Leipzig: 54 years
The 54th DOK Leipzig Festival (October 17-23), an international festival dedicated to documentaries and animation films, kicks off today with the screening of Vol spécial [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] [photo] by Switzerland’s Fernand Melgar, in competition at the latest
The 341 films representing 47 countries selected "are a striking reflection of the changes our world is currently going through", notes the festival’s director, Claas Danielsen. A selection of documentaries notably will also evoke the Arab spring.
Among the 12 documentaries in the international competition, eight European productions are to be found, of which the opening film as well as Aranda by Finland’s Anu Kuivalainen, Argentinean Lesson by Poland’s Wojciech Staron, French documentary about Portugal, Marc Weymuller’s La Vie au loin, or also the coldly futuristic Work Hard – Play Hard by Germany’s Carmen Losmann. The international non- competitive programme includes around 40 titles. There are also competitions for young talents, short films and German documentaries. This year several sections are dedicated to the Cold War era, notably two homages to East-German filmmakers: Gitta Nickel and Jürgen Böttcher.
As for animation cinema, about thirty short films are in the running in the international competition, and around 25 will presented in the non-competitive international section. This year the festival pays tribute to the work of Kurt Weiler and the more recent experimentations of Michel Klöfkorn. Leipzig also features its traditional Animadoc programme as well as the Pink Elephants night (planned for Friday 21), which will give the audience an opportunity to share the joys of animation, but also to vote on their favourite film. Over 70 000 Euros are to be won in the different sections.
(Translated from French)
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