The best festival impressions in our gallery

A festival is a festival is a festival.

In May, when we were faced with the choice for the second time of making our programme of selected highlights of the documentary year homeless due to a breakdown or presenting it on the digital screen again, the decision was clear. The second DOK.fest München @home once again reached a large audience throughout Germany and was a complete success. But a festival in its very own sense with on-site encounters and the joint celebration of film highlights was something we had yet to achieve.

Now, almost half a year later, "I SEE YOU – the best of DOK.fest München 2021 on the big screen" offers the ideal opportunity to revive the festival: In our three partner cinemas we can now roll out the red carpet for our nine award-winning films – in the presence of many award winners and prize donors. In addition, we invite you to discover selected film highlights from our DOK.guest Canada and DOK.focus Empowerment series once again on the big screen at Amerikahaus and Bellevue di Monaco.

There is magic in every beginning: with the return to the cinema and to our venues, a heartfelt wish and concern of ours comes true.

Welcome to the crowning finale of the 36th DOK.fest München! I SEE YOU.

Daniel Sponsel & Adele Kohout
Festival Management DOK.fest München

Timetable

Hygiene notice

The 2G-rule applies to attendance at the events. Please identify yourself with a valid photo ID when we check your vaccinated or recovered status. In addition, we ask all visitors to wear a FFP2-mask at their seat and during the film screenings in the auditorium.

Award-winning films

VIKTOR Main Competition DOK.international

ANNY

Czech Republic 2020, Helena Treštíková, 67 Min.

"Even when I buy something for my grandchildren, nobody knows where the money comes from." Anny is 46 when – after her divorce – she decides to supplement her living as a prostitute on Perlová Street in Prague. But this is only one facet of her life. Anny plays theatre, cleans toilets and campaigns for the safety of sex workers. Because in the post-socialist era with its economic uncertainties, it's always about one thing: getting by somehow. Helena Třeštíková shows how this is possible, using the example of her strong protagonist without frills in video footage from 1996 to 2012. Is there possibly a new chance for personal happiness for Anny when she marries at the age of almost 60? Very close – but never too close.

With a greeting from Dr. Katja Wildermuth (Bayerischer Rundfunk, award donor)
Thursday, 11th November, 8pm
Rio Filmpalast, Rosenheimer Straße 46
Admission 10,50 Euro, red. 8,50 Euro
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VIKTOR DOK.horizonte

THINGS WE DARE NOT DO
Mexico 2020, Bruno Santamaría, 75 Min.

How does one live as a transgender in a small village in the Mexican province? Arturo – Ñoño – gets along quite well at first glance. The children especially love her, as she teaches them choreography in the village square and designs glittering costumes for them. But there is another side to her everyday life; she is insulted and excluded for her identity. What she wants most is to dress as a woman. For this she also hopes for the blessing of her family – but how to ask for something that is outlawed everywhere? "You are so brave," the director says off-camera. Ñoño herself is not so sure. A subtle, sensitive film that draws a close and authentic portrait with skilful camera work.

With a greeting from Andreas Buchner (Petra-Kelly-Stiftung, award donor)
Friday, 12th November, 8pm
Rio Filmpalast, Rosenheimer Straße 46
Admission 10,50 Euro, red. 8,50 Euro
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VIKTOR DOK.deutsch

ZUHURS TÖCHTER
Germany 2021, Laurentia Genske and Robin Humboldt, 89 Min.

“If your son or wife does something forbidden and you don’t kill them, you have to leave. But who is capable of killing their own child? Your Child is part of your soul.” That's why the father of two trans women fled with his family from Syria to Germany. The strength, sincerity, style and humour of the two sisters are stunning. They show how difficult it is to simply be oneself in our world. Those who don't conform to the gender norm are insecure, laughed at, scorned or eyed. So they seek support to be read as girls by others: Counselling, therapy and finally surgery... a painful as well as fulfilling journey. This intimate, funny and upsetting film is captivating and opens one's eyes to the most normal thing in the world: to be perceived for who one is.

Saturday, 13th November, 5.30pm
City Kinos, Sonnenstraße 12
Admission 10,50 Euro, red. 8,50 Euro
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megaherz Student Award

THE CASE YOU
Germany 2020, Alison Kuhn, 80 Min.

