Culture makes people think

Anna, together with your colleague Vivian, you founded The Good Media Network in the spring of 2024.  Vivian announced at the Berlinale that she wanted to put together a film and impact programme.  You joined a little later - and now you are not only organising an impact programme, but also a festival. What made you decide to launch a new non-fiction festival? 

Anna: After the launch of The Good Media Network, Vivian received so much overwhelmingly positive feedback. In conversations, she kept coming up against the fact that Berlin lacked a strong platform for documentary storytelling.  After I joined, even more people came up to us and shared their perspective on what Berlin was missing. And we could not agree more. After all, Berlin is home to many national and international documentary filmmakers, journalists and storytellers who use non-fiction narrative forms. It is the city of podcasts and non-fiction publishers, so what could be more natural than to create a documentary festival that combines all this with what also characterises the city: A love of art, exchange and partying.

Anyone who knows you knows that you are a “non-fiction lover”. What do you personally find fascinating about documentary storytelling? 

Anna: Ha, that's true. For the record, I also love watching feature films and reading fiction! But for me, documentaries in particular have a special power. They allow us to understand things not only factually, but also on a deeply emotional level. Just like non-fiction books, they don't have to break anything down into a few words, but they have the time and space to explain and also go into complex contexts. They help us to understand and to see new perspectives (or points of view) and, at best, to comprehend them. Perhaps they even have the power to change the world. The Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai recently said in an interview: “The arts cannot change reality - they can only make people think.” - Perhaps I'm a little more enthusiastic than he is. I believe that the culture makes people think.

Berlin is already a metropolis with a rich cultural scene. Why is the Dokumentale still needed? 

Anna: The question is justified. Berlin has over 100 film festivals and numerous other festivals and now there's another one. Why the hell? Because, in our opinion, Berlin lacks a platform for documentary narratives that shows the entire spectrum: from portraits of artists to projects that deal with our past and present to questions of science. And it doesn't just focus on films. Podcasts are booming at the moment. I was just talking to a dear former colleague yesterday who attributes the podcast boom to the fact that the audio background to everyday life makes us feel less lonely.  We also want to include podcasts, but at the same time we want to do something about the feeling of loneliness and anonymity: We want to create a meeting place where conversations with strangers are possible and exchanges can take place at eye level. Be it over coffee and cake and a discussion or over a drink after a reading. In any case, we seek an active exchange with our audience and motivate them to exchange ideas with each other.

Is there anything you are particularly looking forward to?

Anna: At the moment, I'm looking forward to the coming months and putting together the program and working with some really great people. Vivian and I are very lucky to have an incredibly experienced team at our side. Each individual enriches the program with their perspective and contributes their own ideas in their area. It is wonderful to work in this consortium of outstanding curators, editors - thank you Jana - and creative minds and I am inspired and excited by them every day. 
And, of course, I'm particularly looking forward to our summer preview. We want to give you a little taste of what to expect at the Dokumentale in October: Between July 18-21, we want to watch, discuss and celebrate a selection of international and award-winning film highlights with you. 

Finally, one last question: What do you wish for Dokumentale'24?

Anna: That we, as a new format in Berlin, manage to attract a bit of attention, create a place where visitors can exchange ideas, take away new impulses and memories and go home enthusiastic/inspired.