The film programme of DOK.fest München. At the cinema. At home.

3 to 14 May 2023 at the Munich venues
8 to 21 May 2023 @home

As always, DOK.fest München opens the view out to the world: with 130 of the best and most current international documentaries from 55 countries. Our goal is the greatest possible participation in our films, which is why we bring them to the big screen in Munich cinemas as well as to home screens throughout Germany: DOK.fest stays dual.

DOK.international Main Competition

Slices of life, insights and perspectives: The films of the International Competition open doors to new worlds for us. They compete for the VIKTOR DOK.international Main Competition, which is endowed with 10,000 euros. The prize sponsor is Bayerischer Rundfunk.

JE SUIS LE PEUPLE – I AM THE PEOPLE (France 2014, Anna Roussillon). “Your definition of democracy isn’t the same as mine,” the smallholder, Farraj, explains to the filmmaker, “I want justice for the world.” “If only we could have democracy for breakfast. And for dinner.” The Egyptian revolution seen through the eyes of the rural population.

#Politics/Social Conflicts, #Middle East/Arabic World

DOK.horizonte Competition – Cinema of Urgency

The films in this series tell stories from countries in transition. They are supported by ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL with funds from the BMZ and are nominated for the VIKTOR DOK.horizonte Competition, endowed with 5,000 euros. The award donor is the Petra-Kelly-Stiftung.

DIARIES OF A FLYING DOG – YAWMAT KALB TA'R (Lebanon, United Arab Emirates 2014, Bassem Fayad). War, childhood, family. For the Lebanese filmmaker, Bassem Fayad, making his diary documentary, DIARIES OF A FLYING DOG, was also like going to therapy. Why do he and his mother suffer from anxiety disorders? Why does his dog not leave the family property? A humorous self-evaluation.

#Middle East/Arabic World, #Identity/Life Crisis

I WANT TO BE A KING (Iran 2014, Mehdi Ganji). Abbas lives with his wife and three children in picturesque southern Iran. He dreams of creating a tourism empire: his own new “historical nomad village.” But his family don’t share his dream. A comical, yet sad film about a startup mogul.

#Middle East/Arabic World, #Economy/Globalization

OUR TERRIBLE COUNTRY – BALADNA ALRAHEEB (Lebanon, Syrian Arab Republic 2014, Mohammad Ali Atassi, Ziad Homsi). The prominent intellectual, Saleh, and a young photographer fight for revolution in Syria, each in their own individual way, and, in doing so, descend deeper and deeper into existential crisis. In exile in Istanbul, they are safe, while their relatives are in mortal danger and their land in ruins.

#Middle East/Arabic World, #Human Rights/Migration

Student Award

The Student Award of DOK.fest München presents outstanding documentary films by students of German-speaking film schools. The films are nominated for the megaherz Student Award, worth 3,000 Euros.

DAS ERSTE MEER – THE FIRST SEA (Germany 2013, Clara Trischler). Palestinian children speak about their expectations. How does Israel present itself? How about the Israelis? And what does the sea look like? We accompany the children on their first trip to the sea and, while they are overjoyed to finally be able to see it, the question still remains why it has to be so difficult to get there.

#Middle East/Arabic World

Retrospective DOK.network Africa

To mark the 10th anniversary of DOK.network Africa, our retrospective is dedicated to documentary films from the African continent. Guest curators from east, west and south Africa present six outstanding films from the 1970s to the 2020s.

AUGUST: A MOMENT BEFORE THE ERUPTION (France, Israel 2002, Avi Mograbi). August is the cruellest month. This snapshot of an Israeli summer month takes us into the thick of daily conflicts: racism, fear and despair. A self-deprecating and courageous statement on the state of a nation.

#Politics/Social Conflicts, #Middle East/Arabic World

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. MOGRABI (France, Israel 1999, Avi Mograbi). Israel’s 50th anniversary becomes the starting point for a wide variety of stories. With Mograbi’s own birthday approaching and the Israelis celebrating the founding of a nation, the Palestinians mark the “catastrophe” of Israel. A film about the impossibility of making a film in the face of chaos.

#Politics/Social Conflicts, #Middle East/Arabic World

HOW I LEARNED TO OVERCOME MY FEAR AND LOVE ARIK SHARON (Israel 1997, Avi Mograbi). What begins as the portrait of a political adversary ends in unwitting admiration: the left-wing intellectual arm in arm with a right-wing general. Perceptive analysis of the art of persuasion and semi-fictional tomfoolery rolled into one.

#Politics/Social Conflicts, #Middle East/Arabic World

ONCE I ENTERED A GARDEN (France, Israel, Switzerland 2012, Avi Mograbi). Two incongruous friends, Avi und Ali - an Israeli and a Palestinian - talk about their family backgrounds. The Israeli’s family originates from Syria; the Palestinian’s from Gaililee. What could the future hold for Yasmine, Ali’s Jewish-Palestinian daughter?

#Middle East/Arabic World, #History/Religion

Z32 (France, Israel 2008, Avi Mograbi). An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. After six Israel soldiers were shot, an IDF soldier killed two innocent Palestinians. Mograbi’s “documentary musical tragedy“ poses aesthetically innovative and challenging questions about being a witness and being unable to speak out.

#Politics/Social Conflicts, #Middle East/Arabic World, #Human Rights/Migration

Munich Premieres

Munich is the home of most of the filmmakers whose works are gathered together in the Munich premieres. But time and again, the view extends far beyond the city limits.