In an empty theatre hall we meet five women who have at least one thing in common: They have all been victims of sexual violence during a casting. The director was also one of the applicants at the time. Five years later, we accompany the women as they try to reconstruct step by step, in a protected setting, how the assaults occurred. As they re-enact the situations, it becomes clear at which moments the boundaries were crossed. The film makes it vividly palpable how the events still affect the women today and shows why there are no grey areas in this question.

Guest: Isabelle Bertges (protagonist)
With a greeting from Fidelis Mager and Oliver Gernstl (megaherz GmbH, award donor)
Sunday, 14th November, 8pm
City Kinos, Sonnenstraße 12
Admission 10,50 Euro, red. 8,50 Euro
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VFF Documentary Film Production Award

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER
Germany, Finnland 2021, Antonia Kilian, 91 Min.

„I lived without a man for 20 years and I can live without one for another 100." At 19, Hala fled a forced marriage from the northern Syrian town of Minbij across the Euphrates – and ended up in the Kurdish military. In Rojava, she receives combat training and the self-confidence to protect herself and other women from violence in the future. She experiences that this does not meet with understanding everywhere when she returns to her hometown to save her younger sisters. In her directorial debut, Antonia Kilian tells exciting stories about women who fight for their self-determination. In the process, a hint of freedom flashes up again and again: in a blowing curtain, a car ride with windblown hair or a bath in the Euphrates.

Guest: Antonia Kilian (director)
With a greeting from Dr. Johannes Kreile (VFF Verwertungsgesellschaft der Film- und Fernsehproduzenten mbH, award donor)
Thursay, 11th November, 8pm
City Kinos, Sonnenstraße 12
Admission 10,50 Euro, red. 8,50 Euro
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DOK.fest Award of SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit

SCHOOL OF HOPE
Finnland, France, Morocco 2020, Mohamed El Aboudi, 78 Min.

„What does 'hope' mean"? The new teacher paints the name of the school on the mud house. The children do not know the answer. They only know the hard life of the Moroccan nomads, marked by increasing drought. 13-year-old Miloud dreams of being allowed to go to school, but the herd has to be looked after. Fatima, too, wants nothing more. Her father doesn't approve, but her mother fights for it. The school walk is up to twelve kilometres long. When they finally arrive, the children enjoy the hours in which they can be carefree, learn and play. School is perhaps their only perspective, the film shows this in beautiful, calm images. "Hope" means dreaming of a better future, the teacher explains.

With a greeting from Peider A. Defilla (B.O.A. Videofilmkunst, award donor) and Michaela Braun (SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit, award donor)
Saturday, 13th November, 8pm
Rio Filmpalast, Rosenheimer Straße 46
Admission 10,50 Euro, red. 8,50 Euro
Buy a ticket

DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe

NEMESIS
Switzerland 2020, Thomas Imbach, 132 Min.

A prison is to be built where a freight station used to be. From his window, director Thomas Imbach watches the curious ballet of construction machinery: In fast motion, the old roofs and facades tumble, the compressors hammer. Again and again Imbach turns back time, reassembling – for seconds – what has been shattered. Then: wasteland, celebrations to mark the laying of the foundation stone, fireworks, a festival as an interim use, machines again. We hear of farewells, of things that have been, and also: the reports of deportation prisoners in their cells. Like an impresario, Imbach lets the seasons and the hustle and bustle of people unfold before us. The Swiss KALI Trio congenially contributes the sound composition – and the goddess of revenge Nemesis sells frozen drinks.

With a greeting from Anton Knoblach (Adobe, award donor)
Sunday, 14th November, 11am (matinée)
City Kinos, Sonnenstraße 12
Admission 10,50 Euro, red. 8,50 Euro
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German Documentary Film Music Award

SOLDATEN
Germany 2021, Christian von Brockhausen, Willem Konrad, 102 Min.

„It would be better if there were no foreign missions at all, but someone has to do it," says the young recruit Jerell to his mother on the balcony of their rented flat in Berlin-Reinickendorf. Who becomes a soldier today? – in the 20th and last year of the Bundeswehr in Afghanistan and a time of great challenges. A few years after the conversion to a professional army, the film follows three young men through their basic military training until their first war deployment. Marked by a sometimes difficult youth, they are now looking for recognition, belonging and a perspective. A personal film that provides deep insights into the living conditions of young soldiers as well as the everyday life and the global political role of our Bundeswehr.

