DOK.fest München 2021 @home
DOK.fest München 2021 will take place online.
We celebrate documentary cinema! Our vision for DOK.fest München 2021 was a dual festival edition that would bring our programme to the big screen and, with an online counterpart, to your screen at home. But in view of the continuing uncertain development of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to change our plans: The 36th DOK.fest München 2021 will once again take place online. We are extending the festival by one week until 23 May.
131 of the year's best international documentaries on screen
Four major competitions present the highlights of international filmmaking. The guest country series DOK.guest Canada shows Canadian society away from the political headlines. In the retrospective we discover five decades of DEFA documentary film and with the homage to Helena Třeštíková we present the work of a renowned Czech director.
The industry platform DOK.forum @home offers case studies, workshops, panels and a marketplace that brings together filmmakers and decision-makers from German-speaking countries – live and online.
The film programme and advance ticket sales is available on our homepage from now.
Statements on DOK.fest München 2021 @home
Festival director Daniel Sponsel: "We are aware of our multiple responsibilities: On the one hand, we definitely want to return to the cinemas. The team has prepared a dual edition with great commitment and effort. On the other hand, the situation has deteriorated again and we have a social obligation. We are in lockdown until mid-April, there are travel restrictions and the further forecasts do not make us optimistic. Even if it should be possible to hold cultural events at the beginning of May, it is no longer possible to organise a festival that meets the high expectations, given the necessary lead time, the logistical challenges and the costs. We are therefore presenting our programme online on the digital screen: great films, numerous interesting film talks and a supporting programme worth seeing."
Judith Gerlach, Bavarian State Minister for Digital Affairs: "Last year, DOK.fest München took on a pioneering role: The festival proved that great content also attracts interest online and was thus able to tap into large new audience groups. As difficult as the current situation is: DOK.fest München is in the best position to present its programme on the digital screen. That is why we are happy to support the online version this year with over 350,000 euros. We are happy to have such a modern, forward-looking and large film festival in Bavaria. It will be even nicer when we can hopefully watch exciting films together in the cinema again at the next edition."
Dieter Reiter, Lord Mayor of the City of Munich: "The team around Daniel Sponsel has been planning on two tracks for months and has tried everything to bring its programme to the cinemas in Munich at the beginning of May. Unfortunately, presence events are not feasible at the moment. We also support the new plans with the funds provided, especially since the experience of the last edition was positive all around. And so, together with all documentary film fans from Munich and all over Germany, I am looking forward to the festival in May. In this difficult lockdown period, it is even more valuable that DOK.fest München offers windows into fascinating, foreign worlds."
Dorothee Erpenstein, Managing Director of FilmFernsehFonds Bayern: "As much as we would like to finally see all the great documentaries in the cinema again, to participate in professional events and to discuss them together – this year, too, we are only left with encounters in virtual space. I am glad that DOK.fest makes this possible and that we can enjoy a unique programme despite the current situation. I wish Daniel Sponsel and his team a successful festival, many spectators and unforgettable film moments."
