Docs and animation in the spotlight at Leipzig
The 49th Dok Leipzig International Festival (October 30-November 5) is now in full swing. Representatives of Leipzig City stated they preferred "films that ask questions to ones that give answers" before a packed room at Monday’s official opening ceremony, which featured the world premiere of German documentary Losers and Winners by Ulrike Franke and Michael Loeken.
The 19 documentaries in international competition include one Dutch co-production, three Russian films and nine 100% European productions, including Alpine Saga - A Film About Mountain Haymaking by Erich Langjahr (Switzerland), Exile Family Movie by Arash (Austria), Forever by Heddy Honigmann (the Netherlands), Other Worlds (Iné svety) by Marko Skop (Slovakia/Czech Republic) and Tobacco Girls (Tupakkatytöt) by Tarja Mattila (Finland).
Aside from the opening film, the German documentary competition features ten other titles, including too much future by Carsten Fiebeler, It Started Well by Susanna Salonen, Eggesin...Maybe by Olaf Winkler, Johannas Road to Happiness by Marion Kainz and Swiss/German co-production The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez by Heidi Specogna.
Moreover, of the 49 animated films in competition, 30 are European titles. The festival also has six parallel sections, as well as retrospectives (such as Traces of Poetry and Art in Progress, programmes on documentaries and animation, respectively, in the Baltic countries since 1991) and tributes, including one to German documentary filmmaker Hans-Dieter Grabet, who will hold a masterclass at the festival.
For further information, please visit the festival web site .
(Translated from French)
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