The 40th DOK.fest München in retrospect

In 2025, DOK.fest München celebrated its 40th birthday. For the anniversary edition, the festival presented 16 thematic film sections for the first time and showed four films from from four decades of the history of DOK.fest in a retrospective. The exhibition "40 years of DOK.fest München: Eyes Wide Open" at Gasteig HP8, and the big anniversary celebration at the Ampere with the live acts Angela Aux, Joasihno and Van Damme 38 were further, well attended anniversary specials we can look forward to.

105 of the best international documentary films from 58 countries provided insights into the most diverse worlds. In addition to the 36,000 viewers and guests who attended screenings at cinemas and special venues, a further 19,500 people watched the films online via DOK.fest @home and in the digital classrooms of DOK.education. In total, DOK.fest München reached around 55,500 people with its film programme and events.

This year, the DOK.education team reached 2,241 participants in the cinema. Almost 70 school classes took part in the 90-minute workshops at the HFF Munich, the Gasteig HP8 and the Pasinger Fabrik, and by the end of the school year, another 7,000 pupils had joined them online in the online cinema halls.

The DOK.forum 2025 was also a great success: 2,200 industry professionals attended the pitches, panels, case studies, roundtables and networking events. On Saturday, 10 May 2025, prizes totalling 20,000 euros were awarded at the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF).

Daniel Sponsel and Adele Kohout (Festival Directors): “The 40th edition of DOK.fest München was an inspiring and moving festival. The festival’s film programme and educational programme, DOK.education, as well as the topics of the industry platform, DOK.forum, reflected the urgent and relevant themes of our troubled times. The new programme structure focused on sections such as NIE WIEDER IST JETZT?, CROSSING BOUNDARIES or REFRAMING HISTORY, whose films uphold the fundamental values of our democratic society in various ways. We would like to thank all the dedicated participants for making the 40th anniversary of DOK.fest München such a memorable occasion, and we are already looking forward to the 41st edition.”

SAVE THE DATE: The 41 DOK.fest München will take place from 6 until 24 May 2026!

Here you find an overview of the 2025 anniversary and additional programme.