27th International Documentary Film Festival in Munich (DOK.fest)

The International Documentary Film Festival in Munich is one of Germany’s largest documentary film festivals. Known around the world as a leading showcase for newcomers and established filmmakers, the festival appeals to a broad audience and enlivens the entire city.
The festival launched the DOK.guest programme several years ago. At this year’s festival, DOK.guest presented films from and about the Arab world which highlighted the recent political turmoil in the region. Returning to the places where the Arab Spring took place, the filmmakers approached their subject from two different perspectives. While several focused on their personal experiences with revolution, others investigated to what extent the desired social change had come about. The six documentary films in the DOK.guest series applied very different artistic means to investigate their subject. What they all had in common, however, was their precise and respectful portrayal of the protagonists and their ability to create a space for reflection beyond the flood of TV news images. The series was developed in 2012 in cooperation with the International Nuremberg Human Rights Film Festival.
It is a tradition at the festival to invite all the film directors to Munich to personally field questions and hold public discussions about their work. This has enabled the festival to become an important platform for the international documentary film scene, and with its focus on Northern Africa, will significantly expand its network in this region of the world.

Artistic director: Daniel Sponsel

Munich: Filmmuseum München, City Kinos, Atelier Kinos, Pinakothek der Moderne, University of Television and Film Munich, ARRI, Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, 2 May -9 May 2012