Checklist for IDFA Forum entry

Please note that the submission deadline for IDFA Forum 2022 has passed on August 1 and project submissions are now closed. On this page you can read back on the submission procedure.

The selection procedure consists of three phases: general entry, pre-selection, and final selection. There were separate entry forms for each step in this process.

Phase 1: Entry

To fill out the entry form for this phase, the following information is required:

Project details

• Project (working) title
• Logline (max. thirty words): a few sentences that capture the essence of your film
• Synopsis (max. 400 words): a clear and simple description of your story line. What is it about?
• Project description (max. 700 words): A project description can include background information, details about protagonists, information about access to subjects and locations, visual approach, director’s statement, etc.
• Type of experience (DocLab Forum)
• Stand-alone version (DocLab Forum)
• Production status: Is your project in development, production, post production, or rough cut stage?
• Background information about the production status: What phase are you in now, and what will you be working on in the coming months?
• Production schedule, including (planned) start of production, (planned) end of production, (planned) release date
• Countries of production/co-production: countries where the production company office(s) are located
• Anticipated length in minutes: If your project has several episodes or multiple versions, please include the different lengths here

Co-production information*

• Open talents and crew: Which artistic or technical personnel can still be brought into the production via a co-production?
• Co-production countries: If your project lends itself well story-wise to a co-production with a particular country, please specify which country and why.
• Current co-producers: If you already have co-producers on board, please list their companies and countries where they are located.

*Only for projects applying for the Producers Connection

Categorization

• Category (If you are submitting a film project, choose between 'Forum Pitch' and 'Rough Cut Presentation'
• Genre (choose from a list of options)
• Description of your target audience. For project submissions to the thematic Children's Documentaries Pitch: a description of how your project will engage a young audience (if applicable – max. 250 words)

Technical details

• Visual Material: Vimeo link to a trailer, rough cut, or other sample material:
  • For Forum Pitch: Up to ten minutes of video material of your project. Material of the current project is highly recommended, but if you don’t have that you can also provide a sample of up to ten minutes of relevant previous work.
  • For DocLab Forum Pitch: sample material; a trailer, teaser clip or pitch deck to showcase the general look of your project
  • For a Rough Cut Presentation: twenty minutes of rough cut material (a twenty-minute clip, or the total rough cut with a time code selection of maximum twenty minutes). If you are selected you must deliver the full rough cut by Wednesday, October 26, 2022; we advise to keep the length of the rough cut as condensed as possible.
  • For Producers Connection: Up to ten minutes of video material of your project and/or stills. Material of the current project is recommended, but if such material is not yet available, you can also provide a link to previous work from the director.
• Other submissions: any other training program/pitching event where this project was presented on site or online (year, place/event, program, project title)
• Previous applications to the IDFA Forum with this project, if applicable (year, project title)
• Previous applications to the IDFA Bertha Fund with this project, if applicable (year, project title)
• Previous applications to the IDFAcademy Summer School/IDFA Project Space with this project, if applicable (year, project title)
• Previous applications to the IDFA DocLab Open Call for R&D Proposals

Budget Details

• Total amount of budget, financing in place, and amount still required
• Target: what are you looking for? Are you looking for development, production, or post-production funding? Broadcasting partners, streamers or distribution? In the case of a new media project, are you looking for exhibitors and/or tech partners? Your input will help us determine which presentation setup would best serve your project.
• Finance plan for production and post-production: here you can fill out the financing required; the presumed investments (company, amount) for your project (max. 250 words).
  • Please describe any 'In kind' contributions in detail where relevant.

Credit details

• You will need to provide names and contact details for the following persons involved: producer, co-producer (if applicable), director(s), artist(s), scriptwriter, editor, distributor/sales agent, and/or creative team in the case of a new media project.
• For the director(s)/creators(s) and main producer(s) we would also ask for previous credits (max. three titles)
• A short biography of the director(s), artist(s) and information about the producer(s)/production company (max. 350 words). For a new media project please also provide names and country of the other creative team members.

Phase 2: Pre-selection

All projects that make it through the pre-selection for IDFA Forum will be asked to fill out a second entry form. This form will be available between August 25 and August 30.

To fill out the entry form for this phase, the following information is required:

Budget Details

• This excel sheet allows you to provide a finance plan (differentiating between requested, confirmed, and still-required finance). If you are selected, this information will be listed in our password-protected online catalogue.

Credit details

• Confirmed financing in place provided by broadcasters, film institutions, or other financiers: You have to specify the investor and provide a contact person and contact details. It may seem like you are asked to do this twice, but for us it is important that you fill out the credit details of all confirmed financing.
• If the project is selected, you will need to provide letters of commitment for all confirmed financing. Letters of commitment from broadcasters and financiers need to be in English and signed.
• Please describe any 'In kind' contribution in detail where relevant.

Visual materials

• Two stills of the project. If selected, these would be used on the website and in our Forum publication. For this reason, we would ask for high-resolution photos of minimum 3,000 pixels wide. Orientation: Landscape. Please do not upload other formats than .JPG because we cannot process these.
• For the DocLab Forum: You will need to upload a sample of your presentation/pitch.

Phase 3: Upon selection

To optimally present the selected projects on the Forum website and printed publication, the project teams will be asked to fill out a third form to confirm which content we can publish. As we have a very strict timeline for publication, we would ask projects to fill out the form as soon as possible.

To fill out the entry form for this phase, the following information is required:

• Final project details, to be used in our Forum catalogue and on the IDFA website:
  • Logline (max. thirty words)
  • Synopsis (max. 400 words)
  • Project description (max. 700 words)
  • Biography of the director(s), artist(s), and information about the producer(s)/production company, creative team (max. 350 words)
• A short paragraph of what type of professionals you are interested in meeting and what you hope to get out of participating in the Forum or the DocLab Forum
• Downloadable link to trailer or other visual material to be included on our website: For projects in the Forum Pitch and DocLab Forum pitch categories, we will make the trailer or other visual material available to industry representatives and financiers when they choose who they would like to meet with. For pitch itself, projects are welcome to use a different trailer if they wish.
• Information about the two team members who will be representing the project.

At the end of this form you will be asked to pay the applicable participation fee, which are detailed in our Regulations. After selection the Forum team will contact the project teams to discuss the presentation and program in more detail.