The Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated film is Germany’s biggest festival of its kind and the second largest in Europe. Founded in 1955, the event has become unique in its field and reflects a complex and subjective reality.

The Catalan film productions being screened this year are:

Memory of the Land - International Competition Short Film

An animated film made by Samira Badran – a Palestinian artist – and Jaume Serra. Set at an Israeli checkpoint, it shows the guards’ arbitrariness, the structural surveillance and the claustrophobic architecture.

Password: Fajara - International Competition Short Film

Directed and produced by Patricia Sánchez and Séverine Sajous, the documentary was shot in recent years in Calais, where the locals were seeking to protect their homes from the refugees seeking asylum in the Jungle camp on the outskirts of the city. The film shows how people from very different countries of origin use the same language to communicate when they face danger or need help to flee to the United Kingdom.

The Other Side of the Wall - International Programme

Directed by Pau Ortiz and produced by Intactes (Barcelona) and Bambú Audiovisual (Mexico), the film shows the relationship between Ale (aged 18) and his sister Rocío (13), which is threatened when their mother is unjustly sentenced and imprisoned and they have to become both father and mother to their younger siblings. In addition, the fact that they are illegal immigrants in Mexico makes it difficult for them to study or work. Just when they face more obstacles to overcome, new hope rises.