DOK.network Africa

The festival’s Africa focus promotes the perception and representation of the African continent beyond short-lived headlines and stereotypes. In addition to the presentation of African documentary films in Munich, cultural exchange with screenings of DOK.fest highlights at our partner festivals and the promotion of young African filmmakers are also part of the core programme of this project that is unique in Germany.

We still know much too little about Africa. A majority of us have a preconceived idea of the continent shaped by mainstream media reporting on crises, by the aid industry broadcasting charity appeals and by the tourist industry using romanticization of Africa as an exotic dark continent. The result is a constructed image of the whole continent by the media. Due to the lack of opportunities to gain access to information through high quality films, the overall picture african countries have of our society in Europe is also misleading. 

This is where documentary film comes into play: in the midst of the credibility crisis of the media it is the documentary film which succeeds to provide us an insight into live beyond short-lived headlines. Therefore documentary film is optimally suited for intercultural exchange.

DOK.network Africa is about conversations at eye level between Africa and Germany, between festival-teams and audiences about the concept of documentary film, filmmaking per se, the role of documentary film. It is about the perceptions of and relations to each other and the exchange of ideas.

Contact DOK.network Africa: Barbara Off, off@dokfest-muenchen.de