Het Documentaire Paviljoen

Following the opening of Het Documentaire Paviljoen in March 2024, 2025 was the first full calendar year of activities open to the public. To build regularity and recognition, screenings, talks and events open to the public were held every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and large-scale programs were introduced for the first time. For example, the first five-day interdisciplinary program Shaping Bonds took place in March. Kicking off with the immersive installation Symbiosis (a hit at IDFA 2021), through films, virtual reality and discussions, the program probed the material relationships that shape our world. The spring was dedicated to trail-blazing filmmaker Agnès Varda (1928–2019), with the first major retrospective of her work: I’m Curious. Period.

Throughout the year, some 20 titles without a Dutch distributor were screened in the cinema space De Spiegel, giving audiences an opportunity to (re)discover classics or key works from the canon outside of the festival circuit. Another program element came about in collaboration with makers, producers and creative organizations, each of whom have their own place within the cultural landscape of the Netherlands. Series were continued with OneWorld, De Groene Amsterdammer and the University of Amsterdam’s Decolonial Futures, and other programs were put together with the likes of Framer Framed, The Hmm, Motormond, Theater Utrecht, Eye Filmmuseum and IFFR. Het Documentaire Paviljoen made its debut as a location for Museumnacht (Museum Night) and the graduation screenings for the master’s programs at the Netherlands Film Academy were held in Het Paviljoen. During the year, several new media projects were also tested on a range of audience groups.

In June 2025, Café Vertigo opened on the ground floor. Since then, the building has been considerably livelier, and visitors to Het Documentaire Paviljoen can combine seeing a film with lunch, dinner or drinks. This open character is also having a positive effect on rentals within the building. For example, Het Grachtenfestival moved into Het Paviljoen in August, and more and more businesses and professional associations are using the building for meetings, presentations or (advance) premières.

Greater visibility and name-recognition are also motivating factors behind the ongoing development of a distinctive visual identity for Het Paviljoen. The fortnightly newsletter and Het Paviljoen’s own Instagram account are aimed specifically at people wishing to stay up-to-date with activities in Het Documentaire Paviljoen. IDFA’s channels are also used for this at the relevant times. We also reach a broad spectrum of the public through Cineville and We Are Public. The larger programs have been the subject of in-depth articles in publications such as Het Parool and De Filmkrant, and specific programs have been picked up by, for example, the podcast de Perestrojkast (which deals with Central and Eastern Europe) and the Instagram platform AAA-Magazine. Audience surveys have revealed that various age groups are aware of the programming, with spikes in awareness among young, diverse audiences in relation to particular programs.

Rental of spaces

In 2025, IDFA simultaneously experienced both growth and shrinkage in the rental of spaces in Het Documentaire Paviljoen. While TV programs have withdrawn as a result of budget cuts, and IDFA’s new in-house catering partner needed the first six months to start up, cultural organizations are discovering Het Paviljoen as an inspirational location for film screenings, panel discussions and awards ceremonies. Highlights included meetings of broadcaster AVROTROS’ young makers network; recording sessions for the DocTalks series by NPO broadcaster’s documentary strand NPO Doc; a themed meeting of NAPA; Kijken met: Kim van Kooten by the Dutch Directors Guild; the launch of the successful podcast series Onaantastbaar; the presentation of the annual film and TV producers’ awards the CFAP-prijs; the inaugural Justice Dialogue by the Nuhanovic Foundation; the presentation of the award for documentary and/or immersive makers the Wendy Gutman Prijs; a day of screenings by the Mediacollege; concerts during Het Grachtenfestival, and the premiere of Aimee & Samir.

Many of IDFA’s activities throughout the year take place in Het Paviljoen. In 2025, the talent development program IDFA Project Space held its international edition here for the second time, transforming the building for a whole week into a sparkling venue where film professionals from all over the world came together for in-depth sessions and exchange. A good link was also made to the audience programming by the screening of films by two international tutors, who attended these screenings. During the festival in November, Het Paviljoen acted not only as a venue for film screenings with lots of international Q&As, but the in-depth Filmmaker Talks also took place here, and sales agents and distributors used Het Paviljoen as their home base during Docs for Sale. More and more partners of IDFA, members of Club IDFA and Special Friends are organizing their activities in Het Paviljoen, year-round. In addition, almost 60,000 school children attend IDFA's school screenings in Het Paviljoen each year.

With special thanks to Founding Partners: Fonds 21, Gieskes-Strijbis Fonds and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

Partners: het Cultuurfonds, Provincie Noord-Holland, City of Amsterdam, Brook Foundation, BPD Cultuurfonds and Vfonds.