DOK Leipzig/ 10/ Guevara Namer

Last Wednesday I got off the train in Leipzig and walked to the Museum of Bildende Kunst, that serves as Centre for the DOK Leipzig festival, also this year, with space to meet for a coffee or a fine lunch provided by the cuisine of Hotel Michaelis. Top standard.

Repeat… I got off the train in Leipzig and walked to the Museum and the first one I meet is Kurdish Syrian Guevara Namer, one of the courageous and entreprenant persons behind the DOX BOX festival in Damascus that I visited the last time in 2011 three weeks before the revolution started. She now lives in Berlin and is part of the team that has continued the Dox Box that now supports filmmakers from the region, among many initiatives with a Residence Fund, under the leadership of Diana El Jeiroudi.

Guevara Namer was in Leipzig to do camera interviews with sales agents, festival people etc. for the Dox Box. I knew from Damascus times how talented a photographer she is and asked her to send me a photo to put on this site. She did with these words attached:

”… this photo is from Damascus City Center, ”Marjeh Square”. One of my favourites”.

Guevara Namer describes herself: Has degrees in photography and drama studies from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus, Syria, and has years of experience in documentary film production and training.

Tue Steen Müller

Müller, Tue Steen
Documentary Consultant and Critic, DENMARK

Worked with documentary films for more than 20 years at the Danish Film Board, as press officer, festival representative and film consultant/commissioner. Co-founder of Balticum Film and TV Festival, Filmkontakt Nord, Documentary of the EU and EDN (European Documentary Network).
Awards: 2004 the Danish Roos Prize for his contribution to the Danish and European documentary culture. 2006 an award for promoting Portuguese documentaries. 2014 he received the EDN Award “for an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture”. 2016 The Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. 2019 a Big Stamp at the 15th edition of ZagrebDox. 2021 receipt of the highest state decoration, Order of the Three Stars, Fourth Class, for the significant contribution to the development and promotion of Latvian documentary cinema outside Latvia. In 2022 he received an honorary award at DocsBarcelona’s 25th edition having served as organizer and programmer since the start of the festival.
From 1996 until 2005 he was the first director of EDN (European Documentary Network). From 2006 a freelance consultant and teacher in workshops like Ex Oriente, DocsBarcelona, Archidoc, Documentary Campus, Storydoc, Baltic Sea Forum, Black Sea DocStories, Caucadoc, CinéDOC Tbilisi, Docudays Kiev, Dealing With the Past Sarajevo FF as well as programme consultant for the festivals Magnificent7 in Belgrade, DOCSBarcelona, Verzio Budapest, Message2Man in St. Petersburg and DOKLeipzig. Teaches at the Zelig Documentary School in Bolzano Italy.

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