This year, 15 films that previously pitched at IDFA Forum made it into the official festival selection, including two titles selected for IDFA DocLab. Read more about the year's harvest here.
IDFA Forum is made possible by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands and Creative Europe Media.
See the harvest
The teenage girls who live in a shelter in Bogotá have already been through a lot in their young lives. They talk about it through the perspective of a fictional friend: Alis. Their soulful narrative reveals an amazing strength to embrace a brighter future.
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Two Muslim brothers living in Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted cities, try their best to run a sanctuary for birds of prey. In a film that swings between hope and despair, the two central figures remain determined to never give up.
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When the young queer actor he cast to star in a vampire film dies of an overdose, filmmaker Theo Montoya dives deeper into the no-future generation of Medellín, in this “trans film” about all the people who don’t belong to anything or anyone.
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A portrait of the artist as a young woman. Apolonia is talented, but is that enough to break into the art world? An impressive film that covers 13 years in an anything-but-average life.
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An intimate report on the transition of the former actress Rüzgar Erkoçlar, who has to go through his journey of self-realization under media scrutiny in the traditional society of Turkey.
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Through unseen 35mm material, Ciné-guerrillas plunges us into the media battle that played out during the Algerian war of independence. Forming a documentary diptych with Non-Aligned, it shows cinema becoming a political weapon against colonialism.
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Why did her mother not reveal that she had cancer? This is just the first of many questions the filmmaker has in this tender feature-length debut where mother and child explore their relationships—with illness, death and each other.
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Beautifully composed images and an immersive sound design capture the last vestiges of Bengal’s jute industry, which has been virtually unchanged since the industrial revolution. Workers carry out their routine work along endless rows of antique looms.
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Winter and war mean this Ukrainian children’s home near the front is fuller than ever. A group of resolute, no-nonsense women have created an almost magical place where they watch over children who are waiting for the government to decide their fate.
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The love between like-minded millennials Marusya and Kimi turns to agony as Kimi gradually disappears into serious drug addiction. A portrait of a generation gripped by despair and hopelessness.
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For animator Sunghwan Lee, the South Korean housing market offers little opportunity to find a real home—one like his father’s childhood house, packed with memories. A virtuoso animated journey through time and space.
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An unembellished analysis of the political trial of Anya, a Russian teenager arrested with nine others in 2018, for allegedly forming an extremist group planning to overthrow the government.
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Based on unseen 35mm material, Non-Aligned retraces the birth of the Non-Aligned Movement during the era of decolonization. Forming a documentary diptych with Ciné-guerrillas, it examines how cinema gave expression to their political dream.
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As a traditional Catholic, the young Antek holds deeply conservative views: homosexuality can be cured, Poland is for the Poles, abortion is evil, and sex before marriage is forbidden. Until he falls in love, and doubt begins to set in.
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Performance artist Kaur Chimuk was filmed during 26 queer performances that undermine South Asian gender norms. Spell a word with the alphabet in this web installation and create your own queer pamphlet.
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