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Documentary Feature Film Winner in DOK Leipzig

 Documentary Feature Film Winner in DOK Leipzig International Competition Now Eligible for Oscar Consideration

DOK Leipzig has been designated as an ‘Academy Qualifying Festival’ in a further category by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. Starting this year the festival will be included on the Academy’s newly introduced ‘Documentary Feature Qualifying List’.

As a consequence, from now on the winner of the Golden Dove in the International Competition Long Documentary and Animated Film will automatically become eligible for Oscar consideration in the Documentary Feature category, provided that a documentary film has been honored with the prize and that the work in question fulfills the Academy’s formal criteria.

Last year’s winning film, “Licu, a Romanian Story” by Ana Dumitrescu, will now be eligible to submit for Oscar consideration this year.

Festival director Leena Pasanen on the announcement: “This is really fantastic news from Los Angeles! We are so happy to be included on the Documentary Feature Qualifying List – especially as we are the only German film festival aside from the Berlinale to be represented there and we are in the company of a whole range of other excellent international festivals. This shows the kind of international appeal DOK Leipzig possesses and highlights the fact that we are a springboard for international careers.”

This most recent move on the part of the Academy means that the festival has been named an ‘Academy Qualifying Festival’ in three separate categories to date. The two Golden Dove winners in the International Competition Short Documentary and Animated Film are already eligible for the ACADEMY AWARDS®. Now, in addition to short documentary films and animated films, documentary feature films can also compete for the coveted OSCARS®.

The ACADEMY AWARDS® will be presented in 2019 on 24th February. Nominations will be announced on 22nd January 2019.

The Academy’s new festival list as well as the rules concerning the ACADEMY AWARDS® are available here: www.oscars.org/rules

Logos and festival images can be found at: http://www.dok-leipzig.de/en/dok/presse/download

For any questions regarding this press release, please feel free to contact:

Maria Preußner | presse@dok-leipzig.de | 0341 30864- 1070