Berlin/Brandenburg, September 10-17, 2023
LETsDOK returns for a fourth edition. docfilm42 is involved again, too, and hosts the program with film events, talks and workshops in Berlin and Brandenburg.
docfilm42 – Film and discussion in the cinema!
Two special docfilm42 events as part of LETsDOK 2023 kick off two curated film series.
In cooperation with Regenbogenkino, the first one is dedicated to the topic of labor. Another cooperation presents films of the self-organized film school filmArche, starting with short films about migration.
Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to talk with the filmmakers.
Taste of Hope by Laura Coppens shows how employees of a self-managed tea factory decide to change the relationship between production and work for the sake of the workers and a more just society. The film shows the challenges and at the same time is optimistic that change is possible.
Three short films by students of filmArche explore the experiences of migrants who have left home or returned there for various reasons. They have to master their everyday lives, often performing a balancing act between different identities, between origin and belonging.
Films:
Goście -Guests by Natalia Zuch shows the daily effort of three Polish migrants to negotiate love, dreams and work and their longing to feel at home.
ROOTS by Sophie Ataya explores questions of belonging and identity when torn between two realities.
Germany is a Trampoline by Marc Sebastian Elis is the story of two young men from Cameroon who, torn between Germany and Cameroon, hope and resignation, cannot find peace.
Other Program in Berlin
In addition to screenings, this year’s Berlin program focuses on education with a variety of workshops. Renowned international speakers and filmmakers will impart know-how on editing, sound and lighting design and empower young filmmakers to develop independent projects. Particularly noteworthy is the video practice workshop on the Berlin housing issue with Tanja Brzaković and Matthias Coers, which offers those affected, activists and interested parties an introduction to different film forms and the basics of film language to create short films independently.
Information about the workshop program can be downloaded here.
Further events in Berlin cinemas: LETsDOK opens with the Belarusian film “Motherland” by Hanna Badziaka and Aliaksandr Mikhalkovich, which explores the question of whom young soldiers in mandatory military service actually serve.
The closing evening of LETsDOK, curated by Angela Haardt, features films by Sergei Loznitsa, Antoine Cattin/Pavel Kostomarov. Irina Volkova and Tekla Aslanishvili, which deal with post-Soviet everyday life.
Program in Brandenburg
The focus of the screenings is on Brandenburg’s cinemas and cultural centers, on cinema culture in unusual places such as factories, eco-projects, churches and in former train stations, where space is created for shared film experience and discussion.
Thematically, the quality of the program, with films on German history, anti-racism, urban development, non-conformism, East-West, urban history, border stories, and even music documentaries, underscores the relevance of documentary film as an important stimulus for social discourse.
Featuring films by Volker Schlöndorff, Sandra Prechtel, Petra Mäussnest, Sascha Just, Regina Schilling, Kristina Schippling, Michael Aust, Markus Schmidt, Rainer Komers, Joris Postema, Bernadette Vivuya/Kagoma Ya Twahirwa, Brenda Akele Jorde, Clara López Rubio/Juan Pancorbo, Lena Müller/Dragan von Petrovic, Gerd Conradt, Uli Decker, Tilman König, Markus Welsch, Pamela Meyer-Arndt, Christian Bäucker, Tom Ehrhardt, Ralf Schuster, Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing, Cem Kaya, Vera Brückner, Lew Hohmann, Kristof Gerega, Christoph Eder, Eberhard Görner and Igor Chojna.
The detailed festival program and all information can be found here and on https://letsdok.de/.
LETsDOK was initiated by AG DOK and is organized nationwide by the Verein zur Förderung der Dokumentarfilmkultur.
Funded by:
FFA, Medienboard, VFF, VG Bildkunst, VG Wort, Netzwerk Selbsthilfe and Stiftung Pfefferwerk
The Doclab was funded by:
The videoworkshop was funded by:
