FRIENDLY FIRE opens the 40th DOK.fest München...

FRIENDLY FIRE, a film by Klaus Fried, realised by Julia Albrecht, will open the 40th DOK.fest München on 7 May 2025 in the main auditorium of the Deutsches Theater! 

Festival director Daniel Sponsel: ‘The film by Klaus Fried and Julia Albrecht is a gift at the right time, thematically highly relevant, full of ambivalence and a multi-layered family saga. As an artist and a person, Erich Fried united the most violent contradictions: as a Jewish emigrant expelled from Nazi Germany, he became a harsh critic of Israeli politics. As a left-wing pacifist, he seeks dialogue with the self-confessed neo-Nazi Michael Kühnen. His love life follows his sensitive poetry on the subject only to a limited extent. As a father, he remains an enigma to his son Klaus: larger than life and yet deeply human.’
The film runs in our section "Never Again" is Now? – Films about Memory and Resistance.

These are the sections of the 40th DOK.fest München:

Retrospective – Films from Four Decades of DOK.fest München

”Never Again” Is Now? – Films about Memory and Resistance

Crossing Boundaries – Films about Migration and its Realities

Reframing History – Films Exploring how the Past Shapes our Present

Subdue the earth? – Films about the Relationship Between Humans and Nature

Empowered – Films about Defiance and Speaking out

This Is America – Films about a Divided United States

In good company? – Films about Life and Living Together

Coming of Age – Films about Childhood and Growing Up

Brave New Work? – Films about the Realities of Work

Family Affairs – Films about how We Love and Fight

Stranger Than Fiction – Films between Reality, Archive and Essay

The Sound of Music – Films about Musicians and their Stories

About Art – Films on Artists and their Realities

Filmmaking in Exile – Films about Filmmaking Far from Home

African Encounters – Films and Talks about Climate Justice

The three main prizes will continue to be awarded and will be called VIKTORIA from this year onwards. Ten to twelve pre-nominated, outstanding films will compete for them - across all film sections.