A Mouthful of Petrol
A coming-of-age documentary about 12-year-old JayDee, whose father brought him up on car racing. Now JayDee’s first race is approaching—and he doesn’t want to disappoint his father.
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IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary
The IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary offers world-class films that challenge the definition of youth documentary. For the first time, selected titles are presented for two distinct age groups: 9- to 13-year-olds, and 14-year-olds all the way to adulthood. An international jury of three jurors will award the best film in each age group.
Selected for Youth Documentary Competition
Selected for Youth Documentary Competition
Beyond Our Stars
In voice-over, children speak candidly about death and exchange ideas about it with elderly people. The visual illustrations include cut-out animations to which the children have clearly contributed.
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Elsa
An engaging portrait of Instagram celebrity and role model Elsa from Kenya, who attracted attention during the pandemic with her feisty, plain-speaking videos. But always “being yourself” also takes its toll.
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Fatima
The video diary of 18-year-old Fatima, who fled Afghanistan with her family and now lives in Bucharest. With increasing frankness, the young Muslim woman records her life in the Romanian capital.
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The Garbage Man
Drawn in flowing lines, this short animated documentary tells the story of Manel Botão, the filmmaker’s uncle. Conversations around the table with relatives paint a portrait of an extraordinary man during a dark period in Portuguese history.
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Girl Gang
A portrait of 14-year-old Leonie, a successful teenage influencer from Berlin. It seems like a fairy tale, all the followers, attention and free products, but the continuous pressure to produce content threatens to overwhelm her family.
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Home Is Somewhere Else
This animated documentary takes you inside their hearts and minds of three young undocumented immigrants and their families in the United States. Their stories tell of painful experiences, vibrant dreams and living under constant threat of deportation.
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Insight
An atmospheric black-and-white documentary about Sophie, a chimney sweep in Austria. Over images of her working day, she speaks of her experiences as a woman in this male profession, ranging from undisguised sexism to meaningful conversation.
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Jasmin’s Two Homes
Finland is home to Jasmin and everything is familiar: the winters are cold, the playground is just around the corner and her best friend is called Maryam. But one day her parents decide to return to Somaliland.
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The Longest Wait
An intimate portrait of two Swedish girls on the brink of adulthood. In an atmospheric winter landscape, the friends hunt game for the first time without parental supervision.
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Oasis
Camping together in the woods is what the twins Raphaël and Rémi like doing best. But Raphaël has an intellectual disability, and their paths will soon diverge. During this one last summer, time seems to stand still for a while.
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Ramboy
A calm and sensitive portrait of the bond between a grandfather and his grandson on the Irish island of Achill. During the summer, sheep farmer Martin teaches the teenager Cian the ins and outs of farming—and that means hard work for the boy.
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Sezer’s Summer
Fourteen-year-old Sezer spends a long, languid summer in Rotterdam—swimming and fishing, but also stealing bikes. His mother desperately tries to keep him under control, while youth services threaten to intervene.
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Waters of Pastaza
A group of children from the Achuar community, the original inhabitants of the region along the Pastaza River bordering Ecuador and Peru, move through the jungle independently—playing and working, in harmony with nature.
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