Read all the latest news from the festival and IDFA's year-round programs here, in addition to in-depth articles.
With much excitement, we announce the appointment of Jenni Tuovinen as IDFA DocLab’s new Head of Operations. Working closely alongside Head of New Media Caspar Sonnen, Tuovinen will be responsible for DocLab’s business policy and finances, managing and streamlining the department, and overseeing the team’s day-to-day management.
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Kicking off the 2023 season, the IDFA Bertha Fund is delighted to support 10 documentary projects with a total of €149,000 in development and (post-)production financing, alongside tailor-made support for the filmmaking teams. The new selection, completed as part of the IBF Classic funding scheme, includes highly anticipated titles by Karim Kassem, Carolina Arias Ortiz, and Fan Jian, in addition to up-and-comers such as Zahraa Ghandour.
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Thanks to extra funding from the Open Society Foundations, the IDFA Bertha Fund is delighted to select two additional projects for IBF Classic – Ukraine Support: The Elf’s Tower by Polina Kelm and Displaced by Olha Zhurba will receive a total amount of 45,000 euros in production and post-production support.
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The Europe Conference, organized in collaboration with Arte, took place on November 16 at Felix Meritis, marking the first installment of a major new addition to IDFA's Industry Program. Split into two segments and lasting three hours, the session with several speakers looked at Europe, its identity, its co-production and distribution systems, changes brought on by the rise of big streaming services, and the identity of European co-productions with other countries, from two angles: inside Europe and outside Europe.
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The Docs for Sale catalogue is now live and boasts 413 fresh and exciting titles. Ahead of the fast-approaching move to new location at Felix Meritis, Docs for Sale looks ahead to putting to work its improved slate of market services. The market itself is expanding to be both a sales platform and a space where filmmakers can increase their understanding of placement of their films and develop their sales and distribution strategies. Likewise, buyers can now more easily identify and get in touch with the right films.
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The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam is delighted to announce the 60 projects selected for the 30th edition of IDFA Forum, the festival’s co-production and co-financing market. This watershed edition sees a strong return to in-person pitching, with all selected project teams slated to physically attend the event in Amsterdam. In addition to the 22 projects selected for the market’s flagship Forum Pitch category, and the 6 projects selected for the annual Rough Cut Presentations, the upcoming event marks the second edition of the Producers Connection, an exclusive producer-to-producer showcase of 12 selected projects ripe for international co-production. Finally, the market’s new media section, IDFA DocLab Forum, expands this year into a two-day event with a showcase of 20 interactive and XR projects. The 30th anniversary of IDFA Forum takes place in person in Amsterdam’s Felix Meritis from November 12 to 16.
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Director Yomna Khattab dissects the life of her father and redefines their relationship by immersing herself in the male-dominated world of his water aerobics team.
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The Costa Rican project is produced by Michele Feris for Mito Producciones.
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Talent development program IDFA Project Space welcomed participants in Amsterdam for the first time this July—as part of a renewed four-month program. Next to the online program from June to September, sixteen international filmmaking teams with a documentary project in progress came together for a week-long program from July 4 to 9 to elevate their project alongside renowned directors, editors, and other film professionals. Read more about the inspirational week in Amsterdam for participants and their energized outlook on a bright film future ahead.
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The cinema of Iran - the beautiful face of Iran and its culture, that the whole world fell in love with, that stood on its own defending Iran's people against prejudice and the passing currents of political conflicts - has been especially under attack these last days.
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