The 2017 selection for IDFA Forum, the festival’s international co-finance and production market, has been announced. This year, 57 projects have been selected from 23 countries, including new projects by Victor Kossakovsky, Nino Kirtadze, Jian Fan and Maite Alberdi.
IDFA 2017 will open with the world première of Mohamed Siam’s Amal. The opening ceremony will take place in Amsterdam's grand theatre Carré on November 15.
In this year's Camera in Focus program, IDFA will present ten films (five classics and five new documentaries) which demonstrate exceptional camerawork. Established cameramen and women as well as up-and-coming talent will come to IDFA 2017 to discuss their unique, inspirational ways of capturing stories through images.
As entry for distribution support through the IDFA Bertha Fund Europe scheme draws to a close, transmedia director Sara Božanic tells us about the innovative distribution strategy for Ukrainian Sheriffs which was supported during the scheme's first selection round.
IDFA is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and we will also be saying goodbye to founder and director Ally Derks. In the program The Visual Voice, 18 renowned directors are honoring the festival, its founder and the documentary genre with their favorite films. From five of these filmmakers, we chose an IDFA film that can be seen online here.
Internet artist Jonathan Harris will be this year’s IDFA guest of honor. Harris is one of the most significant artists and innovators to emerge in the digital era. IDFA will present the world’s first ever retrospective of Harris’ work, and Harris will present his personal Top 10 at the festival. He has achieved widespread recognition for projects such as the interactive We Feel Fine, The Whale Hunt and I Love Your Work.
The inaugural Amsterdam Human Rights Award will be presented for the best human rights documentary at the upcoming 30th edition of IDFA. An international jury will choose a film from the IDFA program with strong cinematography that best presents the theme of human rights. The award has been created by the City of Amsterdam and consists of a cash prize of €25,000.
At the upcoming festival, IDFA is presenting the focus program Shifting Perspectives: The Arab World, which will zoom in on the image of the Arab world through the eyes of filmmaker from the region.
The Top 10 program compiled by Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa for IDFA 2016 is travelling to New York. The Metrograph theatre will be screening Loznitsa's selection on July 27-31.
The IDFA Bertha Fund has concluded its May 2017 selection round. Seven documentary projects from countries like Rwanda, Syria and India will be supported through the fund's classic scheme. For the IBF Europe category another six projects are selected, among which are The Last Guardian, an Hungarian-Bhutanese co-production and Obstinate, a co-production between Afghanistan and France which was pitched at IDFA Forum last year.