The 25th anniversary sees the festival committee receive the "Star of Friendship of Nations" in gold, awarded by the government of the GDR. This is to honour both services to the state and the struggle for peace.
In the special performance "Busch singt" two significant personalities are at the fore: on the one hand the documentary filmmaker Konrad Wolf, who directed the six-part television film. On the other hand the protagonist - the singer and actor Ernst Busch. Festival guests such as Santiago Alvarez or Vladimir Pozner express their thoughts and reminiscences of both artists following the screening. [Festival-Chronik Teil 3]
The retrospective "Trailblazers" shows films from eleven pioneering documentary makers from ten countries [Günter Jordan, in: Ralf Schenk], including Joris Ivens, Theodor Christensen, Emile de Antonio, Jean Lods, Henri Storck, Ilja Kopalin, Ivor Montagu and Dusan Vukotic.
The international jury issues an appeal for peace, stating: "We profess wholeheartedly that there is nothing more important than peace. We swear to do our duty, namely: Films of the world - for the peace of the world." [Festival-Chronik Teil 3]
Interested parties and documentary filmmakers meet almost daily for the "Leipzig Beer Table", held at 11.00 PM in the Moritzbastei.
Golden Doves
BUSCH SINGT (GDR, Konrad Wolf)
ZWEI TAGE IM AUGUST - REKONSTRUKTION EINES VERBRECHENS (GDR, Karl Gass)
A VECES MIRO MI VIDA (MANCHMAL BETRACHTE ICH MEIN LEBEN, Cuba, Orlando Rojas)
Silver Doves
NINGEN O KAESE (DIE VERLORENE GENERATION, Japan, Yoshichika Kojima)
PEDRO CERO POR CIENTO (PEDRO NULL PROZENT, Cuba, Team feat. Felipe Bernaza and others)
MIERT ALLNAK (WARUM STEHEN SIE HERUM?, Hungary, Jozsef Magyar)
SATSA LIVET FÖR ATT LEVA (UM DES LEBENS WILLEN - LASST UNS KÄMPFEN, Sweden, Margareta Wästerstam)
SIEG ISTMÖGLICH (FRG, Dirk Gerhard and Eva Schlensag)
CHANGING THE NEEDLE (DIE NADEL WIRD GEWECHSELT, Australia, Martha Ansara, Mavis Robertson and Dasha Ross)
CRAC (Animated Film, Canada, Fréderic Back)
WANADI (Animated Film, Venezuela, Armando Arce)
Special prize of the International Jury
MY NE SDAEMSJA MY IDEM (WIR GEBEN NICHT AUF, WIR SCHREITEN VORAN, USSR, Mikhail Litviakov)