International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
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The International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film (German: Internationales Leipziger Festival für Dokumentar- und Animationsfilm), also known as the Leipzig DOK Festival, is a film festival that takes place annually in Leipzig, Germany. It was founded in 1955 under the name "1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural and Documentary Films" and was the first independent film festival in East Germany. After the Basic Treaty between the two Germanys in 1972, the "Committee of the International Leipzig Festival of Documentary and Animated Film" was founded. In 1990, support for the festival was assured under the Treaty of German Unity, and it served as a bridge linking the Western and Eastern traditions of filmmaking.
In 1995, a separate competition for animated films was held for the first time.
Attendance dropped in the early 1990s, with just 5,500 people coming in 1993, but picked up within a few years. In 2004, the festival had more than 24,000 attendees.