Leipzig, you owe us nothing

There are moments in your life that you experience that feel surreal and make you feel like your life is about to change. For us, I would say that attending Dok Leipzig felt just like that. 

A few months ago, Ilana and I were in a meeting and we were talking about attending this festival happening in Leipzig and trying to figure out some logistics. At that moment we thought “it’s harmless to look at options for stays, let’s just see what’s out there.” We struck gold. I wish I could show you all this amazing place we found (we kind of want to gatekeep for now 😛); it was beyond what we could have imagined and it fit within our budget. We got our people together and booked it and were ready to jump in. 

On our very first day, we went to pick up our accreditations and got tote bags with some schedules of all the showings and the market events which would allow us to meet many incredible film industry people. We began to look through it to strategize how we could make the most of the 4 days we had. 

On the first night, we attended the opening reception, after having a little drink in our lovely apartment of course. We were met with a crowd of phenomenal people and we needed to find a way to talk to people without being too shy. We split up and went to test how truly extroverted we were. Just on the first night alone, we met some of the people that were showing their projects as part of the festival. We were able to connect with people from all over the world that reflected the same spirit of creativity we were coming with. Over cigarettes and drinks, we talked about the bigger landscape of film and how we all fit into it. For some of the people we met, they were coming from an African background that did not necessarily make space for artistic expression through film. We had beautiful conversations around topics of representation, how we can continue to preserve history and culture, and how we can all continue to uplift each other’s creative interests. We connected deeply and before we knew it the conversation went from 3 people to 7. We were grateful for a good first day and went back to our apartment to gear up for the next day. 

On our second day, we attended the screening of several films in a category called “Lustfully Longing.Longingly Lustful.”One of the  films that was shown was made by one of the people we had met the

night before.The film is called Unyagoni: Bahati’s Sex Education Journey made by Kenyan filmmaker Saitabao Kayare. He made a beautiful documentary expressing a ritual that is performed in certain regions on the eastern coast of Africa in Tanzania, Zanzibar and the coast of Kenya, which helps men and women alike to become more sexually educated. This documentary had such intimacy, strength, and vulnerability. The character that is followed, Bahati, has a vibrant energy that makes it difficult to look away. She is vivacious, full of life and speaks her heart and mind. This documentary went deep into talking about sexual education in communities where it is often thought of as taboo and does not leave much room for women to learn about their own pleasures. Saitabao also had a moment where he got to talk more about his process for this film. He first explained that he knew it was unusual for a man to be covering a story like this but he knew that this story needed to be told. He continued by stressing that this documentary is not just to show different parts of African cultures that can be overlooked or unknown but it is also about the preservation of history, culture and customs. He was able to gain the trust of all the women involved in the project which allowed for an unfiltered, raw story. 

In this same showing, we got to watch a few other films that were in the same category. We were astonished at some of the very abstract ideas and some of the simpler ones. For me, being in that room reminded me what it is I love about film: there will always be more stories to be told. It doesn’t matter how much equipment you have, how much funding you have or anything of that sort (although it does matter sometimes don’t get me wrong), the story is what becomes the center of it all. We did not know most of the details about the production of those films, but what we knew was that we were touched and moved by the films showing and it hit a spot because those stories were good. 

On the third day, we were able to attend a few panels, one which talked about the representation of LGBTQ+ people in film, and the other was a panel on film festivals. One thing that I felt throughout my time in these rooms was remembering the fact I too am a girl from a small town most people have no idea about but I managed to get into these rooms. I was talking to people from all over the world and getting to connect on different ideas and actively seeing myself in a moment of growth. However, the night was still young and there was something even better coming up. 

On this same day, we had decided to invite some of the people we had met to come out and sing karaoke with us at a bar that happened to be having a karaoke night that night. Because what better way to show people the energy we have in a karaoke documentary than bringing them to a karaoke bar? At first, there were just a few of us and one girl I bumped into in the bathroom told me that most nights the karaoke is not a good scene because not many people showed up. Within an hour, many people from the film festival started pouring in and before we knew it the bar had become crowded with no seats left anywhere. We were singing with people we had never met, sharing drinks and cigarettes. We got to connect with even more people from the festival as a result of this night. Not to say that this was our magnum opus ( because we have SO many more amazing things coming), but we hit the jackpot that night. We got to have conversations that might have been life changing in ways we are yet to find out. We were authentic to ourselves and to our project and that is what got people to be even more interested in what we were doing. We found ourselves in that karaoke bar until 1 AM knowing full well we had film screenings and other things to attend to the very next morning. Nevertheless, we left with a sense of pride that we were able to bring people together in the best way we knew how: karaoke. 

The last day we woke up slightly hungover gearing up to leave and to attend one last showing. The previous night, we got the chance to chat with Jennifer Chiu who is a filmmaker from Canada and a very lovely person to chat with as well. She directed a film called the Clan of the Painted Lady that was absolutely phenomenal. It is a documentary that follows the trajectory of her family’s immigration story and more specifically a group of people originating from China called Hakka. This specific group moved around from China to India and then some moved to other parts of the world such as Jamaica and Canada. The film had such distinct and beautiful cinematography that showed the care that went into making this project. It was a film very close to her heart and she executed it really well. It further reinforced the idea of preserving culture through film. It was probably the most captivating documentary I have watched. 

I am beyond grateful for the experience I got to have while in Leipzig. I got to be in rooms I never dreamed I would be in and it was 100% worth it. I am excited to continue supporting the many wonderful filmmakers that I met as part of this. It stressed a point to me that I want to also continue stressing which is that film is all about community. It is about filmmakers from all over the world getting to meet and exchange ideas about how to make film more accessible to people who have been told their entire lives that it wasn’t for them. It is about supporting each other’s successes and pushing each other to be greater because we have that capability. I left Leipzig feeling renewed in my love for film and for this project specifically.

And just like the title says, Leipzig, you owe us nothing.