Dovile Sermokas
Doxumentale'26
Doxumentale celebrates the power of non-fiction.
Through films, talks, and shared moments, the festival brings stories, ideas, and people together.
At Doxumentale, audiences can explore a diverse program of international documentary films, live podcasts, readings, talks, and special events across the city. Contemporary issues meet personal stories, artistic voices engage with social debates, and unexpected perspectives open up new ways of looking at the pressing questions of our time.
Super Early Bird Passes are available now!
The full program and regular tickets will be available mid-April.
Films
We will be showing all films in the original language with English subtitles. A few films that will be shown in German are labelled accordingly. Some screenings will be followed by discussions with directors, protagonists, or experts. The corresponding films are labeled with "Q+A".
80 Angry Journalists
02 Jun
/
6:00 PM
/ Atrium Tower
When the independence of Hungary’s news platform Index crumbles, the film follows the journalists as their newsroom unravels. Amid political pressure and defiance, a new media outlet emerges from the breakdown, fueled by a collective determination to safeguard free journalism.
A Fox Under a Pink Moon
30 May
/
6:00 PM
/ Atrium Tower
01 Jun
/
6:30 PM
/ ACUDkino
At 16, Soraya began documenting her story. As an Afghan artist in Iran, she transforms fear and longing into drawings, sculptures, and cellphone videos. Over the years, she creates a deeply personal self-portrait exploring flight, violence, memory, and the pursuit of a self-determined life.
A Little Gray Wolf Will Come
04 Jun
/
8:25 PM
/ b-ware! Ladenkino
01 Jun
/
6:00 PM
/ BALI Kino
Zhanna Agalakova, a journalist for a Kremlin-aligned broadcaster, takes pride in her country and hopes to pass that belief on to her Western-influenced daughter. But as they travel across Russia, her convictions begin to unravel when she realizes she is part of the propaganda machine.
14-year-old Maïto balances school life with his rising career as a Krump dancer. Caught between expectations and the need to be seen, he uses dance as a powerful expression of everything words can’t convey. A gripping story of courage, self-expression, and personal discovery.
A Special Presentation: Dear Fatima
31 May
/
9:00 PM
/ Atrium Tower
Ten years after the brutal femicide of her daughter, Lorena Gutiérrez relentlessly fights for justice, a battle that takes her all the way to the Mexican Supreme Court. A profound portrait of grief and resilience, illustrating how personal loss can spark powerful political change.
In his final interview, Giorgio Armani reflects on a lifetime at the forefront of Italian fashion. With insights from Sharon Stone, Tom Ford, Helen Mirren, and Samuel L. Jackson, a vivid portrait of glamour, power, rivalry, and one man’s defining influence on style unfolds.
Ashes
03 Jun
/
6:30 PM
/ Sputnik Kino
A novel and an unresolved family history trigger two investigations that converge in Prague. Archives and memories uncover a nearly forgotten act of resistance during World War II. A personal search for clues becomes a journey into the depths of deportation, loss, and responsibility.
Mohana and Leela Rani are auto-rickshaw drivers fighting for respect and visibility amid Chennai's heavy traffic. Despite a lack of infrastructure, harassment, and prejudice, they are part of a growing movement of women taking the wheel in a male-dominated industry.
In a run-down cinema in Amman, a filmmaker captures its final days. Through archival footage, the film reflects on global conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, exploring how power struggles and historical ruptures shape everyday life. A meditation on memory and history.
Day Trip
01 Jun
/
5:30 PM
/ KLICK Kino
03 Jun
/
6:00 PM
/ BALI Kino
In August 2021, the Taliban seizes power in Afghanistan. As international troops withdraw, countless women lose their protection and rights overnight. Targeted by the new regime and fearing for their lives, four of them scramble to find an escape.
