| International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam | |
| Location: | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Founded: | 1988 |
| Host: | IDFA |
| Language: | International |
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
IDFA was founded by Ally Derks, who remained at the helm from 1988 until 2017, when she stepped down. Barbara Visser oversaw the 2017 edition as interim director. In January 2018, Syrian film producer Orwa Nyrabia was appointed[1] as the new artistic director of IDFA.
Over a period of twelve days in 2018, it screened more than 300 films and sold more than 250,000 tickets. Visitors to the festival increased from 65,000 in 2000 to 285,000 in 2018.[2]
The festival is an independent, international meeting place for audiences and professionals to see a diverse (in form, content, and cultural background) program of high-quality documentaries. IDFA selects creative and accessible documentaries, which offer new insights into society.[3]
The festival was initially held at the Leidseplein area in the centre of Amsterdam. It has since spread to a number of other locations, including Tuschinski Cinema and EYE Filmmuseum. Apart from its international film program, the variety of genres, and the many European and world premieres featured each year, the festival also hosts debates, forums, and workshops. Since 2007, the festival's New Media program IDFA DocLab showcases the best interactive non-fiction storytelling and explores how the digital revolution is reshaping documentary art.
In addition to the festival, IDFA has developed several professional activities, contributing to the development of filmmakers and their films at all stages. At the co-financing and co-production market IDFA Forum filmmakers and producers pitch their plans to financiers; at Docs for Sale new documentaries are on offer to programmers and distributors; the IDFA Bertha Fund supports filmmakers and documentary projects in developing countries, and the IDFAcademy offers international training programs for up-and-coming doc talents.[4]
At the opening ceremony of the festival in 2023 held on 8 November in the shadow of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, three activists burst onto the stage and waved a sign bearing the inscription "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free". This was to show solidarity with the people of Gaza,[5] who have been exposed to bombardment by the Israeli army in retaliation to the terror attack on Israeli citizens by the terror organization Hamas.[6] [7] The activists received applause from the audience, which included the festival director Orwa Nyrabia. On 10 November members of Israel’s film community condemned the activists' use of the slogan and the fact that it was applauded by Nyrabia.[8] Following the IDFA's official apology,[9] the Palestinian Film Institute withdrew its three documentaries from the festival and started a petition protesting what it perceives as "institutional vilification and censorship in the filmmaking industry".[10]
The best new documentaries of the year compete in IDFA's main competition programs:
Prize: €15,000(The jury also presents a Special Jury Award)
Prize: €10,000(The jury also presents a Special Jury Award)
Prize: €5,000(The jury also presents a Special Jury Award)
Prize: €10,000(The jury also presents a Special Jury Award)
Prize: €5,000(The jury also presents a Special Jury Award)
Prize: €7,500(The jury also presents a Special Jury Award)
Alongside the competition programs, five awards are awarded during IDFA:
Prize: €5,000
Prize: €25,000
In addition to the competitions, IDFA presents several non-competitive film programs:
In this program section, the festival presents the latest documentaries by renowned documentary auteurs.
In Best of Fests, the festival presents films that have made an impact on the international festival circuit this year.
In this section, the festival presents films from all over the world, which are thought-provoking in their form and choice of theme.
The films in this section showcase what is going on beyond the frame of traditional documentary filmmaking, on the borders between film and art, truth and fiction, and narrative and design.
Screenings of many films from this program are accompanied by live performances connected to the films.
In addition to the regular programs, each year the festival presents programs like Queer Day, featuring new documentaries about LGBTQ-related topics; Focus programs which zoom in on aspects like sound design, editing, and cinematography or a topical theme; a themed program by DocLab, featuring live events and an interactive exhibition; and a retrospective of a filmmaker who also chooses a personal documentary Top 10.
