DOK Leipzig has announced the complete Industry programme for its 69th edition, taking place from October 26 to November 1, with an agenda featuring discussions on freedom of expression, queer and Romani representation, alternative exhibition spaces, European animation, and the impact of artificial intelligence on audiovisual archives.
Among the main events is the DOK Industry Talk “Doc Together: When Freedom of Expression is at Risk,” organized together with the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival as part of the joint Doc Together initiative. The panel will address growing threats to press and media freedom in Europe and possible collective responses from filmmakers, journalists, and institutions. The conversation will be moderated by Julie Nederkoorn, Head of International and Industry at Movies that Matter, and will feature Andreas Lamm, Managing Director of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), and Bente Roalsvig, Deputy Director of the Fritt Ord Foundation.
Representation will also be a central theme of the programme with “Making Space for Queer Cinema – The Curators’ Role,” a session focusing on the role of festivals in broadening representations of queer identities and promoting intersectional narratives. Meanwhile, the Romani Filmmakers Network and Critical Film & Image Hub will present the workshop “Building a Framework for Respectful Romani Representation,” which will examine the history of anti-Romani discrimination in cinema and explore tools for developing culturally informed and respectful representations.
The programme will also include the “Generation Africa 2.0” Rough Cut, featuring five projects in development from Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and Benin. The initiative, led by South African organization STEPS with the support of ARTE and Deutsche Welle, aims to produce films from 21 African countries and amplify voices from across the continent on the climate crisis.
Another session will focus on “Community and Alternative Cinema Spaces and Practices,” examining alternative models of exhibition and distribution and the role of cinemas as spaces for encounter, social debate, and community building. Participants will include Eric Hynes, Director of Curatorial Programming at the Jacob Burns Film Center, and Can Sungu, co-founder and artistic director of bi’bak and Sinema Transtopia.
Animation will have a particularly prominent presence. In its fourth edition, the Animation Lab DOK Leipzig, organized in partnership with CEE Animation, will offer a three-day workshop for producers developing their first animated documentaries, led by Jean-François Le Corre and Uri Kranot. The programme will also feature the “Adult Animation Roundtable,” dedicated to the current state of adult animation in Europe and the structural obstacles limiting its growth and visibility.
Meanwhile, the panel “From the Niche into the Spotlight – Pathways to Greater Visibility for European Animation,” organized together with ASIFA Germany, will discuss strategies for expanding the reach of animated features and shorts and the role that festivals, cinemas, distributors, media outlets, and associations can play. The animation programme will also include a tribute and masterclass dedicated to Trollfilm, the Norwegian studio founded by Anita Killi and renowned for its work with multiplane cut-out animation.
Among the activities organized by DOK Leipzig’s partners is the AG DOK panel, “Between Target Audience Orientation and Public Service Mandate,” focusing on changes at ARD, the growth of its digital libraries, and the implications for documentary programming within the public-service broadcasting mandate.
The DOK Archive Market, now in its fifth edition, will feature the panel “Replatforming – AI and its Ethics for Archives, Producers and Archive Researchers,” dedicated to the ethical questions surrounding the use of artificial intelligence when working with archival material. The programme will also include new editions of Short n’ Sweet, the festival’s short-film pitching session, DOK Preview Germany, DOK Preview International, and various Industry Intros and Industry Connections activities. Among the latter is “Equitable Co-Productions,” which will present the Value-Based Co-Production handbook, developed by International Media Support (IMS) and the National Film School of Denmark, offering proposals for rethinking international co-production models and the distribution of ownership and revenues among partners from different production economies.
The complete Industry programme and schedule are available on the official DOK Leipzig website.