IDFA announces selections for Luminous, Frontlight, IDFA on Stage, Paradocs

Luminous

The premiere-only section Luminous presents 24 titles and a wide spectrum of stylistic approaches: from cinéma vérité to experimental; from artist-driven works to socio-politically engaged films. Together, they claim the personal as a window onto the universal.

Several films in the selection tell powerful stories of families across generations. Dear Mother, I Meant to Write about Death by Siyi Chen delicately evokes the shifting dynamics of a mother-daughter relationship in the world of cancer and caregiving. Transactions by Rumbi Katedza tells the intimate story of Zimbabwean migration through one family separated across circumstances of differing economic opportunity who, filled with longing and sacrifice, attempts to sustain each other through remittances. In Loving Martha, debut director Daniela López explores first-hand her grandmother’s fight to end the family’s cycle of abuse, as illustrated by the raw pain embedded in her tapes and diaries.

Other titles take a personal perspective on different modes of bodily experience. Uncanny Me by Katharina Pethke questions the grounds of contemporary identity in the story of a fashion model who scans herself into a virtual avatar. Stuntwomen by Elena Avdija turns to the spectacle of gendered violence that three stuntwomen must physically endure on camera. Kam Loo Tsui by Pang-Chuan Huang and Chunni Lin looks to the poetics of the physical form via a hundred-year-old nude sculpture that changed the tides of Taiwanese art.

Frontlight

23 films are selected for the premiere-only section Frontlight, showcasing a leading cohort of truth-seeking filmmakers who don’t compromise on stylistic integrity.

Within the selection, a number of titles shine a light on shocking global developments in the media industry. Urgent newsroom drama While We Watched by Vinay Shukla follows a tormented Indian journalist in a landslide of fake news, budget cutbacks, and populist rhetoric. In A History of the World According to Getty Images, filmmaker Richard Misek mines the world’s largest commercial archives to examine the questionable ethics behind owning archival footage that would otherwise be public property. The Etilaat Roz by Abbas Rezaie spotlights the dedicated team behind Kabul’s best-read newspaper as their city is recaptured by the Taliban, and they face an onslaught of censorship and abuse.

Other films turn to the economic systems that preside over lives around the world. Money, Freedom, a Story of CFA Franc by Katy Lena Ndiaye explores the monetary legacy of colonization in Central and West Africa as a new generation looks to the next phase of decolonization and emancipation. Free Money by Lauren DeFilippo and Sam Soko looks to the harsh reality of a universal basic income experiment in Kenya driven by the stark corporate idealism of a Manhattan NGO.

As always, a strong selection of Frontlight titles reflect on the urgent political events currently unfolding around us. Notably, Bella Ciao by Giulia Giapponesi pays homage to the anthem that long symbolized Italian partisans’ fight against fascism in WWII, turning to the past as a candlelight for our present times.

IDFA on Stage

Nine live cinema projects make the IDFA on Stage selection, as a growing number of filmmakers, theater makers, and immersive artists stake a claim in the future of the documentary art form. Chief among them is the international premiere of Arcadia Live, a live cinema concert of Paul Wright’s 2017 archival film with the much-anticipated score written and performed live by Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Will Gregory (Goldfrapp), along with seven other musicians on stage.

Other highlights include Funeral, a participatory ceremony that explores our relationship with the end of life, directed by Alexander Devriendt of performance collective Ontroerend Goed; and The Eagle & the Tortoise, a collective reading experience by Kathryn Hamilton that tells the story of a young Turkish activist turned resistance icon, including a surprise performance by a non-mammalian actor. The final IDFA on Stage title will be announced on October 20.

Paradocs

Ten films are selected for Paradocs, showcasing the year’s leading experimental documentary art. Acclaimed VR artist Ali Eslami turns to film in A Stretch in Time, a surrealist work that travels to subterranean spaces to fulfill a mission at the limits of the documentary form. Hybridity remains a central concern of genre-bending films such as A Little Love Package, Gastón Solnicki’s nostalgic homage to Vienna that brings actors and non-actors together in a blend of fiction and documentary, and in Europe, in which director Philip Scheffner draws on fiction to convey the violence and absurdity of an Algerian woman on the brink of deportation in small-town France. Observational gems such as The Unstable Object II have a place in the selection as well, in which director Daniel Eisenberg applies the durational observation method to consider mass production in the 21st century.

Additions to Masters, Best of Fests, Around Masculinity

16 films have been added to previously announced sections: seven to Masters, seven to Best of Fests, and two to Around Masculinity. Notable additions include the world premiere of Nishtha Jain’s The Golden Thread, the world premiere of Jos de Putter and Clara van Gool’s A Way to B, and the international premiere of Jacopo Quadri and Greta De Lazzaris’ We’re Here to Try.

IDFA's audience program is supported by VriendenLoterij, Deloitte, VPRO, Fonds 21, de Volkskrant, Gieskes-Strijbis Fonds, WePresent by WeTransfer, Ammodo, NPO, Oxfam Novib, IDFA Friends/Special Friends, Creative Europe Media, Netherlands Film Fund, European Cultural Foundation, and Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds.