Fantastique
07 Jun
/
8:25 PM
/ b-ware! Ladenkino
03 Jun
/
6:30 PM
/ ACUDkino
14-year-old Fanta trains daily as an acrobat in the hope of escaping Conakry, Guinea. Between school, caring for her sick mother, and intense training, she fights for a spot in a circus troupe. But as pressure mounts, doubts grow and she must ask herself how far she is willing to go.
Ghost in the Machine
05 Jun
/
6:30 PM
/ ACUDkino
03 Jun
/
8:00 PM
/ b-ware! Ladenkino
Behind the machines of AI are people and the power structures they uphold. In eight chapters, the film moves beyond the hype, exploring the philosophical, cultural, and political forces driving the global AI boom and examining how technology reshapes our understanding of what it means to be human.
Professional climber Emily Harrington attempts a daring 24-hour ascent of El Capitan. After a near-fatal fall, the climb pushes her limits and turns into a test of resilience. An unflinching portrait of ambition, risk, and the drive for self-determination in a male-dominated world.
Hex
01 Jun
/
8:25 PM
/ b-ware! Ladenkino
Three young women make a pact to radically change their lives over three years. With no musical experience, they form a black metal band and channel their inner witches. What begins as an experiment becomes an expression of rage, friendship, and self-empowerment.
I, Poppy
06 Jun
/
9:00 PM
/ Sputnik Kino
03 Jun
/
8:25 PM
/ b-ware! Ladenkino
In rural India, Vardibai ensures her family's survival by growing opium poppies, while her son uncovers corruption in the drug enforcement agency. When his investigations lead to the arrest of high-ranking officials, the state revokes the family's license, putting their livelihood at risk.
Ich denke oft an Hawaii
06 Jun
/
8:00 PM
/ KLICK Kino
03 Jun
/
7:00 PM
/ IL KINO
29 May
/
11:00 AM
/ Lounge 19
On the outskirts of Berlin, 16-year-old Carmen dreams of becoming a dancer. Amid gray housing blocks and a monotonous daily routine, she escapes into luminous fantasies of love and freedom, where her desire briefly transcends the limits of her everyday world.
Intelligence Rising
03 Jun
/
9:00 PM
/ Sputnik Kino
04 Jun
/
6:00 PM
/ b-ware! Ladenkino
How will artificial intelligence shape global power dynamics? In a future scenario, experts from the military, technology and philosophy explore the consequences of AI. Perspectives collide, from autonomous weapons to societal upheavals, offering a glimpse into a future that is already unfolding.
Jane Elliot Against the World
04 Jun
/
7:30 PM
/ Atrium Tower
07 Jun
/
5:00 PM
/ IL KINO
After a groundbreaking classroom exercise in 1968, Iowa teacher Jane Elliott emerged as an unflinching voice against racism. Now, nearly 90, she continues to speak out with unwavering courage. This portrait captures Elliott's sharp wit, relentless conviction, and the enduring urgency of her message.
First Women Filmmakers in Lithuania brings together six restored documentaries by pioneering Lithuanian women directors. Spanning five decades, the program traces women’s lives and creative voices, revealing a rich social and cultural history shaped by diverse female cinematic perspectives.
LOOT: A Story of Crime and Redemption
03 Jun
/
8:00 PM
/ KLICK Kino
06 Jun
/
5:30 PM
/ Zeiss-Großplanetarium
Tracing a path from the jungles of Cambodia to Western museums, the film reveals how colonial power structures helped shape a global market for stolen cultural artifacts, exposing the hidden mechanisms of a system built on violence, inequality, and silence.
Maintenance Artist
01 Jun
/
8:00 PM
/ KLICK Kino
Who cleans up when the party’s over? A portrait of a radical artist who turns her gaze to the work that usually goes unnoticed. In collaboration with the New York City Department of Sanitation, Mierle Laderman Ukeles combines art with waste, transforming maintenance into an artistic practice.
