Hadley Austin, director

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, DOK.fest München has a refreshingly diverse curation of documentary films with a global, historical, and ethical focus. The theaters are in architecturally compelling spaces across the city, which leads to pleasant walks through parks and screening environments that feel rather grand. It’s a generous, relaxed and friendly festival. The organizers make everyone feel exceedingly welcome and offer remarkably thoughtful post-screening Q&As. DOK.fest München held the world premiere of my small-budget documentary, DEMON MINERAL and on our opening night we noted that a compatriot filmmaker had two Formula One racing cars on the red carpet for their premiere! By contrast, we had two posters. We joked that their marketing budget was bigger than our entire filming budget, which may well have been true, but DOK.fest München’s audience and organizers gave us both the same consideration and attentiveness.