| Year | Film | Director | Nationality of director (at time of film's release) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Birthplace Unknown | |||
| 1988 | Ksjsiner | Ruben Gevorksjanz | ||
| 1989 | Šķērsiela | |||
| 1990 | Christo in Paris | D. Maysles | ||
| 1991 | Dreams and Silence | |||
| 1992 | La Memoria del agua | |||
| 1993 | Belovy | |||
| 1994 | Solo, de wet van de Favela | |||
| 1995 | ||||
| 1996 | Atman | / | ||
| 1997 | Auf der Kippe | Andrei Schwartz | ||
| 1998 | Fotoamator / Photographer | |||
| 1999 | André Hazes – Zij gelooft in mij | |||
| 2000 | The Sea That Thinks | |||
| 2001 | Family | |||
| 2002 | Stevie | |||
| 2003 | Checkpoint | |||
| 2004 | Stand van de maan | |||
| 2005 | ||||
| 2006 | Pernille Rose Grønkjær[11] [12] | |||
| 2007 | Stranded | |||
| 2008 | ||||
| 2009 | Last Train Home | |||
| 2010 | Position Among the Stars | |||
| 2011 | Planet of Snail | |||
| 2012 | First Cousin Once Removed | |||
| 2013 | Song from the Forest | |||
| 2014 | Of Men and War | / | ||
| 2015 | Don Juan | / | ||
| 2016 | Nowhere to Hide | Zaradasht Ahmed | / | |
| 2017 | The Other Side of Everything[13] | Mila Turajlić | ||
| 2018 | Reason[14] | Anand Patwardhan | ||
| 2019 | In a Whisper | Heidi Hassan & Patricia Pérez Fernández | / | |
| 2020 | Radiograph of a Family | Firouzeh Khosrovani | ||
| 2021 | ||||
| 2022 | Apolonia, Apolonia[15] | Lea Glob[16] | ||
| 2023 | 1489[17] |
| Year | Film | Director | Nationality of director (at time of film's release) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Last Judgement | |||
| 1989 | Skierskala | |||
| 1990 | In Memory of the Day Passed By | |||
| 1991 | Djembéfola | |||
| 1992 | Black Harvest | |||
| 1993 | Belovy | V. Kossakovsky | ||
| 1994 | Choice and Destiny | |||
| 1995 | Anne Frank Remembered | |||
| 1996 | Blue Eyed | B. Verhaag | ||
| 1997 | Vision Man | W. Long | ||
| 1998 | Twee Vaders | Ko van Reenen | ||
| 1999 | Crazy | |||
| 2000 | Desi | |||
| 2001 | Offspring, B | B. Stevens | ||
| 2002 | Bowling for Columbine | |||
| 2003 | My Flesh and Blood | |||
| 2004 | The Yes Men | |||
| 2005 | Sisters in Law | |||
| 2006 | We Are Together / Thina simunye | |||
| 2007 | To See If I'm Smiling | Tamar Yarom | ||
| 2008 | ||||
| 2009 | The Cove |
| Year | Film | Director | Nationality of director (at time of film's release) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | / | |||
| 1988 | The Power of Solovki | |||
| 1989 | Skierskala | |||
| 1990 | The Collector | E. Strömdahl | ||
| 1991 | Djembéfola | |||
| 1992 | Black Harvest | |||
| 1993 | Mit Verlust ist zu Rechnen | |||
| 1994 | Choice and Destiny | |||
| 1995 | Picasso Would Have Made a Glorious Waiter | |||
| 1996 | The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera | |||
| 1997 | Little Dieter Needs to Fly | |||
| 1998 | Pavel and Lyalya / a Jerusalem Romance | |||
| 1999 | A Cry from the Grave | |||
| 2000 | Laurie Gwen & David Shapiro | |||
| 2001 | Elsewhere | |||
| 2002 | On Hitler's Highway | |||
| 2003 | The Corporation | |||
| 2004 | ||||
| 2005 | Our Daily Bread | |||
| 2006 | Tender's Heat. Wild Wild beach | Alexander Rastorguev | ||
| 2007 | Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go | |||
| 2008 | Forgetting Dad | Rick Minnich & Matthew Sweetwood | / | |
| 2009 | Judith Ehrlich & | |||
| 2012 | Teached | Kelly Amis | ||
| 2013 | A Letter to Nelson Mandela | Khalo Matabane | / | |
| 2014 | Something Better to Come | / | ||
| 2015 | Ukrainian Sheriffs | / / | ||
| 2016 | Still Tomorrow | Jian Fan | ||
| 2017 | The Deminer | / | ||
| 2018 | Los Reyes | Bettina Perut & Iván Osnovikoff | / |
| Year | Film | Director | Nationality of director (at time of film's release) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 6 Open, 21 Closed | Amit Goren | ||
| 1996 | Mr. Behrmann – Leben Traum Tod | |||
| 1997 | Gigi, Monica...& Bianca | Yasmina Abdellaoui & Benoït Dervaux | ||
| 1998 | Hephzibah | Curtis Levy | ||
| 1999 | Les Enfants du Borinage – Lettre à Henri Storck | |||
| 2000 | Jung (War) in the Land of the Mujaheddin | |||
| 2001 | Haj-Abba's Wives | |||
| 2002 | Jinchuan Duan | |||
| 2003 | ||||
| 2004 | Georgi and the butterflies | |||
| 2005 | Before Flying Back to the Earth | |||
| 2006 | Enemies of Happiness | |||
| 2007 | To See If I'm Smiling | Tamar Yarom | ||
| 2008 | Boris Ryzhy | |||
| 2009 | Iron Crows | Bong-Nam Park | ||
| 2010 | People I Could Have Been And Maybe Am | |||
| 2011 | Montenegro | |||