Mariinka
29 May
/
6:00 PM
/ Atrium Tower
06 Jun
/
9:30 PM
/ Freiluftkino Insel
In the frontline city of Mariinka in eastern Ukraine, war had been a harsh reality long before 2022. A boxer becomes a medic, a young woman resorts to smuggling to survive, and two brothers find themselves on opposing sides. As families are torn apart, the city gradually fades from the map.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
02 Jun
/
9:00 PM
/ Atrium Tower
07 Jun
/
9:30 PM
/ Freiluftkino Insel
In 2093, filmmaker Kuve travels to the futuristic African city of Umata to document a world without AI. There, he meets Mumbi, and an intense love story begins. Against a backdrop of humor and a radical exploration of technology, a visually unique blend of mockumentary and sci-fi drama unfolds.
Miss Jobson
07 Jun
/
6:30 PM
/ Sputnik Kino
04 Jun
/
7:00 PM
/ IL KINO
02 Jun
/
9:30 PM
/ Freiluftkino Kreuzberg
Diane Jobson, Rastafari icon and former lawyer to Bob Marley, is known as Jamaica’s lawyer of the poor. Now in her 80s, she continues to fight tirelessly for justice while wittily reflecting on friendship, love, resistance, and a life lived entirely on her own terms.
OHO Film
02 Jun
/
6:30 PM
/ ACUDkino
01 Jun
/
7:00 PM
/ IL KINO
Between 1965 and 1971, the OHO group emerged in Yugoslavia as one of Eastern Europe’s most vital avant-garde movements. Spanning art, philosophy, and nature, they challenged established cultural norms and redefined creative expression. Rare archival footage brings their radical spirit back to life.
Omega Wants to Dance
05 Jun
/
6:00 PM
/ b-ware! Ladenkino
02 Jun
/
9:00 PM
/ b-ware! Ladenkino
Dance has always been a tool for self-expression and community building. Following people across Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America, the film shows how movement shapes identity, belonging, and social change.
Ljubljana, late 1970s: Teenagers pick up guitars before they even know how loud they are allowed to play. Out of music, anger, and a desire for freedom, a punk scene emerges, disrupting everyday life and shaking the foundations of an entire system.
In Kolkata’s red-light district, sex workers establish their own film production company—an act of radical self-empowerment. As they stage their precarious lives, reality and fiction blur, and cinema becomes a means of reimagining their future.
After #MeToo broke the cultural silence on gendered violence, international human rights
lawyer Jennifer Robinson fights against the weaponization of defamation laws to silence
survivors.
In the silver mines of Potosí, Bolivia, grueling labor, constant danger, and poverty define daily life for entire families. The mines shape every aspect of life, laying bare the enduring legacies of colonial exploitation and the stark inequalities of the modern world.
Over a century after the genocide of the Ovaherero and Nama, Germany and Namibia continue to grapple with issues of accountability and the enduring legacy of colonialism. The film follows those affected, exposing tensions in diplomatic efforts and questioning what constitutes a true reckoning.
The director accompanies her father on a journey back to his homeland in Kosovo. After decades in exile, they encounter the traces of war and a hidden family history. Amid breathtaking landscapes and heartfelt encounters, memory and the present blur into a poetic portrait.
Amadou & Mariam have been performing together on stage for over fifty years. Despite losing their sight at a young age, they became international icons with an unmistakable sound. Driven by their love of music and of each other, they now bid farewell with a final album and a big concert in Mali.
In Atlanta, a women’s clinic faces mounting pressure since the right to abortion was overturned. Head of security Tracii protects patients, organizes operations, and offers crucial support. Amid growing hostility and constant tension, providing care becomes an increasingly difficult challenge.
The Impossible Journey
28 May
/
9:00 PM
/ Atrium Tower
04 Jun
/
9:30 PM
/ Freiluftkino Insel
In 2013, Thor Pedersen embarks on a journey to visit every country in the world without flying. Traveling on a small budget by ship and bus, he meets people and cultures around the globe. Facing major challenges, this is a remarkable tale of perseverance and the richness of our world’s diversity.
