Films as a starting point for meaningful exchange – this is also what the new “Positions” section is all about, which is expanding our range of talk show formats this year. “Positions” invites audiences to take part in extended discussions held after film screenings. Highlights include two debate formats developed by Berlin Critics’ Week in a bid to challenge the conventional dynamics of post-screening Q&As.

In addition, two of this year’s DOK Talks will once again be offered free of charge. In cooperation with the weekly newspaper “der Freitag”, the DOK Talk “Eastern German Perspectives in Documentary Film” asks: What defines the East? What are its most pressing issues? And how do the realities of life in eastern Germany find their way onto the screen and into the media?

The DOK Talk “Kino und Kampf. The Talk on the Retrospective” brings together the project partners behind this year’s retrospective. Representatives of the Arsenal Filminstitut, Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archives), DEFA Foundation as well as curator Florian Wüst discuss the eventful history of the analogue prints of the films of the revolutionary Latin American cinema of the 1960s and 70s held in German archives - and the importance of cooperation between institutions today.

Behind the scenes: The Masterclasses

This year, the DOK Leipzig Hommages will once again feature two Masterclasses that are open to the public free of charge. In the Masterclass presented as part of the Hommage Documentary Film, Helena Třeštíková will be sharing insights into her process and her documentary approach. During the Masterclass accompanying the Hommage Animated Film, Anita Killi, founder of the Norwegian animation studio Trollfilm, will chart the studio’s evolution from its beginnings to the present day and offer a look behind the scenes.

Talk formats at DOK Industry

The DOK Industry programme also promises a wide range of compelling talks for accredited festival guests. Among the highlights are the DOK Industry Talk “Doc Together: When Freedom of Expression is at Risk” and the DOK Industry Talk “Making Space for Queer Cinema – The Curators’ Role”.

In the second episode of the current season of the DOK Industry Podcast, titled “I Is Another: Relational Documentary Practices with Ollie Launspach”, host Savina Petkova talks to Dutch film director Ollie Launspachabout what it means to become the protagonist of your own film – and whether filmmaking can ever become too personal.