Principles and guidelines
In these polarized times, IDFA is increasingly asked, and sometimes even demanded, by filmmakers, staff, audiences, and partners to take an explicit (political) stand. This page is an attempt to clarify and specify our strategic political position. In doing so, we do not depart from our mission, vision, policies, or the history of IDFA; rather, we build on them deliberately and with conviction.
These Principles and Guidelines form a living document. They will continue to evolve in response to experience and in dialogue with stakeholders, both within and beyond IDFA.
We also aim to provide answers to more practical questions in this potential transitional period, in which art institutions may need to define a new narrative to safeguard cultural freedom and avoid getting caught up in polarization. This is a living page emerging from the interaction between stakeholders both within and outside IDFA.
IDFA's primary role is to promote and strengthen free, independent, and critical documentary art and creativity. IDFA supports and presents the work and visions of documentary filmmakers and artists. IDFA believes in the power of creative documentary films as a free, open, and artistic lens into the complexities of society and perceptions of reality. They can shape opinions, reveal what is vulnerable and valuable, and serve as a catalyst for both personal reflection and meaningful public debate.
IDFA aims to engage with pressing social themes through documentaries from around the world that reflect on the questions of our time. IDFA's goal is to put these social issues on the agenda, contextualize them, and situate them in a broader perspective. IDFA does not claim to settle or resolve political debates, but rather to enrich them from an artistic perspective, thereby stimulating public debate and fostering understanding and individual growth.
IDFA cannot and does not want to be neutral and is therefore not an isolated white cube. First, we recognize that IDFA is rooted in a Western European film festival tradition, with all its historical and cultural implications, and in that sense ideologically shaped. Second, IDFA fits into a socially engaged and humanistic tradition, which is reflected in the selection of films and projects, the context, and the themes that IDFA has addressed for years.
IDFA wants to be a committed institution with a socially critical perspective. This perspective is rooted in creative documentary film, a genre that historically often exposes social injustices, inequalities, and political issues, and provides space for histories that have received (too) little attention. IDFA feels indebted to this tradition, with equity as the primary goal in all its programs and diversity and inclusion as a crucial foundation. IDFA offers space to progressive voices, to documentaries that challenge the dominant worldview and power, and offer new and just perspectives. IDFA refuses works and organizations that perpetuate or promote inequality, oppression, and injustice. IDFA offers space for "art that comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable."
The best way for IDFA to draw attention to (geo)political issues is through artistic programs, conferences, debates, and educational programs that build on IDFA's artistic expertise. We believe that documentary art can play an important role and can contribute to social change by approaching and presenting social issues and themes in a creative and artistic way. In this way, art can and should distinguish itself from other societal domains, and artists offer a unique contribution to the world, one that sets their work apart from that of activists, journalists, politicians, entrepreneurs, or scientists, and makes a meaningful impact.
IDFA aims to offer independent filmmakers, artists, and audiences a safe space where everyone feels welcome and respected and can express themselves freely even when perspectives differ. Our shared love of documentary art and our deep engagement with the world unite us all. This also means that at IDFA there is a plurality of voices, that established names and opinions can be critically questioned, that protests can be heard, and friction can exist to discuss social issues and contribute to change. We must protect this open space, especially when things get complicated. Then IDFA becomes a space where strong opinions on controversial topics are discussed respectfully, and where the red line is crystal clear: discrimination, hatred, violence, and segregation will never be tolerated, as stated in our code of conduct, which applies to everyone.
It's part of our professional development to make a much more conscious choice to occasionally express political views in a statement or expression of support (or in some other way). Such a political statement or expression of solidarity must be strongly connected to IDFA's history and should also be seen as an extension of the programs that are central to it. Such choices are also partly determined by IDFA's mission and sense of responsibility towards both the artists and society. Long-term impact takes precedence over short-term urgency. Furthermore, IDFA does not see it as its role to respond publicly to current (geo)political events, incidents, or injustices worldwide, instead we engage when and where our voice can contribute meaningfully. And choosing not to comment publicly does not mean that IDFA is for or against any position, nor that it is neutral.
IDFA applies an ethical code to evaluate collaborations and partnerships with sponsors, filminstitutes and goverment organisation. These guidelines for assessing collaborations are intended to prevent IDFA from contributing to human rights violations, serious environmental damage, or harming other globally shared interests. The purpose of this code is to ethically evaluate partnerships but also to safeguard IDFA’s artistic independence as an institution.
Each year, IDFA invites more than 300 independent films, projects, new media projects and over 3,000 professionals. IDFA’s guiding principle in its selection process is to support critical, independent filmmakers, films, and projects. Artistic quality and shared values such as humanity and connection, as well as the belief that documentary art can bridge divides, are central to this.
All entered films and projects are reviewed by the IDFA team and assessed on artistic grounds. All accreditation requests from film professionals and institutions are taken into consideration. Individual films, professionals, and institutions may come from any country.
If they come from countries where freedom of expression is under pressure or where human rights violations are committed in the name of government — particularly countries in the last two categories of the Global Press Freedom Index — IDFA will assess these films and accreditation requests very carefully and on a case-by-case basis to prevent governments involved in serious human rights violations from being given a platform, both literally and figuratively.