Each summer, three brothers live high in the mountains of North Macedonia, far from society. Amid the quiet of the pastures, work, duty, and family shape their daily lives, while questions of identity and the future quietly take root.
Defaced with far-right graffiti and left to decay, Mostar’s Partisan Cemetery has become a battleground over memory. Once a national monument to anti-fascist fighters, it is now dismissed by many as an unwanted relic, while the victims’ families fight to keep its legacy alive.
In November 1998, Maja Weiss travels the former Road of Brotherhood and Unity, once uniting Yugoslavia, now divided into separate states. In the aftermath of war, she traces landscapes marked by loss and memory, reflecting on what remains of a once-shared homeland and the fragile ideal of unity.
For decades in New Zealand, thousands of children, including many Māori, were taken from their families and placed in state care, where they experienced violence and abuse. The film weaves their testimonies with political examination, revealing how colonial systems continue to have an effect today.
The Woman’s Greatest Value is Her Silence
29 May
/
11:00 AM
/ Lounge 19
A young migrant from southern Italy reflects on her life in Frankfurt. Her story is performed on camera by other immigrants, transforming the film into a hybrid of reality and fiction. Through reenactments and observational scenes, it explores themes of uprooting, integration, and imagination.
In Hanoi, tattoo artist Tran Ngoc turns scars from cancer and self-harm into striking works of art that symbolize strength, resilience, and new beginnings. In Vietnamese society, where tattoos are stigmatized, she helps women reclaim their bodies and tell their own stories.
In Kyiv’s underground, Jay and Vol’demar seek refuge. As members of the queer dance scene, they navigate between ecstasy and reality. Since the start of the war of aggression, the film chronicles their lives amid club nights and crisis, as dance becomes both their sanctuary and an act of resistance.
In the late 1970s, Toni Negri was accused of being the secret mastermind behind left-wing terrorism in Italy. Although he was later acquitted, the damage was done for his daughter, and a rift remained. In this autobiographical film, she recounts her childhood in the shadow of his ideology.
Polar bears have become the symbol of the threatened Arctic—and of a trade that operates largely in the shadows. Over six years, the film follows three allies on a risky investigation into trophy hunting, raising an unsettling question: who truly profits from protecting these animals?
Eva, a Kenyan long-distance truck driver, struggles to balance the self-determination and freedom she finds on the job with the responsibilities of motherhood. This quietly told, poignant portrait explores work, independence, and the personal costs of taking the road she chooses.
14-year-old Jarumi is growing up in the indigenous Awajún community in the Amazon. While she follows traditions and duties, she observes the freedom enjoyed by the boys. She creates her own world through drawing and begins to question her role and the expectations imposed on her.
From threatened coastlines in the United States, across the vast Mongolian deserts, to underground Australian cities and the icy shores of Greenland, the film explores human resilience in the face of climate change, showing how communities are forging new paths forward with creativity and hope.
In the Liangshan Mountains of China, 14-year-old Qihuo is on the cusp of adulthood. With her friends by her side, she sets out on a traditional journey, trying to hold on to her childhood just a little longer.
In Morocco, Karima Nadir fights against Article 490, which makes sex outside of marriage a crime. As a single mother and activist, she defends her son, supports other women stigmatized and punished, and courageously brings her battle to parliament.
Books
During our festival, you’ll meet exciting authors and take part in moderated readings—ask questions, join the discussion, and experience it all live. The full program, including locations and times, will be announced in mid-April. In the meantime, explore our sneak peek!
This book examines six epidemics to illuminate issues of power and inequality, showing how colonialism, racism, gender, and class shape our experiences of illness. With a multifaceted perspective, it invites deeper reflection on how we respond to crises and the potential for building a just society.
An exploration of countries finding bold solutions to pressing issues. From intergenerational care in Japan to social housing in Vienna, it is a powerful call for pragmatic optimism. Showing how concrete change can be achieved, the question remains whether we have the courage to learn from them.
