The students met early in the morning and took a long bus ride to the city of Leipzig. We didn’t know much about the city but had a small idea of what we were going to do there: visit a world famous documentary festival. Leipzig became known as the “Stadt der Helden” (City of Heroes) for its leading role in the 1989 democratic revolution. Its residents organized protests against the communist regime in May of that year; by October, hundreds of thousands were taking to the streets, placing candles on the steps of Stasi headquarters and attending peace services at the Nikolaikirche. By the time the secret police got round to pulping their files, Leipzigers were partying in the streets, and they still haven’t stopped – from late winter street-side cafés open their terraces, and countless bars and nightclubs keep the beat going through the night.
The students arrived to our little hostel, The Sleepy Lion, and prepared to go meet a tour guide for a small city tour. We learned about the city’s role in World War II, famous composers, and various historical sites. The city was quaint and had character; the weather was absolutely freezing. Afterwards, we prepared for our first documentary screening. It was the first of the festival so the opening ceremony was dramatic and moving. The documentary was called Are You Listening? And was about a small village in Bangladesh suffering from the drastic weather conditions. It was a fantastic kick off to our weekend.
DOK Leipzig is a mayor international film festival that takes place annually in Leipzig. It presents the best new animated and documentary films from over 50 countries. Every year, thousands of spectators from Germany and the rest of the world discover around 350 extraordinary, thrilling and artistically outstanding films in its twelve cinemas. The film festival was founded in 1955 under the name “1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural and Documentary Films” and was the first independent film festival in East Germany. In 1995 a separate competition for animated films was added and in 2004 a film industry program, DOK Industry, was initiated to allow a networking and contact platform for industry professionals. Shortly after German reunification attendance figures dropped, with just 5,500 people coming in 1993; however, they quickly picked up and in 2008 the festival had more than 27,000 attendees.
The next morning we were free to have breakfast and explore the city, as well as seeing a few documentaries; all students were required to see at least four, but many of us were excited and saw more. At lunchtime, we had the opportunity to meet the president of the festival. He was gracious enough to meet us and describe his role with the festival, how the festival chose their pictures, and the successes. The most important information we received was that the festival accepts youth submissions and has a separate category for youth shorts. It was a lucky day for the students.
We had time to see another documentary before we were led to a small medieval restaurant. We ate like kings! It was a full course meal and we were required to eat with our hands. They put on traditional music, served us glorious food, and told us the proper way of dining in the medieval times. The entire festival experience was amazing and all of the students grew in their field. We traveled back to Bonn the next day and prepared to shoot our own award winning documentaries.
Written by Kate Remsen
