Author: phil

November 3, 2025 by Gundula Lasch

The ver.di jury for the 2025 edition also included renowned media professionals: Julia Cruschwitz , freelance investigative journalist for, among others, MDR and Deutschlandfunk; Rüdiger Steinmetz , emeritus professor of media studies and founder of the Leipzig university radio station “Mephisto 97.6”; and Rüdiger Trojok , graphic design production manager and member of the MDR’s freelance council. After extensive deliberation, the panel selected “The Woman Who Poked the Leopard” by Patience Nitumwesiga from a selection of films in the German Competition. The jury’s statement reads:

“The Woman Who Poked the Leopard” is an intense portrait of activist Stella Nyanzi. She fights for freedom, human rights, and democracy in authoritarian Uganda. The film reveals her multifaceted nature: as a scientist, poet, and politician. Fearlessly, she confronts the regime using spectacular methods. For this, she is arrested and mistreated. We witness her tireless struggle with her campaign team at the grassroots level for democracy. Ultimately, she flees into exile in Germany. Patience Nitumwesiga also tells the story of how the children suffer because of their mother’s activism. Her daughter Baraka stands up for her younger brothers, thus embodying her mother’s values.

ver.di award-winning film shows a courageous and unconventional feminist

This gripping documentary about Ugandan feminist and gender studies scholar Stella Nyanzi is full of action. Using a mobile handheld camera, the film captures the power of its protagonist, its rhythm mirroring her furious writings. In her fight against state oppression, Nyanzi minces no words. When she mocked President Yoweri Museveni, who had been in power for almost 40 years, with a vulgar poem in 2017, she was imprisoned. After her release, Nyanzi ran for parliament, lacking the funds for a campaign. She and her children printed and distributed posters and leaflets in the slums of Kampala. Her daughter styled her mother’s hair and makeup for public appearances; she had hardly any time for herself or her siblings. Eventually, the family emigrated to Germany to escape police violence. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that she will continue her fight from here.

A total of 78 films competed for Golden and Silver Doves in the festival’s four competitions, 30 of which were world premieres. An overview of all DOK 2025 award winners can be found here.

The Free State’s budget cuts threaten DOK Leipzig

In 2026, Ola Staszel will succeed Christoph Terhechte as artistic director and general manager of DOK Leipzig, as well as managing director of Leipziger DOK-Filmwochen GmbH. Terhechte will leave the festival on January 31, 2026. Staszel will be tasked with ensuring DOK Leipzig’s continued success next year despite massive funding cuts of approximately 20 percent from the Free State of Saxony. One consequence of these austerity measures is that staff salaries cannot be adjusted to reflect the rising cost of living. The festival also announced in April that there will be cuts to the program, as there is a lack of capacity for offerings beyond the core program. Festival staff at DOK Leipzig aptly summarized the situation as “a step backward instead of progress.”

This year, there were no funds available for implementing accessible offerings . Fortunately, the festival has a strong local fan base: a crowdfunding campaign raised the necessary €10,000 in the summer, enabling five feature films in the competition to be made accessible. Additional audio descriptions were made possible through festival partners.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, 9 Oct 2025, 15:00 EAST 

The Woman Who Poked The Leopard – Directed by Patience Nitumwesiga 

On Uganda’s Independence Day, Dok Leipzig has announced the inclusion of our documentary film The Woman Who Poked The Leopard in its program. 

The Woman Who Poked The Leopard is a documentary film that follows the extraordinary life and activism of Ugandan feminist scholar and political dissident, Dr. Stella Nyanzi. The film provides an intimate and uncompromising look into Stella’s fight for freedom, while highlighting her resilience in the face of political oppression. 

The Woman Who Poked The Leopard explores Stella Nyanzi, not only as a courageous activist, but also as a mother and a daughter. The film digs beyond the reductive narratives and perceptions of who Stella is, revealing the complexities of her personal and political life. It also sheds light on the personal tolls she pays for the risks she takes—effects on her family, the challenges of exile, and the wounds to her body. 

We felt it was important to make this film for many reasons, but I’ll highlight four: 

First, we need more documentation of the lives of African women revolutionaries… Our women have been mostly erased from the liberation struggle for our continent, and others have been given the role of the woman behind the husband. Stella is a revolutionary in her own right, like many other African women.

Second, we need to tell more stories from our own perspectives, as Africans… Most of our stories are told with a Western gaze, and this film was an attempt to tell the story from our own point of view. 

Third, we need to demonstrate that films can be produced by our own communities. We need to develop an attitude that we are not always reliant on colonial financing. We need to show our people that even though there are obstacles fomented against us, we have the ability to create despite the odds. This film received only 30% grant financing. 70% of the money that made this film came from our comrades, friends and relatives, and even the grants we received were largely from East Africa. 

Finally, it’s imperative to say that this film matters because the situation in Uganda is worsening severely. It shows that we Ugandans and Africans more broadly have the power to stand up to brutality and repression. Uganda is not a place of ethnic supremacy: we are all oppressed by a dictatorship that does not care about us—a dictatorship that hates those who tell the truth… We would like to remind you that while Stella is free, many of our comrades are still in prison or their whereabouts are unknown. Comrades like Eddie Mutwe, Sam Mugumya, Dr Kizza Besigye, and many others are not free. 

We believe it is important for the true independence of Uganda to share this film across global stages where it will be welcome. This day marks the beginning of that journey, which we invite everyone who yearns for such true independence to join. 

Thank you, and happy Independence Day.

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For more information about The Woman Who Poked The Leopard, contact:

thewomanwhopokedtheleopard@gmail.com,

+27 78 822 12 44