On Monday, 27 October, DOK Leipzig 2025 opened with Claire Simon's documentary ‘Writing Life: Annie Ernaux Through the Eyes of High School Students,’ in which French teenagers study the writer Annie Ernaux in school. This is the last edition of the festival under the direction of Christoph Terhechte, who has been in charge since 2020 – a year in which DOK Leipzig had to be held in a hybrid format due to the coronavirus pandemic. In his opening speech, Terhechte pointed out the importance of culture for democratic exchange and its threat ‘from dwindling resources, political influence, self-censorship and, last but not least, indifference.’ The documentary film chosen for the opening underscores the potential and value of culture.
The Interreligious Jury, appointed by Interfilm and SIGNIS, awards a prize of €2,000 to a film from the international competition for feature-length documentaries. In 2016, it replaced the Ecumenical Jury that had been active in previous years, and usually consists of one Protestant, one Catholic, one Jewish and one Muslim member.
The festival's tribute is dedicated to American essay filmmaker Lee Anne Schmitt, who, according to her website, explores themes such as American exceptionalism, the logic of utility and labor, gestures of kindness and refusal, racial violence, cowboyism, trauma and narrative and the efficacy of solitude. The retrospective is entitled ‘Un-American Activities. Collective Action’ and presents films by oppositional and critical movements and directors from the USA (such as Barbara Kopple and Emile de Antonio) since the 1960s, which received special attention in Leipzig during the GDR era.