Guest: Christoph Schauer (composer), Christian von Brockhausen (director)
With a greeting from Verena Metzger (Versicherungskammer Kulturstiftung, award donor)
Sunday, 14th November, 8pm
Rio Filmpalast, Rosenheimer Straße 46
Admission 10,50 Euro, red. 8,50 Euro
Buy a ticket

FFF Talent Award Documentary Film

VÄTER UNSER
Germany 2021, Sophie Linnenbaum, 76 Min.

„Then I cried snot bubbles for an hour." Six people talk straight to the camera about their fathers. And as minimalistic as the film is, the amazing openness of the protagonists and an extremely clever montage create a highly exciting mosaic of long-silenced feelings, thoughts and memories. There are comforting experiences, bitter disappointment, fear, anger, disgust, astonishment, but also the moments when a child reconciles with its own history. It is utterly magnificent that there is no theoretical discourse here, but that it is radically subjective and unmediated about an experience we all share: being the child of a father.

Guest: Sophie Linnenbaum (director), Saskia Wagner (FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, award donor)
Sunday, 14th November, 8pm
Neues Maxim Kino, Landshuter Allee 33
Admission 10,50 Euro
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DOK.guest Canada at Amerikahaus

Indigenous culture and megacities, monarchy and liberalism. The 2021 Guest Country Series presents documentaries from and about Canada that take into account the country's tensions, contradictions and unique dynamics.

LA FIN DES TERRES
Canada 2019, Loïc Darses, 90 Min.
In the footsteps of the past: a thoughtful journey through the cities and landscapes of the Canadian province of Québec – with 17 young people who deal with the independence struggles of earlier generations.
Thursday, 11th November, 8pm
Admission 7,50 Euro
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NO VISIBLE TRAUMA
Canada 2020, Robinder Uppal and Marc Serpa Francoeur, 97 Min.
A young man is kidnapped, another severely beaten and a third shot dead. The perpetrators: members of the local police. A film about the abysmal abuse of power by the police, traumatised victims and inefficient control bodies.
Friday, 12th November, 8pm
Admission 7,50 Euro
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JUDY VS. CAPITALISM
Canada 2020, Mike Hoolboom, 63 Min.
Canadian Judy Rebick is a feminist icon. She fights for abortion rights and against neoliberalism. JUDY VS. CAPITALISM is a biography of her public and private life – and a story of shame, depression and abuse.
Saturday, 13th November, 8pm
Admission 7,50 Euro
Buy a ticket

JE M'APPELLE HUMAIN
Canada 2020, Kim O‘Bomsawin and Andrée-Anne Frenette, 78 Min.
Joséphine Bacon is the poet of the Innu, an indigenous people from Quebec. She looks back on her life and returns to the land of her ancestors. A film about a keeper of words, deeply connected to her past and her breathtakingly beautiful homeland.
Sunday, 14th November, 11am (matinée)
Admission 7,50 Euro
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DOK.focus Empowerment at Bellevue di Monaco

The gamechanger in the struggle for social justice: The thematic series follows empowerment movements around the world and in various aspects of life.

NOT GOING QUIETLY
US 2021, Nicholas Bruckman and Jeffrey Winter, 96 Min.
„Be a hero" is the maxim of activist and father Ady Barkan, who was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 32. Although his condition is rapidly deteriorating, he campaigns for social health reform in the US. An inspiring insight into the life of a strong hero.
Thursday, 11th November, 8pm
Admission 4 to 6 Euro
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LA PREMIERE MARCHE
France 2020, Hakim Atoui and Baptiste Etchegaray, 70 Min.
An LGBTQIA+ Pride in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis? For some it is unimaginable, but four charismatic students are determined to stick to their plan. After all, they are convinced that the scene has its place in the banlieue. Funny, angry and revolutionary!
Friday, 12th November, 8pm
Admission 4 to 6 Euro
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WOOD – DER GERAUBTE WALD
Austria, Germany, Romania 2020, M. Kirst, M. Lazurean-Gorgan and E. Sinzinger, 97 Min.
Illegal logging is a major problem worldwide – also in Europe. The film's research sheds light on the illegal machinations of the timber mafia. At the same time, those affected discuss how logging can be made more controllable and sustainable.
Saturday, 13th November, 8pm
Admission 4 to 6 Euro
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WRITING WITH FIRE
India 2021, Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, 93 Min.
Smartphones against social and political injustices? What sounds like tilting at windmills is daily business for the staff of the newspaper Khabar Lahariya in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh – with great success!
Sunday, 14th November, 8pm
Admission 4 to 6 Euro
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