| 2012 | Red Wedding | / | ||
| 2013 | Pussy Versus Putin | Gogol's Wives | ||
| 2014 | Kamchatka — The Cure for Hatred | Julia Mironova | ||
| 2015 | At Home in the World | |||
| 2016 | Death in the Terminal | Tali Shemesh & Asaf Sudra | ||
| 2017 | The Dread | Martin Benchimol & Pablo Aparo | / | |
| 2018 | Summa | |||
| 2019 | Articlockwise | Jalal Vafaei | ||
| 2020 | The Wheel | Nomin Lkhagvasuren |
| Year | Film | Director | Nationality of director (at time of film's release) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Butterfly Man | |||
| 2006 | My Eyes | Erlend E. Mo | ||
| 2007 | The Tailor | Oscar Pérez | ||
| 2008 | Slaves – An animated documentary | Hanna Heilborn & David Aronowitsch | / | |
| 2009 | Six Weeks | |||
| 2017 | Vi bara lyder (we merely obey) | Erik Holmström och Fredrik Wenzel[18] [19] | ||
| 2018 | I Signed the Petition | |||
| 2019 | Up at Night | Nelson Makengo | ||
| 2020 | Unforgivable | Marlén Viñayo | ||
| 2021 | Handbook | Pavel Mozhar | / | |
| 2022 | Away | Ruslan Fedotow |
| Year | Film | Director | Nationality of director (at time of film's release) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Anthem, an American Road Story | |||
| 1998 | Les Amoureux de Dieu / Howling for God | Dan Alexe | ||
| 1999 | Zwischen 2 Welten | |||
| 2000 | Hybrid | Monteith McCollum | ||
| 2001 | Suka | |||
| 2002 | Barbeiros | M. Junkkonen | ||
| 2003 | My Flesh and Blood | |||
| 2003 | The Very Best Day | Pavel Medvedev | ||
| 2004 | Podul Peste Tisa | Ileana Stanculescu | ||
| 2005 | The Angelmakers | / | ||
| 2006 | We Are Together / Thina simunye | |||
| 2007 | End of the Rainbow | Robert Nugent | / | |
| 2008 | Constantin and Elena | Andrei Dascalescu | ||
| 2009 | Colony | Ross McDonnell & Carter Gunn | / | |
| 2010 | Kano: An American and His Harem | |||
| 2011 | The Vanishing Spring Light | / | ||
| 2012 | Soldier on the Roof | Esther Hertog | ||
| 2013 | My Name Is Salt | Farida Pacha | / | |
| 2014 | Drifter | Gábor Hörcher | / | |
| 2015 | When the Earth Seems to Be Light | |||
| 2016 | Who We Were | Sine Skibsholt | ||
| 2017 | The Distant Barking of Dogs | Simon Lereng Wilmont | ||
| 2018 | Giacinto Scelsi. The First Motion of the Immovable | Sebastiano d'Ayala Valva | ||
| 2019 | Solidarity | Lucy Parker | ||
| 2020 | This Rain Will Never Stop |
| Year | Film | Director | Nationality of director (at time of film's release) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Day I Will Never Forget | |||
| 2002 | The Trials of Henry Kissinger | / / | ||
| 2003 | Nick Broomsfield & Joan Churchill | |||
| 2004 | The 3 Rooms of Melancholia | |||
| 2005 | China Blue | Micha X Peled | ||
| 2006 | New Year Baby | Socheata Poeuv | ||
| 2007 | Jerusalem Is Proud to Present | |||
| 2008 |
| Year | Film | Director | Nationality of director (at time of film's release) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Shadya, Roy | Roy Westler | ||
| 2006 | A Lesson of Belarusian | Miroslaw Dembinski | ||
| 2007 | Planet B-Boy | |||
| 2008 | Kassim the Dream | |||
| 2009 | The Yes Men Fix the World | / | ||
| 2010 | Autumn Gold | |||
| 2011 | The Last Days of Winter | |||
| 2012 | Little World | |||
| 2013 |
| Joe Piscatella | / |
| Year | Film | Director | Nationality of director (at time of film's release) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Paradise – Three Journeys in This World | |||
| 2008 | Shakespeare and Victor Hugo's Intimacies | |||
| 2009 | Redemption | Sabrina Wulff | ||
| 2015 | My Aleppo | Melissa Langer |
The IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction rewards the best immersive non-fiction of the festival.
The IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling rewards the best Digital Storytelling.
| Year | Film | Director | Nationality of director (at time of film or website's release) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Out My Window | |||
| 2011 | In Situ | |||
| 2018 | 1 the Road[20] | |||
| 2019 | The Waiting Room VR[21] | |||
| 2021 | Un(re)solved[22] | |||
| 2022 | He Fucked The Girl Out of Me[23] | |||
| 2023 | Anouschka | Tamara Shogaolu | The Netherlands, United-States, Switzerland |
| Year | Film | Director | Nationality of director (at time of film's release) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | ||||
| 1995 | My Vote is My Secret Chroniques Sud Africaines 1994 | Julie Henderson & Thulani Mokoena & Donne Rundle | ||
| 1996 | Grenzeloze Liefde – Made in Japan |