About the IDFA Bertha Fund

The IDFA Bertha Fund is the only fund in the world dedicated solely to stimulating and empowering the creative documentary sector in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania.

Our aim is to:

• Create a space for free artistic expression
• Support and safeguard critical and relevant filmmaking
• Stimulate the growth of local documentary industries
• Contribute to a more balanced representation and (co-)ownership of documentary narratives

We believe:

• the filmmakers we support tell universal stories
• film is a tool to understand and influence the world around us

How we work:

The Fund supports relevant films with a clear sense of artistic ambition. Not limiting the filmmakers’ scope of topics, the overall body of films supported by the IBF over the past years presents an outstanding contribution to the global view of the South.

Documentaries supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund express the artistic vision of filmmakers and vary greatly in theme, narrative and visual style. Supported films range from philosophical filmic essays to documentaries dealing with pressing social issues.

The Fund takes risks on unknown and seasoned filmmakers alike through a rigorous selection process. The selection process of the IBF has proven successful time and again, with films and filmmakers breaking through from marginalized positions to taking over the most respected platforms, and winning awards in both cinema and television.

In addition, the Fund offers a range of activities aimed at empowering filmmakers from the IBF regions throughout the creative process (particularly in story development and in editing) and the production process (financing and distribution) with tailor-made consultancies, as well as access to training programs and IDFA’s markets.

The Fund also actively promotes the harvest of IBF-supported documentaries each year at IDFA, the world's largest and most influential documentary film festival, and helps filmmakers and organizations expand their networks. The IBF puts IDFA's power and reach at the service of its filmmakers.

All these endeavors work towards an inclusive documentary production system where filmmakers and documentaries from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania can reach a worldwide audience, and are presented as prominently at international festivals, markets and television channels as Western documentaries.

Read more about the different funding categories, regulations, and deadlines.

The Bertha Foundation dreams of a more just world and supports forms of activism that aim to bring about change. They champion those using media, law, and enterprise as tools to achieve their vision. By investing in the IDFA Bertha Fund, the Foundation makes it possible for the Fund to carry on supporting filmmakers and documentaries that make a difference.

Contact

Email:
idfaberthafund@idfa.nl

Department phone number:
+31 (0)20 2620768

Managing director:
Isabel Arrate Fernandez

Project Manager:
Mélanie de Vocht

Producers:
Juliette Garms

ANBI

IDFA Bertha Fund / Stichting IDFA Fonds
RSIN: 807966642

A summary of the financial information can be found in the annual Activity Report and the Financial Statement.

The IDFA Bertha Fund is supported by Bertha Foundation, Creative Europe Media, JustFilms / Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Netherlands Film Fund and IDFA Special Friends+.