was a Robert Bosch Grenzgänger scholarship holder. He lives and works as a freelance filmmaker and author in Berlin.

WIR WAREN KUMPEL, DEE, CH 2023, Christian Johannes Koch, Jonas Matauschek

In 2018, anthracite mining comes to an end in Germany. Generations of miners have known nothing but shift work underground and coal dust on their skin and under their fingernails. Now this era is ending and a new one is dawning. The film accompanies five miners as they cross the threshold into the unknown. A grand documentary narrative filmed in Cinemascope.

Biographies

Christian Johannes Kochwas born in Lucerne and first studied photography in Leipzig, then film directing at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF.

Jonas Matauschek was born in Dresden and studied photography in Leipzig and film in Halle.

PARADISE, FR, CH 2022, Alexander Abaturov

Ash clouds darken the skies over the East Siberian taiga. The sparsely populated land is ravaged by violent forest fires in summer 2021. While great swathes of the subarctic forests are in flames, the population of the barren region must protect itself from the threat. They cannot expect help from the Russian authorities. 

Biography

Alexander Abaturov was born in 1984 in Novosibirsk and graduated from Gorky University in Yekaterinburg. After working as a journalist for the Federal Press Agency, he studied at the French Lussac Documentary School. Abarutov's first feature-length documentary SLEEPING SOULS (2013) was screened at many international film festivals, including Cinéma du réel, IDFF Ji.hlava, Vilnius IHRD FF, Les Écrans Documentaires, Les Étoiles de la Scam and the 23rd dokumentART.

NON-ALIGNED: SCENES FROM THE LABUDOVIĆ REELS

HR, FR, ME, QT, RS 2022, Mila Turajlić

Cameraman Stevan Labudović followed Yugoslavia’s President Tito on his transcontinental search for new allies during the cold war. Decades later, the director discovers the film footage created back then in a Belgrade film archive and turns it into a fascinating and touching account of an almost forgotten mission and a time full of hope for a better world. 

 Biography

Mila Turajlić studied political science and international relations in London, film production in Belgrade and documentary film in Paris (La Femis). In her films she deals with the effects of the violent period after the dissolution of Yugoslavia.

EIGENTLICH EIGENTLICH JANUAR, DE 2022, Jan Peters

Turn on the camera and go for it. Or is it finely planned? 3-minute reels of exposed film material. Textured flickering images. A train of thought without pause for breath. Whispering that breaks off at an inopportune moment. Collected photos, rearranged, relate simple everyday and major political matters – and it’s the images themselves that are important. A film to be seen over and over again.

Biography

Jan Peters studied at the HfbK in Hamburg and was a co-founder of the filmmaker collective "Abbildungszentrum". He made award-winning short and feature-length films and is known for his diary films. He has also realised radio plays and performances.

DREAMING ARIZONA, DK, EE, NO 2022

Winslow, a small town in Arizona, is surrounded by nothing but desert, highways and railway lines. The pupils in the local high school want to escape the misery of their hometown by putting on a self-written theatre play. The director Jon Bang Carlson follows their rehearsals and captures the dreams and worries of the young people in images that blend fiction and reality and bring the place’s mythical character to life. Michael Kohl

Biography

Jon Bang Carlson
The Danish director graduated from the Danish Film School in 1976 and has since made more than 40 films. The distinctive feature of his work lies in the hybrid form between fiction and documentary, with the help of which he approaches marginalised people.

HYPERMOON, SE 2023, Mia Engberg

“This day is forever going to divide time into a before and an after.” When Mia Engberg receives a devastating diagnosis, she has to call off the shoot she has planned for her new film. Instead she rummages deep into the archive of her filmed life and takes us on an extremely personal, touching journey between hospital visits, her memories and the universe. 

Biography

Mia Engberg
The Swedish director and producer studied documentary film in Stockholm and Paris. Since then she has released various short films and documentaries. She also works as a lecturer at the Stockholm University of Arts.

ZONA NORTE MX 2022, Javier Ávila

The homeless people on the streets of Tijuana belong neither in the USA nor Mexico. Without the right to exist, they turn to the needle and prop themselves up with crystal meth. Their bodies are broken and riddled with disease. The film draws an intimate portrait of people living in one of the most violent cities in the world whose goal is simply to stay alive.

