Munich – With 131 films from 43 countries, the Dok.Fest invites you to view a selection of socially important and artistically outstanding documentaries of the current time.
AZ: Mr. Sponsel, 2020 was the first complete online experience for the Dok.Fest. What did you learn from it?
Daniel Sponsel: Within seven weeks we completely relocated the festival that was planned in cinemas and in various locations to the Internet. Without knowing whether that would be accepted. But then there was even an increase in the audience, which was due to the fact that we were suddenly seen across Bavaria, sometimes even across Germany. That was a new audience that was able to attend the Dok.fest for the first time, because you don’t go to Munich for a film from Straubing, Regensburg, Erlangen or Kempten, but you log in online for films. We are now building on this positive experience.
However, after more than a year of Corona and several lockdowns, there is also the risk of online fatigue.
Yes, that can actually be true, but of course we try to be present in the regions with our advertising and on platforms.
And classic older cinema audiences could have been lost online.
Certainly some have not made the leap to the Internet. But the Corona times have led to greater online affinity in all age groups, which we also noticed in our increased viewership. And this year we would have loved to have offered both: cinema and online, but cinema was not possible for the second time.
Festivals often have a certain dramaturgy. Why do you make all films available from day one for the entire 18 festival days and not stagger them?
Until now, appointments were tied to the locations, i.e. mostly cinemas. Those were the limiting factors.
But also an organizing factor?
If someone prefers to watch the “Tagesschau” or sit outside at 8 p.m., should they do that? The audience can freely curate their own program and watch when and where they want. Why shouldn’t you use the opportunity of greater freedom on the Internet as a festival?
This also includes the length: Why was the Dok.Fest extended from normally around 10 days to 18?
We used this opportunity last year to increase the range with this extension – it worked out very well. We build on this experience.
The major streaming platforms even offer documentaries. Why don’t they use a documentary film festival as a premiere platform before they offer it themselves?
These international corporations are not familiar with the festival market and such a festival does not fit into their global marketing structures. In order to take part in the Oscar, they set a lot in motion and the festivals for Netflix and Amazon definitely play a role in feature films. We even tried to contact people in charge at Netflix, but it was incredibly difficult, and often the contact people had left or had moved elsewhere after a few months. But I am optimistic that documentary film festivals will soon be considered as premiere locations.
