In October, Adele Kohout will take over the direction and management of DOK.fest München. The former Deputy Director follows Daniel Sponsel, who is leaving the festival after the upcoming edition (7 to 25 May 2025) to become president of the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF). From October, Maya Reichert, who currently heads DOK.eduation, the educational platform of DOK.fest München, will be the new Deputy Managing Director and Deputy Director of DOK.fest München. The board of the Internationales Dokumentarfilmfestiva München e.V. has unanimously decided on this new management.
Claus Blanc, Moritz Holfelder and Michael Augustin (board of the Internationales Dokumentarfilmfestival München e.V.):‘For us, Adele Kohout is the ideal successor to Daniel Sponsel: she has many years of experience – acting as the Deputy Director since 2016 – has special expertise in the field of cultural management, is extremely dedicated, and has excellent networks in the industry. With her strategic vision, she will ensure the sustainable further development of DOK.fest München. Maya Reichert has been responsible for the DOK.education film education programme since 2013, which has, thanks to her great commitment, developed into a year-round flagship programme with international appeal in the field of film education and political media training. She has brought documentary film into the focus of numerous schools and significantly increased the audience for this type of film. She will now contribute this valuable expertise directly to the festival management.’
Adele Kohout:‘When I started my journey at DOK.fest München, it was a small, passionately curated festival – today it is the largest documentary film festival in Germany with an international reputation. It has been a fascinating and fulfilling experience to help shape this path and to accompany its continuous development. I am now looking forward to leading the festival into the next phase of its development with the support and expertise of our dedicated team. In a time of social transitions and global challenges, documentary film is an especially indispensable form of media that stimulates debate and opens up new perspectives. We want to further develop DOK.fest München as a platform for socially relevant topics and visionary narrative forms: with new formats, creative impulses, and a lively dialogue between filmmakers and audiences.’
Adele Kohout began her studies in Art History and Modern History, specialising in film, at the universities of Dusseldorf and Zurich. In 2010, she completed her Master's degree in Cultural History and Cultural Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Ludwigsburg. During her studies, she deepened her practical knowledge as an assistant director at Czech Television in Prague, and in the field of project management, at the Brooklyn Museum, the Postmaster Gallery in New York, and more. From 2008, she worked in public relations at DOK.fest München. From 2010, she successively took on responsible tasks as an assistant to the festival management and was significantly involved in the areas of financing, project coordination, programme planning, sponsoring, and partner communication. From 2015 to 2017, she was responsible for the strategic management of the Kunstareal München office and made a significant contribution to the festival's success by developing new partnerships. In 2016, she took over the co-management of DOK.fest München alongside Daniel Sponsel and shaped the organisational and conceptual development of the festival.
Maya Reichert studied documentary film and television journalism at HFF Munich. From 2009 to 2017, she was an artistic-scientific assistant and director of studies at the chair of Prof. Doris Dörrie in the field of screenwriting / creative writing. She was part of the BKM film funding committee at the State Ministry of Culture and Media for six years. She has taught at HFF Munich, LMU Munich, and many other institutions. As a director, she realised the BR co-production SCHWESTER DOROTHEA and the cinema documentary TANZ AUF DEM VULKAN. Maya Reichert has been working for DOK.fest München since 2009. In 2013, she took over the management of the educational platform DOK.education. With her film education concept Schule des Sehens (School of Seeing), she reached numerous students and teachers: initially in cinemas in Munich, then also in a year-round online format. Thereby making a significant contribution in expanding the festival audience and helped sustainably establish documentary film in many educational institutions. Over 50,000 students, teachers, and multipliers have already taken part.
DOK.fest München is dedicated to socially relevant and artistically valuable documentary films. Since 1985, around 3,000 documentary films have been screened, with a total of 750,000 visitors attending the festival. Last year alone, DOK.fest München had 54,000 viewers. This year's 40th anniversary edition will be officially opened on 7 May 2025 at Deutsches Theater. Until 18 May, 105 films will be screened in Munich's cinemas and at special venues. Almost all DOK.fest München films can also be seen @home on the digital screen from 12 to 25 May.
