The 52nd International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film has closed with a new audience record: 34,200 visitors saw 330 productions in twelve cinemas, attended the industry events and took part in intensive discussions about the presented works as well as the future of documentary and animated film.
Press Release from International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
The 52nd International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film has closed with a new audience record: 34,200 visitors saw 330 productions in twelve cinemas, attended the industry events and took part in intensive discussions about the presented works as well as the future of documentary and animated film. In comparison to 2008, when 28,000 visitors came to the festival, DOK Leipzig can, therefore, report an increase of 22 percent. With this number, even the final visitor figure of the 50th anniversary festival in 2007 (31,000) was significantly topped. In addition to the competition screenings, the Special Programme “T.I.A. - This is Africa” turned out to be very popular with the audience.
Festival Director Claas Danielsen expresses his delight about the record number of visitors:
“It is a unique result. I’ve not experienced so many sold-out cinemas and well visited industry events since I have began my tenure. I’m especially pleased that the Leipzig audience responded so positively to our Africa focus. Many of our international guests were very impressed by both – the atmosphere at the festival and the highly interesting film talks with the public. But what really pleases me is that the artistic documentary and animated films attracted so many young viewers. The audience finds with us something they otherwise rarely get to see”.
During the Awards Ceremony last Saturday, October 31, at the Leipzig Centraltheater, Claas Danielsen took the opportunity to thank all funders, sponsors und supporters. The huge visitor interest is also a result of the cooperation with the DOK Leipzig media partners MDR and the LVZ, who intensively covered the festival in their television, radio, online and print formats, states the festival director. In addition to its visitor’s success, the 52nd DOK Leipzig was also a festival of records in other aspects: With 67,000 Euros, the prize money awarded in the four competitions has never been as high. Compared to 2008, the number of accredited professionals increased by 14 percent from 1,200 to 1,370. Finally, DOK Leipzig presented 330 films from 69 countries and welcomed 148 directors from 38 countries at the festival to present their works to an international audience.
The number of viewings in the digital DOK Market, where 320 new documentary and 115 animated films were available, is similarly positive: With 4,600 viewings, the rate has increased by 15 percent compared to 2008. Other DOK Industry events were equally successful: At both, the 5th International DOK Leipzig Co-Production Meeting and the final pitching of the Documentary Campus Masterschool, for numerous new films start-up financing could be secured and fruitful co-productions for new international projects could be agreed. With such initiatives, DOK Leipzig contributes on a long-term basis to the networking between producers and promotes the co-production of high-quality international documentary films.