Biography

Javier Ávila
After studying audiovisual media at the Autonomous University of Baja California, Ávila worked as an editor, assistant director and screenwriter. ZONA NORTE is his second feature-length documentary film. 

THE VISITORS

CZ, NO, SL 2022, Veronika Lišková

Film talk with director Veronika Lišková, protagonist Zdenka Sokolickova, visual anthropologist Flora Bartlett and Prof. Christoph Mauch, Director of the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society at LMU Munich.

A paradise of ice and snow. Ever since Zdenka, a young anthropologist, moved to Svalbard, she has been fascinated by the wild beauty of the Arctic landscape. Like Zdenka, people from 52 nations have taken up residence in the small settlement of Longyearbyen. But the fragile equilibrium of the international community is under threat. Rare insights into life on the boundaries of human habitation.

Biography

Veronika Lišková
Studied cultural studies at Charles University and screenwriting and dramaturgy at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Before her feature film debut, she made several TV documentaries. Lišková worked as a curator and acquisition manager at DAFilms.

CLOSE TO VERMEER, NL 2023, Suzanne Raes

What makes a true Jan Vermeer? Gregor Weber, a renowned Vermeer expert, is curating the biggest exhibition ever of the most famous Dutch Baroque painter at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Visiting international museums and art experts, he gradually assembles the paintings. A very personal and intimate look at the artist and the question of originality.

Biography

Suzanne Raes
The Dutch filmmaker studied cultural studies in Amsterdam and worked as an editor for television programmes. Since 2001 she has been working as an independent documentary film director.

BODIES AND STRUGGLES, BE 2022 , Christophe Hermans

Shortly after the first wave of coronavirus, the second looms over the hospital in the Belgian city of Liège in late 2020. There is a shortage of beds and staff and the workers are also fighting on another front: many people outside the clinics are beginning to deny the danger of Covid-19. Insights into working lives stretched to the limit in which, despite everything, moments of shared humanity are possible. 

Biography

Christophe Hermans
Screenwriter, casting director, filmmaker and film lecturer, Christophe Hermans completed his directing studies at the Institut des Arts de Diffusion with his graduation film POIDS PLUME (2005), which won several awards and screened at numerous film festivals.

AND THE KING SAID, WHAT A FANTASTIC MACHINE, SE 2022, Axel Danielson, Maximilien van Aertryck

"The camera records what is in front of it. What do we do with this possibility?"
The first photograph was taken in 1826 - almost two hundred years later, over 300 million photos are now produced every day and are available anytime, anywhere. We live in an age of mass communication. AND THE KING SAID, WHAT A FANTASTIC MACHINE is a fascinating journey through the history of visual media, from its beginnings to the present, a visually powerful collage of countless archive films, TV recordings, amateur videos, live streaming material, Youtube videos. How does this constant stream of images guide, shape and influence our perception of reality and our perception itself? A perceptive documentary film that makes you think. 

Biography

Maximilien Van Aertryck and Axel Danielson have been working for the Swedish production company Plattform Produktion since 2013. Together they have made several short films that have premiered at Cannes, Toronto and Sundance Film Festival, among others.

A BUMP IN THE HEART, BE 2022, Noé Reutenauer

How do you find a girlfriend – someone to love, a princess that you can pamper and adore? Kirill is in his mid thirties and is seeking independence and above all, true love. But it’s not so simple for this young man with Down syndrome who would prefer not to admit that he hasn’t had much experience yet in affairs of the heart. A respectful portrait that gets very close to its subject without exposing too much.

Biography

Noé Reutenauer studied at the Institut des Arts de Diffusion in Brussels. After graduating, he concentrated on filmmaking and directed several short films. In ZOUFS he met Kirill Patou, the protagonist of A BUMP IN THE HEART.

