The Arrivals triumphs at record-breaking DOK Leipzig
The 52nd DOK Leipzig - International Documentary and Animated Film Festival closed on Sunday with the triumph of Claudine Bories and Patrice Chagnard’s French title The Arrivals.
The jury unanimously awarded the Golden Dove (worth €10,000) to the film about a Parisian support centre for asylum seekers, on account of the contemporary relevance of its subject matter, the attention paid to individuals in exploring a global problem and its defiant message of hope.
The Silver Dove for Second Best Feature-length Documentary went to Tayo Cortés’ Spanish/Colombian co-production The House.
In the shorts category (films under 45 minutes), the jury awarded the Golden Dove to Shira Avni’s Canadian film Tying Your Own Shoes and Honorary Mentions to Jukka Kärkäinen’s Finnish film The Living Room of the Nation and Aleksandr Gutman’s Russian/Finnish/Polish co-production 17 August.
Meanwhile, Insa Onken’s Rich Brother was crowned Best German Documentary, while an Honorary Mention went to Alexander Schimpke’s The Pack.
The Honorary Mention for Best Young Documentary Talent was given to Denmark’s Christian Sonderby Jepsen for Side By Side.
On the animation side, Vladimir Lesciov’s Latvian film Wings and Oars won the Golden Dove (worth €5,000), while Irish director David O'Reilly’s Please Say Something took home the Silver Dove.
The DOK Leipzig organisers also have reason to be pleased; the oldest documentary festival in the world achieved unprecedented results, with 148 directors from 38 countries in attendance, as well as 1,370 accredited visitors (i.e. 14% more than the 1,200 recorded last year) and around 34,200 viewers (i.e. 22% more than in 2008).
The event’s director Claas Danielsen described this edition as a unique experience (with an impressive number of screenings sold out in advance and a strong attendance by young people) and praised the warm atmosphere and general enthusiasm characteristic of the festival.
(Translated from French)
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