40 films from 20 countries, 8 categories in 3 competition programs, an international jury, discussions with filmmakers, psychologists, and journalists, the Doc Therapy section, the national cinema block Doc Station, and a rich educational program – a...

From June 23 to July 2, the ninth edition of Dokker, an international festival showcasing the most outstanding, relevant, and notable examples of auteur documentary cinema, will be held at the Moscow cinema center Oktyabr with the support of the KARO.Art project.

Over ten days, viewers will be able to watch and discuss, together with the filmmakers, psychologists, and journalists, 40 new films from 20 countries, most of which will be shown in our country for the first time.

This year's films are winners and participants of prestigious film festivals in 2022 and 2023, including the Rotterdam International Film Festival, Hot Docs in Toronto, Visions du réel in Nyon, CPH:DOX in Copenhagen, True/False in the USA, and many others.

The best films of Doker 2023 will also be shown in St. Petersburg at the Lendoc Film Studio from October 2 to 13, and in Yaroslavl at the Kinomax Aura venue from September 18 to 20.

Full schedule and tickets for screenings — on the festival website midff.ru

The Doker festival consists of two main competition programs — feature-length and short film — based on which the International Jury and the audience will award prizes in 7 categories. Concurrently, there will be screenings of a special section on mental health, Doc Therapy, all sessions of which will be followed by analysis with psychologists and psychotherapists. A feature of this year's festival is the expansion of the national cinema program Doc Station, which will present 15 extraordinary stories shot in various regions of the country. Based on audience voting, a winner will also be selected in this program.

According to the festival organizers, in 2023, filmmakers around the world continue to delve deeper with their complex, searching, and passionate characters. Immersion, both human and cinematic, is becoming increasingly conscious. Different heroes around the world seem to simultaneously begin to realize their important roles and missions, make extraordinary and fateful decisions, face the truth, and assess the world around them from an adult perspective.

The festival will open in Moscow on June 23 with the premiere of the drama Holy Dilemma, filled with twists and emotions — about the double life of a Catholic priest who decides to take fate into his own hands and reveal to the world a secret he has carefully kept for many years. The truth forces the pastor to leave religious service, however, parishioners do not want to let him go and ask him to run for mayor of their town. The film was shot over several years and masterfully conveys the full spectrum of human experiences related to destiny, family, love, faith, and obligations.

In total, this year's main competition program features 10 powerful stories from Armenia, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, China, Russia, the USA, and the Central African Republic, which will be shown in Russia for the first time.

Among the headliners is the world premiere of the Russian film The Last Ship by Ilya Zheltyakov about the mysterious journey of a huge vessel through Sámi burial grounds, Pomor villages, and military garrisons located on the shores of the Arctic Ocean seas.

The maritime theme continues in the meticulously crafted Greek film The Watch, telling the story of soldiers protecting ships passing near the Somali coast from pirates.

The Long Way Home is a poignant Chinese story about three generations living in the same house but in different worlds.

The philosophical parable Landscape conveys the tense atmosphere of one of the regions of Armenia, while the Italian drama After the Bridge tells the story of a grief-stricken woman who must find the strength to learn to live again and reconcile with the pain her son caused the world.

For the first time, the festival will feature a film from the Central African Republic — Bitter Days tells the story of a Chinese foreman and a local worker who find themselves caught in a whirlwind of events during the construction of a bank.

Relationships and expectations weave a complex web entangling a young Iranian woman from the film Destiny, her family, and friends, with the film serving as a window into contemporary Iran.

Also in the program is the world premiere of the Russian film Behind the Scenes by Artur Sokolov, in which circus performers with exotic animals travel like a big friendly family along the snowy roads of Siberia.

The main competition screenings will conclude with the exquisite black-and-white film from the USA by Oscar nominee Elissa Mirzei, Natalia, about a 29-year-old girl who, in contrast to the hero of Holy Dilemma, decides to dedicate her life to serving God, leaving behind a carefree student life full of adventure.