Film Submission Guidelines for the 42nd DOK.fest München

Thank you very much for your interest in submitting your film to the 42nd DOK.fest München (5–17 May 2027 @cinemas, 10–23 May 2027 @home).

As a festival for outstanding international artistic and socially relevant documentary films, DOK.fest München is the largest of its kind in Germany and an important platform for documentary film in Europe.

The 42nd DOK.fest München will once again combine the best of both worlds to provide a dual festival experience: From May 5 to 17, the selected documentary films will be presented in Munich cinemas and our special venues, and from May 10 to 23 @home will be shown exclusively on our digital screen throughout Germany.

 

1. General conditions of participation

Any documentary film submitted to the 2027 DOK.fest München (with the exception of submissions for DOK.education and the DOK.spotlights megaherz Award) must meet the following requirements:

  • Your film must have been completed after 1 January 2026.
  • We accept films with a duration of at least 52 minutes.
  • Until the screening at the festival, the submitted film must not have had a regular theatrical release in Germany, or broadcast on a public or free-to-air private channel. Furthermore, films that are available on freely accessible internet platforms are excluded from the festival. In individual cases, the decision on admission is the responsibility of the festival management.
  • The film must be submitted by 31 December 2026 via the online form on our website (for further information, see point 8). There will be no extension to the submission deadline this year. We would ask you to submit your entry as soon as possible.
  • You will receive the payment request for the submission fee shortly after we have reviewed your submission. Please note that we review each submission manually, which is why it may take a few days to process your submission and for us to get back to you.

 

  1. 2. Language versions

English or German subtitles are required for the viewing process. An exception exists for submissions in French and Spanish. Please write a short comment that you will deliver the subtitles at a later stage. If your film is invited to the festival, German or English subtitles are mandatory. If your film is selected for one of the competitions, English subtitles are required for jury viewing.

 

  1. 3. Programming / Selection

Submissions for individual sections and our main competitions are not possible. All programme decisions regarding film selection and section allocation are made by the selection committee. For the competitions, world premieres are preferred, and German premiere status is a prerequisite. Premieres are also explicitly encouraged outside the competitions.

 

  1. 4. Granting of rights, legal guarantees and exemptions

(1) By submitting the film, you guarantee that you are the sole owner of all rights to the work. This includes, in particular, the moral rights, copyrights, and neighboring rights of all persons appearing in the film and all those involved in the production of the film, as well as the rights of other third parties and the right to grant us the rights specified as follows: DOK.fest München is granted the screening rights to the film as well as the right to potentially make it publicly available (online streaming, individual tickets geo-restricted to Germany, limited time period, 48-hour window) for the duration of the festival. Furthermore, you agree that DOK.fest München may, at its sole discretion, publish warnings regarding the film, such as, in particular, following the festival trailer shown before your film. The right to distribute press materials is granted to DOK.fest München without restriction as to location, time, or content. 

(2) Upon notification of the film’s selection, you grant these rights to DOK.fest München without the need for any further declaration. You indemnify DOK.fest München against any and all third-party claims in connection with the rights specified in Section 4 (1), including the reasonable costs of the necessary legal defense, such as, in particular, attorneys’ fees and court costs.

 

  1. 5. Publicity / Promotion

If your film is selected we require press and photo material to be provided promptly. By accepting the regulations, you assure that you will make the material (online download link, photos, texts, trailers) available to the festival for press relations and promotional purposes in our print materials, on our website as well as on our social media channels in the context of DOK.fest München. Likewise, you agree that DOK.fest München may use film clips of up to three minutes as part of the festival coverage on the website. With your consent, you also grant DOK.fest München the right to pass on photos as well as trailers to selected partners for promotional purposes.

By presenting our respective festival edition on the website, you agree to the indefinite storage and use of the photographic material and trailer in our archive on the website.

