Documentary Film Festival Leipzig

The Book

This volume examines the last five decades of the multi-faceted Leipzig Festival, full of incomparable transformations, both its own and those of its surroundings, cultural and political in its contradictions and peculiarities, and describes the festival's history from "Dokwoche" to "DOK Leipzig" in momentary recordings.

View and Counterview - The festival functions as a place of encounter and communication, of counter-information and solidarity for the "Third World", as well as an instrumentalization for governmental purposes, due to its political character.
Today, the legacy of this festival full of tradition is opposed by the visions and innovations of a new generation.

The "Dokwoche" fought for peace and human dignity and took a position on current circumstances. The festival's very own strength and its political independence allowed it to survive after the social and political turmoils of 1989. 
How is this legacy recognized and accepted in Leipzig today? How is the political independence preserved? Is the self-image of a "political festival" still present to this day?

Samples:

•  Table of Contents (98 KB) (German)
•  Introduction (212 KB) (German)

The Author

Heidi Martini is a historian and media scholar. She studied at the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University in Hanover and the Institute for Journalism and Communication Research at the University of Music and Drama in Hanover. 
Her research focuses on german-german and film history. 
This volume is the dissertation Heidi submitted to Prof. Dr. Irmgard Wilharm in 2007.