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.

KANDAHAR JOURNALS (Afghanistan, Canada, United States 2015, Louie Palu, Devin Gallagher). Photojournalist, Louie Palu, witnessed a suicide attack in Afghanistan. From 2006 to 2010 he continued to work in the Kandahar region, filming and photographing on the front line and experiencing the horrors of war up close. A psychological self portrait – brutal and disturbing.

#USA/Canada, #Middle East, #BEST DOKS, #Art and Photography

MALLORY – Mallory (Czech Republic 2015, Helena Třeštíková). To lead a happy life – that’s all Mallory wants for herself. Helena Třeštíková follows her protagonist for 13 years, through many crises and setbacks, as she constantly and steadfastly strives for a better future.

#BEST DOKS

MR. GAGA (Germany, Israel, Netherlands, Sweden 2015, Tomer Heymann). “The softness of your flesh will protect you.” Ohad Naharin took the international dance scene in a new direction at the start of the 1980s with the movement language he called Gaga. An homage to one of the most influential choreographers of recent years.

#Dance and theatre, #BEST DOKS

NATURAL DISORDER – NATURENS UORDEN (Denmark, Netherlands 2015, Christian Sønderby Jepsen). Jacob is 24, a comedian and journalist with a tendency towards black humour. It’s part of his survival strategy as a man with cerebral palsy in a society that revolves around the norm. In a (self) observation that is as entertaining as it is illuminative, he questions what normal really is.

#Dance and theatre, #BEST DOKS

SONITA – SONITA (Germany, Iran, Switzerland 2015, Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami). 18-year-old Afghan, Sonita, is a rapper. She lives “sans papiers” in Teheran and dreams of a future as a hip hop star. Yet her mother wants her to be married in Afghanistan and her bride price is supposed to pay for the wedding of her older brother.

#Middle East, #Music, #Women's rights, #BEST DOKS, #14jugendfrei

DOK.deutsch Wettbewerb

Intense stories and the unusual on one's own doorstep: the competition presents films that deal with people and topics in German-speaking countries. The VIKTOR DOK.deutsch Competition is endowed with 7,500 euros. The prize sponsor is Sky.

HERKULES – HERCULES (Germany 2016, Volker Meyer-Dabisch). A portrait of coal merchant, Ahmed Özdemir, and his family over 15 years in the Kreuzberg area of Berlin. The children grow up; weddings are celebrated. Problems, summer and winter come and go but there’s always coal to be sold.

#Migration, #BEST DOKS

HOLZ ERDE FLEISCH (Austria 2016, Sigmund Steiner). The director, himself a farmer’s son, tells a story closely connected with his own, of generational conflict and agriculture’s demise. Portraits of three fathers who find deep fulfilment in their work and three sons who are turning their back on their family inheritance in pursuit of their own happiness.

#Environment, #Politics and Society, #BEST DOKS

HOMO SAPIENS (Austria 2016, Nikolaus Geyrhalter). What would a world without people look like? The wind whistles through derelict abbatoirs, shopping centres lie idle and very gently the snow covers the concrete. HOMO SAPIENS is a documentary journey into this world.

#Environment, #Art and Photography, #Cineastes, #BEST DOKS

VOM LIEBEN UND STERBEN (Germany 2016, Katrin Nemec). After a life-changing accident, Robert Wolf’s ever-loving wife plans their future together, while the guitarist from Quadro Nuevo, who is paralysed from the neck down, takes the decision to end his life. An unashamed and disturbing insight into an emotional struggle.

#Lifestyles and Spirituality, #Music, #BEST DOKS

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.

A MAID FOR EACH – MAKHDOUMIN (France, Lebanon, Norway, United Arab Emirates 2016, Maher Abi Samra). For middle-class families in Lebanon, employing a domestic worker is the norm. Agencies arrange the fresh supply of young women from Africa and Asia. Absorbing and agonizing insights into the agencies’ everyday affairs, which lie somewhere between global commerce and slavery.

#BEST DOKS, #Politics and Society, #Middle East, #Women's rights

CECILIA (India 2015, Pankaj Johar). When Cecilia, the filmmaker’s maid, learns about her daughter’s death, her enquiries lead her into a network of corruption, extortion and people trafficking. An investigative documentary that fights for childrens’ rights.

#Politics and Society, #Women's rights, #BEST DOKS

STARLESS DREAMS – ROYAHAYE DAME SOBH (Iran 2016, Mehrdad Oskouei). A group of girls in a young offenders institution: prostitutes, drug addicts, thieves and murderers. Raped by their uncles and tormented by their mothers - behind bars, they can be young and feel safe. Sophisticated, delicate images of an insular world.

#Law and Crime, #Middle East, #Women's rights, #BEST DOKS

TEMPESTAD (Mexico 2016, Tatiana Huezo). A journey along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, through an overcast, stark and beautiful landscape. The film’s images reflect and contrast the stories of two mothers: one who was kidnapped, imprisoned and traumatised; the other who has spent years searching for her daughter.

#Politics and Society, #Latin America, #Women's rights, #BEST DOKS

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.

ROHDIAMANTEN – ROUGH DIAMONDS (Germany 2015, Jakob Defant, Felix Hermann). Ianina Ilitcheva writes. In the past two years alone she has tweeted 30,000 short poems and messages. Ianina’s language is raw and powerful and the film’s approach to the author is accordingly bold and candid.

#BEST DOKS, #Literature

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.

BASSART – DER DICKSTE BASS DER STADT – BASSART – THE BIGGEST BASS IN TOWN (Germany 2016, Bruno Fritzsche). With a little money and an abundance of creativity and passion the makers from BASSart organise a festival of Munich subculture. A film about the love of music and the art of putting on events outside the mainstream.