 

  1. 6. Screening format

The following exhibition formats are required:

  • DCI compliant Digital Cinema Package DCP
  • ProRes File 4.2.2 HQ (sound format 5.1) or a H.264 file

 

  1. 7. Submission fee

Due to the large number of projects submitted and the high processing costs, we are obliged to charge a processing fee of 40.00 euros per submission.
A list of countries exempt from the fee can be found here and in our online form. For the exemption of the submission fee, the country of production is decisive, not the filming location! 

Submissions for DOK.education, the DOK.spotlights megaherz Award, the all inclusive Award, the VFF Documentary Production Award, the VFF Documentary Production Talent Award and the German Documentary Film Music Award are exempt from paying the submission fee. Please note the applicable submission guidelines.

 

  1. 8. Steps to film submission

Film submissions are made via our website under „My Account”.

  • If you are submitting a film for the first time and do not yet have a user account with us, please register here by creating an account.
  • If you already have an account, you can log in at our website at any time and submit a new film. In case you have forgotten your password, you can request a new one via our system.
  • To submit via the online form, select the module "Your films" under "Your account" after logging in. You can then use the button "Submit a film" (top right) to start your submission.

Please fill in the online form completely including an online screening link (a rough cut is sufficient for the screening process; the final cut must be submitted by mid-February). Please enter correct and, if possible, complete information about the submitted film. We will work with the information when selecting the film for our programme. The information you provide will be included in our programme booklet as well as on our website.

  • For free submission of short films to the DOK.education programme for children and young people, please select the "DOK.education School Programme" section under "Registration for".
  • For free submission for the DOK.spotlights megaherz Award, please select "DOK.spotlights megaherz Award" under "Registration for".
  • For free submission for the all inclusive Award, please select "all inclusive Documentary Film Award" under "Registration for".
  • If you would like to submit your film additionally for the German Documentary Film Music Award and/or the VFF Documentary Film Production Award and/or the VFF Documentary Production Talent Award (submission is also free of charge for these awards), you must submit it separately for the respective programme section. Please select "German Documentary Film Music Award", "VFF Documentary Film Production Award" or "VFF Documentary Production Talent Award" under "Registration for".

Payment of the submission fee for entries to the main programme can be made directly in your user account. You will receive a payment request by e-mail after your submission has been checked. The terms and conditions of the respective payment service provider apply. Please note that processing your submission will take some time. The payment request will be sent to you after your submission has been reviewed which can take a few days.

Upon receipt of your complete film submission (including a working preview link!) as well as the submission fee, you will receive a confirmation email to the email address you provided during online registration. Submissions that are incomplete or do not meet the above criteria will be considered rejected and will not be taken into account.

For the time being, please do not send us any digital photos, trailers or transcripts. If your film is selected, we will request this material from you. We ask for your understanding that print material sent in unfortunately cannot be returned.


    1. 9. Screening fees

DOK.fest München pays screening fees, both for the presentation in the cinemas and additionally on the digital screen. The screening fee is agreed with the rights holders – taking into account the best possible presentation of the festival films, we focus on invitations to the filmmakers and the corresponding (proportional) reimbursement of travel and hotel costs. There are no claims to the assumption of costs or to any other form of remuneration. 

There is also the opportunity to win prizes in the cross-sectional competitions (DOK.international, DOK.deutsch, DOK.horizonte, DOK.spotlights megaherz Award, German Documentary Film Music Award, all inclusive Award, VFF Documentary Production Award, VFF Documentary Production Talent Award and kinokino Audience Award). 


    1. 10. Validity of the entry conditions

By completing the submission using the online form, you accept the validity of the conditions of participation. These conditions apply to all film submissions for the current festival edition, even if they have not been expressly agreed upon again. DOK.fest München does not recognize deviating terms and conditions even if they are known, unless DOK.fest München has expressly agreed to their validity in writing.


    1. 11. Place of jurisdiction and the application of German law

Munich is understood as the place of jurisdiction as far as it is permissible. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies to the exclusion of conflicting laws.

 

Contact

If you have any questions about the regulations and the submission, please contact:

Veronica Loebner, loebner@dokfest-muenchen.de
Phone: +49 (0)89 – 51 39 97 88

DOK.fest München
Dachauer Straße 116
80636 Munich
Germany