Doc.Berlin Documentary Film Festival
Facts aren’t always facts, and “alternative facts” don't always lie.
In a world where “truth” is carefully curated, filtered, and viewed through the lens of social media, often the only difference between truth and fiction lies in the perspective through which one views the world.
Documentary films offer a fascinating peephole into a particular reality, at a certain time of a certain person's life. Whether in the form of an expository, a poem, an essay, an observational piece, whether it's dramatized, animated, or based on interviews, documentary films all have a message to send.
How can we make a difference in the world?
Documentary films are not just an avenue through which we can observe real life; they also serve to inform, educate, and critique. They are valuable creations in a day and age where media is increasingly curated and so much more homogenous.
That is why Doc.Berlin welcomes all of the above forms of documentary film-making, and even more so, those that transcend boundaries to move fluidly between one and more styles.
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To The Zero Line (Ukraine) by Benjamin I. Goldhagen
In war, the mind gets focused on the essence of life. Family, friends, food, heritage, what you'll fight for, what you might die to keep. The choices one makes each morning when the sun rises. To The Zero Line takes place during a time of war, during the full scale invasion of a European country,...
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Alone (United States) by S Columbus
Documentary about the difference of being alone and feeling alone.
Running time: 01:42:11 -
Let it Dance (Australia) by Carolyn Corkindale
Born of a poor family in Paris, Guy Detot transforms himself through passion and luck into an international ballet dancer, dancing with Pina Bausch in The Rite of Spring. Guy moves to Australia for love and originates work with Australian Dance Theatre, before being aged out of ballet and embarki...
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Out of sight, by the forest (Poland) by Nadina Dobrowolska
"Out of sight, by the forest" is a poignant documentary exposing the brutal reality of Polish fur farms. With extraordinary sensitivity, the filmmakers present the story of three activists - Aleks, Angelika and Bogna - who for years have tirelessly documented the suffering of animals raised for f...
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Die Bergmanns / The Bergmanns (Germany) by Susanne Hensdiek
A portrait of the identical twins Matthias and Christian Bergmann. As a child, one is healthy and strong, the other is often sick and weak. At 17, a doctor realizes at the last minute that Matthias is deathly ill. He only has one extremely shrunken kidney and this has gradually poisoned him – n...
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A New Perspective (Germany) by Alexandra Begue
"A New Perspective" immerses viewers in the heart of South Africa in 2018, where wildlife and flora conservation intertwines closely with the fight against poverty. Tracing the journey of the NGO "Elephants, Rhinos and People" over 10,000 km and charting its progression until 2023, the film unve...
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Voicemails For The Unknown Receiver (Philippines) by Mario Ventura Cabus
An experimental documentary about the relationship between mother and son separated by distance, but connected by phone call conversations. It is a film consisting of two parts: first, a black and white city symphony lensed through an unexposed perspective with colored subtitle language translati...
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Iris (Canada) by Gabriela de Andrade
Ever since Iris, a French-Congolese woman, left Montreal, she has nurtured her relationship with Gabriela through voice messages. In this film, her voice gives hints of a return that exists only through Gabriela's eyes. The film is a kind of affective cartography of their interposed exchanges, Ir...
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Confessions of a Childfree Woman (United Kingdom) by Paula Kuzmickaite
Young, bisexual and Childfree woman, confesses through tape about her experiences and revelations about navigating modern life.
Running time: 00:15:00 -
Further Proof of the Existence of Dragons (Germany) by Alexander Fuchs
We see its scales, its joints, its eyes. An attempt at poetically documenting the effects of Ichthyosis.
Running time: 00:07:15 -
Above Us (United States) by Freddie Paull
Unified by a rare cosmic event, the eyes of New York City gaze up to the sky for a fleeting moment of calm - the last of its kind for another 55 years.
Running time: 00:06:30 -
Moms (United States) by Sonya Gadet Molansky
"Moms" is a study on understanding the feeling of being the child and simultaneously the mother of ones own mother. Mothering, like all forms of care giving, is never a one way street, giving and receiving care has an inherent reciprocity. The film explores what my role is in raising my mother an...
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Jelly & Igloos (Belgium) by Kris De Meester (Out of Competition)
In “Jelly & Igloos" we delve into the whimsical yet purposeful world of future food artist Mie Goffin. Through her introspective narration, we are invited into her creative process, shaped by childhood memories, a commitment to sustainability, and an unyielding desire for innovation. Goffin's jou...