Mindfulness is often seen as a path to inner peace and a method of self-care. But what if, in an age of performance pressure and self-optimization, mindfulness becomes a tool of capitalism? Then sports are exploited, health threatened, vulnerability disregarded, and community undermined.
Democracy is often taken for granted, but it is increasingly threatened by extremism, populism, and fake news. In short essays, 27 young authors write about online hate, racism, and political apathy. Their texts are a call for civil courage and active democratic engagement.
In Gender Punks, Kuku Schrapnell brings to life the stories of trans and intersex individuals from the 17th to the 20th century with care, solidarity, and compassion. The book confronts fundamental questions: What is gender, and how can we make the world a fairer, more just place?
This book traces the rhythms of daily life—clay is molded into birds and dolls act out weddings. Ahmad Shah sells poplar trees to fund a trip to Kabul, as he works in a repair shop while dreaming of a motorcycle. It captures moments of curiosity, play, and quiet reflection in a rural Afghan town.
Between neon and grey, stories of the East shimmer with all their contradictions. Pop culture captures this—in novels, films, and music. Neon/Grey brings them into dialogue, revealing a multiplicity of perspectives and illuminating the ambivalences that often disappear within dominant narratives.
Paranoia in Hollywood unfolds in 1940s Los Angeles, tracing how artists who fled Europe find themselves once again subjected to political repression in their Californian exile. Amid the hysteria of the Cold War, figures such as Bertolt Brecht and Thomas Mann are denounced as communists.
In 1953, a young couple from Ludwigshafen travels to Tunja in the Colombian Andes, carrying great hopes. More than seventy years later, the narrator retraces their journey through letters, photographs, and fragments of memory—a path through family history, migration, and female self-assertion.
Podcasts
At Doxumentale, you’ll experience a curated selection of live podcasts at our Festival Center, meet hosts and their guests on and off stage. The full program, including locations and times, will be announced in mid-April. In the meantime, explore our sneak peek!
In 2022, Jina Mahsa Amini died in police custody in Tehran, sparking the largest feminist protest movement in Iran’s history. In six powerful episodes, Aida Amini explores what has changed since for women in Iran, across the diaspora, and within her own family.
What's it like to crowd-surf at a music festival in a wheelchair? And what does gaming look like when you’re blind? A video podcast about disability, neurodiversity, and inclusion. Each episode dives into real stories and raw conversations about what it means to live beyond labels.
A thought-provoking podcast exploring German cinema and questioning who decides which stories get told. Through in-depth conversations with filmmakers, it examines power, representation, and bold, innovative approaches to making the industry more inclusive and reflective of today’s diverse society.
In the beauty salon, self-care intersects with politics and private conversations reveal shared struggles. Each episode focuses on a salon and the women* who bring it to life, telling stories of migration, queerness, resistance, and belonging.
VR Women is a podcast highlighting women’s perspectives in a medium still full of discovery. Since 2021, Julia Bruton has celebrated the creativity and diverse approaches of women in VR—for women and anyone passionate about virtual spaces and immersive storytelling.
Our Event Passes
Super Early Bird Pass 5+5
Regular: 48,00 €
Reduced: 36,00 €
Save 20%: Pay for 5 festival tickets and receive 5 award-winning films to stream at home.*
Festival Pass
Regular: 72,00 €
Reduced: 56,00 €
All of Doxumentale, for less.
Save 20% and enjoy unlimited access to all public festival events and available streams, and choose your Doxumentale notebook for free.
Super Early Bird Accreditation
Regular: 80,00 €
Reduced: 60,00 €
The professional side of Doxumentale.
Save 20%: Access the Boutique industry program with workshops, tools and talks — plus 10 films to watch in cinemas or stream across Germany.
7% VAT included.
* Reduced prices are available for students, youth under 18, Berlin Pass holders, seniors, and people with a severe disability ID. For Berlin Pass holders, the reduced price applies in advance sales. At the box office, admission is free, subject to ticket availability.
Festival Preview
All Locations will be announced soon.