DEMON MINERAL, US 2023 – Director: Hadley Austin

On the territory of the Navajo Nation in USA, disused uranium mines pose an on-going threat to the environment of the indigenous people. Their efforts to reclaim their sacred earth and gain compensation are unfailing. Here the indigenous community of activists, artists and scientists have their say. A film manifesto that is intelligent in both its form and narrative content. Maren Willkomm

Biography

Writer and documentarian Hadley Austin has academic roots in history and social science and works as a lecturer and (audio) producer, among other things. She was a 2020 Redford Center and 2021 Bay Area Video Coalition fellow. As an artist, she publishes poetry and short films.

DUSTY & STONES, Eswatini, US 2022, Jesse Rudoy

“Dusty” and “Stones” are musicians who love the sentimentality of country music. They play passionate concerts in their home country, known today as the African Kingdom of Eswatini. When they are nominated to take part in a Texas country music competition, they set out on a journey that takes them first to Nashville before they land in the heart of American country music, Texas.

Biography

Jesse Rudoys works as a musician and produces various podcasts. DUSTY & STONES is his film debut.

Die AG DOK zu Gast bei den DOK.forum Perspektiven: Expert.innen diskutieren darüber, wie viel Inzenierung ARD, ZDF & CO vertragen und welche Rolle Rechreche für hochwertige Dokumentationen spielt. Nach dem „Fall Claas Relotius“ sorgen Casting-Vorwürfe gegen die WDR-Sendung „Menschen hautnah“ für Wirbel in der Medienbranche. Wie authentisch sind die Inhalte des öffentlich-rechtlichen Programms? Wenn Redaktionen bei der Themengestaltung die Quote im Blick haben, verschwimmen die Grenzen zwischen Erwartungen, Glaubwürdigkeit und Realität. Die Komplexität der Welt erklären und zur Meinungsvielfalt beitragen ist essentiell für unsere Demokratie. Wie kann der öffentlich-rechtliche Rundfunk diesem Auftrag nachkommen? 

Es diskutieren: Fritz Wolf - Medienjournalist, Autor der aktuellen Studie: Deutschland Doku Land, Dr. Paul Siebertz -Vorsitzender des ARD Programmbeirates, Britta Windhoff - WDR, Redaktionsleiterin „die story“ und „Menschen hautnah“, Dietmar Post - Regisseur, Produzent, Grimme Preisträger, Susanne Kurz - MdL Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Mitglied des BR Rundfunkrates, Susanne Binninger - 2. Vorsitzende der AG DOK
Moderation:  Dr. Thorolf Lipp - Regisseur, Produzent, AG DOK Vorstandsmitglied 

Am 22. März 2021 gab der NDR, der LOVEMOBIL von Elke Lehrenkrauss  mitproduziert hat, in einer Stellungnahme bekannt, dass der Film „über  weite Strecken nicht authentische Szenen“ enthalte. Weiter hieß es:  „Zentrale Protagonist*innen des Films sind nicht die, die sie vorgeben  zu sein.“ Zum Zeitpunkt des Ateliergesprächs lagen uns diese  Informationen noch nicht vor.
Einen Kommentar unseres Festivalleiters  Daniel Sponsel zum „Fall LOVEMOBIL" finden Sie in seinem Beitrag auf  Critic.de. Hier beschreibt er u. a., warum die Frage nach Authentizität  im Dokumentarfilm gerade in letzter Zeit in ein Dilemma führen kann.

Die Ateliergesprächs-Reihe  Female Filmmakers- Female Figures beim DOK.forum, der Branchenplattform des DOK.fest Münchens stellt 2018 formal und inhaltliche herausragenden Arbeiten von Filmemacherinnen vor.  Alle Filme beschäftigen sich mit Geschlechterrollen in unserer Gesellschaft, die Regisseurinnen finden jeweils einen ganz eigenen Zugang: In SEARCHING EVA collagiert Pia Hellenthal Fragmente einer medialen Biografie und stellt die Frage nach Inszenierung und Wirklichkeit. 

Das Q&A, dass es hier nachzuhören gibt wurde am 16. Mai im Anschluss an das Screening in beim DOK.fest München aufgezeichnet, moderiert wird das Gespräch von David Spaeth, Filmemacher und künstlerischer Mitarbeiter der HFF München.