Selected films: Luminous

All You See, dir. Niki Padidar (Netherlands), 72’
World Premiere

Art Talent Show, dir. Adéla Komrzý, Tomas Bojar (Czech Republic), 102’
International Premiere

Aurora, dir. Samereh Rezaei, Hossein Hosseini (Afghanistan/Iran), 41’
World Premiere

Between Father and Son, dir. Ronin Hsu (Hong Kong), 73’
World Premiere

Blue ID, dir. Burcu Melekoglu, Vuslat Karan (Turkey), 85’
World Premiere

Dear Mother, I Meant to Write About Death, dir. Siyi Chen (United States/Hong Kong/China), 63’
European Premiere

From the Other Shore, dir. Maher Abi Samra (Lebanon/France), 62’
World Premiere

Guapo’y, dir. Sofia Paoli Thorne (Paraguay/Argentina), 71’
World Premiere

Inside My Heart, dir. Saskia Boddeke (Netherlands), 86’
World Premiere

Kam Loo Tsui, dir. Pang-Chuan Huang, Chunni Lin (Taiwan), 40’
International Premiere

Loving Martha, dir. Daniela López (Colombia/Argentina), 75’
World Premiere

Malavoune Tango, dir. Jean-Marc Lacaze (France/Réunion), 55’
International Premiere

Mom, dir. Xun Sero (Mexico), 80’
European Premiere

The Northeast Winds, dir. Nikoloz Bezhanishvili (Georgia), 94’
World Premiere

Petit Taxi, dir. Samy Sidali (France), 28’
World Premiere

Polish Prayers, dir. Hanka Nobis (Switzerland/Poland), 85’
World Premiere

Shangri-La, Paradise Under Construction, dir. Mirka Duijn (Netherlands/Sweden), 94’
World Premiere

Sisterhood, dir. Mohamed James Sessy Kamara (South Africa/Sierra Leone), 72’
International Premiere

The Soiled Doves of Tijuana, dir. Jean-Charles Hue (France), 82’
World Premiere

Stuntwomen, dir. Elena Avdija (Switzerland/France), 85’
International Premiere

Transactions, dir. Rumbi Katedza (South Africa/Zimbabwe), 52’
European Premiere

Uncanny Me, dir. Katharina Pethke (Germany), 45’
International Premiere

Walls That Scream, dir. Evi Cats (Belgium), 13’
World Premiere

When Spring Came to Bucha, dir. Mila Teshaieva, Marcus Lenz (Ukraine/Germany), 66’
World Premiere

Selected films: Frontlight

Bella Ciao, dir. Giulia Giapponesi (Italy), 92’
International Premiere

Beyond Extinction: Sinixt Resurgence, dir. Ali Kazimi (Canada), 102’
International Premiere

Blue Files, dir. Ander Iriarte (Spain, France), 113’
International Premiere

Dorpie, dir. Julia Jaki (South Africa), 77’
World Premiere

The Etilaat Roz, dir. Abbas Rezaie (Afghanistan), 93’
European Premiere

Free Money, dir. Lauren DeFilippo, Sam Soko (United States/Kenya), 77’
European Premiere

Freedom, Money, a Story of CFA Franc, dir. Katy Lena Ndiaye (Senegal/France/Belgium/ Germany), 102’
World Premiere

Heroic Bodies, dir. Sara Suliman (Sudan), 95’
World Premiere

A History of the World According to Getty Images, dir. Richard Misek (Norway/United Kingdom), 19’ 
European Premiere

Kenya, dir. Gisela Delgadillo (Mexico), 90’
World Premiere

The Last Dolphin King, dir. Luis Ansorena Hervés, Ernest Riera (Spain), 93’
World Premiere

The Lost Souls of Syria, dir. Stéphane Malterre, written by Stéphane Malterre & Garance Le Caisne, historical advisor: Garance Le Caisne (France/Germany), 99’
World Premiere

Merkel, dir. Eva Weber (United Kingdom/Denmark/Germany), 97’
European Premiere

Mothers, dir. Nirit Peled (Netherlands), 81’
World Premiere

My Name is Happy, dir. Nick Read, Ayse Toprak (United Kingdom), 82’
World Premiere

The Night My Brother Disappeared, dir. Anna Blom (Finland), 68’
International Premiere

Racist Trees, dir. Sara Newens, Mina T. Son (United States), 88’
World Premiere

Regard Silence, dir. Santiago Zermeño (Mexico), 30’
International Premiere

Suddenly TV, dir. Roopa Gogineni (Qatar/Sudan), 19’
World Premiere

A Symphony for a Common Man, dir. José Joffily (Brazil), 86’
European Premiere

Trained to See – Three Women and the War, dir. Luzia Schmid (Germany/Italy), 106’ International Premiere

While We Watched, dir. Vinay Shukla (India/United Kingdom), 94’
European Premiere

White Balls on Walls, dir. Sarah Vos (Netherlands), 90’
World Premiere