International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam

IDFA director Ally Derks receives award at opening of 25th IDFA

The 25th edition of IDFA just officially opened in Pathé Tuschinski with John Appel’s Wrong Time Wrong Place. IDFA founder and director Ally Derks received the Frans Banninck Cocq Medal from Amsterdam alderman Carolien Gehrels for her services to the city of Amsterdam. In her opening speech, festival director Ally Derks expressed her concern about the finance cuts facing the Dutch cultural sector and looked back on 25 years of IDFA.

Read her speech here.

Mediafonds Documentary Award
Prior to the screening, chair of the Dutch Cultural Media Fund Jacob Kohnstamm announced the winner of the Mediafonds Documentary Award 2012. Tomas Kaan received the € 125,000 award towards the realisation of his film plan Wij zijn 18. Read more here.

Frans Banninck Cocq Penning for Ally Derks
After her opening speech, IDFA founder and director Ally Derks was presented with the Frans Banninck Cocq Medal by Carolien Gehrels, Amsterdam’s alderman for Arts and Culture. The medal is awarded to people who have made an exceptional contribution to Amsterdam over a period of at least ten years. These are people who served on committees or in foundations in a (paid or unpaid) capacity and who have served and made a difference to the city in this way.

IDFA 2013 Film Entry now open! March 5, 2013 | Submissions for IDFA 2013 can now be entered. Deadlines are May 1 (for documentaries completed before April 1) and August 1 (for documentaries completed after April 1).

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IDFA WorldView Summer School announces 2013 selection May 2, 2013 | A total of 16 projects from participants all over the world have been selected for the sixth edition of the IDFA WorldView Summer School, which will take place July 1-6, 2013. The projects hail from 14 different countries and range from archive-driven narratives to stories shot in a cinema vérité style.

Rithy Panh to present Top 10 at IDFA Cambodian director Rithy Panh (1964, Phnom Penh) is to compile this year’s IDFA Top 10. Rithy Panh broke through in 2003 with his documentary S21, The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine. His new film, The Missing Image, won the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes film festival last week.