DOK Leipzig 2026

What it is

DOK Leipzig has run since 1955 and calls itself the oldest documentary film festival in the world. It was the first to put documentary and animated film in one programme. In 2026 it shows 217 films and XR works from across the world, in competitions and out of them, with the XR works in an exhibition of their own.

The Golden Dove

Where it plays

The festival takes over cinemas across the city. Each one below links to its programme.

CineStar Leipzig

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Passage Kinos Leipzig

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Cinémathèque in der naTo

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Kinobar Prager Frühling

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UT Connewitz

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Schauburg Leipzig

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Schaubühne Lindenfels

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There are also free screenings at the pop-up cinema in the main station's east hall and at the Polish Institute. The DOK Neuland exhibition of extended-reality works, titled Landslide this year, is at the Kohlrabizirkus from Tuesday 27 October to Sunday 1 November, 11:00 to 18:00.

The 2026 programme

Four competitions and a set of special programmes. In the competitions, 76 films, 30 of them world premieres, compete for seven Golden and two Silver Doves.

Ola Staszel leads the festival for the first time and adds two sections, Positions and Fokus Ost. Fokus Ost brings ten documentaries from eastern German perspectives, curated by Grit Lemke, eight of them world premieres. The Audience Award moves to an online vote, and the retrospective 'Kino und Kampf' traces radical Latin American cinema between East and West. The hommages go to the documentary filmmaker Helena Třeštíková and to Trollfilm, the Norwegian animation studio founded by Anita Killi.

The festival opens on 26 October with the world premiere of Ina Borrmann's 'Good Evening, Beautiful' (Guten Abend, du Schöne, Germany 2026, 95 minutes). Borrmann met several of the women from Maxie Wander's 1977 interview book 'Guten Morgen, du Schöne' and interviewed them again. The official opening is at the Schauspiel Leipzig; the same evening at 20:30 the film screens free in the main station's east hall. It reaches German cinemas on 19 November.

Original with subtitles

Films screen in their original language with subtitles. Competition films are guaranteed English subtitles, so the programme is followable without German. This year 26 films also carry German subtitles, and three (two feature-length documentaries and a short animated film) have German audio description through the Greta app. No screenings with subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing have been announced, after the state of Saxony cut the funding for them.

Tickets and how it works

The full programme and online ticket sales opened on 8 October. A ticket costs €10, or €8 reduced, and every screening until 16:00 costs €8. Young DOK tickets cost €5. A season ticket covers the whole film programme: €80, €50 reduced. From the start of the festival, tickets are also sold at the cinemas and at the festival centre in the Museum der bildenden Künste, Katharinenstraße 10. Some screenings are free. If you cannot come to Leipzig, DOK Stream shows one new feature documentary a day online from 27 October to 1 November, anywhere in Germany, for 24 hours at €5; the season ticket does not cover it.

Common questions

When is DOK Leipzig 2026?

26 October to 1 November 2026, in Leipzig.

What does DOK Leipzig show?

Documentary and animated film, 217 films and XR works in 2026, across four competitions, special programmes and an XR exhibition.

What is the opening film?

Ina Borrmann's 'Good Evening, Beautiful' (Guten Abend, du Schöne), a world premiere in which women from Maxie Wander's 1977 book 'Guten Morgen, du Schöne' are interviewed again.

What is the Golden Dove?

The festival's main award, using Picasso's Dove of Peace. Three categories are Oscar-qualifying.

Are the films shown in the original language?

Yes, with subtitles. Competition films always carry English subtitles; a selection also has German subtitles.

How much are tickets?

€10, or €8 reduced; screenings until 16:00 cost €8 for everyone. They have been on sale online since 8 October, and from the start of the festival also at the cinemas and the festival centre in the Museum der bildenden Künste.

Can I watch the films online?

Some. DOK Stream shows one new feature documentary a day from 27 October to 1 November, each for 24 hours, anywhere in Germany, at €5 a film.

Are there free screenings?

Yes, at the pop-up cinema in the main station's east hall and at the Polish Institute. The opening film screens free in the east hall on 26 October at 20:30.