IDFA Bertha Fund Activity Report 2014

Activity Report 2014

Refreshing view

Iranian filmmaker Firouzeh Khosrovani received the Oxfam Global Justice Award with her documentary Fest of Duty. The award is handed out by Nishtha Jain, famous filmmaker from India who received support from the IDFA Bertha Fund in her early years and who was part of the IDFA jury in 2014. “Fest of Duty comes as a refreshingly nuanced documentary about the religious practice of hijab. A much needed film in a world which is increasingly polarized around Islamic practices. The documentary delicately questions the (relatively new) way Iranian girls are introduced to adopt the hijab in school with the use of propaganda films and songs. What we really like about Fest of Duty is its gentle way of filming and storytelling. Director Firouzeh Khosrovani prefers us to come up with our own questions, rather than serving us hers.� Jury report Oxfam Novib IDFA 2014

Contents Introduction The Power of Powerless

3 4

The Calm Between the Storms

6

Chasing a Dream

8

How to Watch Creative Documentaries

10

Staying in the Room

12

Activities and Results 1 IDFA Bertha Fund General

14

2 Selected documentary projects and festivals in 2014

15

3 Funding of documentary projects

19

4 Professionalization of filmmakers

23

5 Festivals and Distribution

27

6 IBF Network

33

Appendix I: Selection Criteria

37

Appendix II: Organization 2013

38

Appendix III: Statement of Income and Expenditure

39

2

IDFA BERTHA FUND

Introduction Nurturing talented, courageous and tenacious documentary film-

With support from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs the Fund

makers is at the core of the IDFA Bertha Fund’s activities. By giving

launched a two-year program for documentaries on human rights and

financial support, mentoring, and providing access to a network of

social injustice. Besides financial support and training for documentary

documentary professionals, the Fund creates opportunities for film-

projects, IDFA organized a day focused on human rights documen-

makers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East and part of East-

taries . Furthermore, together with the Bertha Foundation the Fund

ern Europe to create beautiful, remarkable and necessary documenta-

organized an outreach workshop for selected filmmakers. Additionally

ries. Films that enrich the international documentary landscape.

the Fund was awarded support by the Creative Europe Media Programme to launch a new category for the production and distribution

2014 has been a rewarding and effective year for the Fund, with an

of documentaries realized through co-production between producers

inspiring new selection of projects, award recognition for documen-

from Europe and from developing countries. The first call will be in

taries supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund (IBF) and new partnerships

February 2015.

that have made it possible to implement new programs. This annual report gives an outline of the Fund’s activities in 2014 and the impact

With increased support from the Bertha Foundation the Fund was able

its support has had on filmmakers and organizations in this period.

to select additional projects and finance mentoring of projects through

In the opening pages of this report, we present a series of interviews

the IDFAcademy Summer School and IBF Project Factory. Thanks to Ber-

with a variety of partners and filmmakers, who discuss their own work,

tha Foundation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Hivos, 2014 was a year

the state of documentary filmmaking in their respective countries and

in which the IDFA Bertha Fund was able to continue supporting creative

their experiences in the documentary industry. The second part gives

and courageous filmmakers that make a difference.

an overview of the activities carried out in 2014 as well as all relevant facts and figures.

A total of 29 documentary projects were selected from 21 different countries, including Nicaragua, Chad, Colombia and DR Congo. Films in which filmmakers show everyday life in their country through visual storytelling or give insight into controversial and important issues. In addition, IBF continued its support of three festivals that were also selected in 2013, and organized a training program for their directors.

The Fund intensified its support of filmmakers in strengthening their projects, for instance by facilitating the participation of eight projects in the IDFAcademy Summer School and inviting filmmakers to the IBF Project Factory, a mentoring program during IDFA. Ten new documentaries supported by the Fund premiered at IDFA 2014. Of those, Mother of the Unborn won the Peter Wintonick Special Jury Award for First Appearance, Fest of Duty the Oxfam Global Justice Award, Tea Time the Alliance of Women Film Journalists’ EDA Award for Best Female-Directed Documentary and the Storm Makers received a nomination in the IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary. IBFsupported documentaries were screened in their home countries as well as at festivals all over the world. IDFA’s 2013 opening film, Return to Homs, had a massive impact, screening at 42 festivals in just one year and winning the Sundance World Documentary competition.

3

Campaign poster for theatrical release of Powerless in India Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar, directors of Powerless, received production funding of the IDFA Bertha Fund in 2011 and presented their film at IDFA in 2013. The film had a huge impact in India.

After winning the National Film Award for Best Investigative Film and the top award in the India Gold Competition, Powerless was theatrically released, under the Hindustani name Katiyabaaz, the biggest documentary release ever in India. The film was also screened in non-commercial spaces in areas where energy shortage is dire or electricity theft is high, as well as for parliamentarians and key policymakers, creating a huge buzz in the India media with headlines such as Stolen power to the people, Hooked to real India, Filmmakers capture India’s shocking energy crisis and From an Electrician “Robin Hood” to Real-Life “MacGyvers”

4

IDFA BERTHA FUND

The Power of Powerless Filmmakers Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar managed to stir up

Kanpur’s energy supply became a symbol of that disarray, with Loha Sing

quite a buzz in India with their documentary Powerless (Katiyabaaz),

navigating the highly photogenic tousle of electricity cables hanging

which lays bare the energy crisis threatening their home country.

high above the city’s streets to literally tap into their energy. “But it’s not just a story about Kanpur”, Mustafa asserted in an interview with The

Powerless tells the story of India’s energy crisis through the cat-and-

Times of India. “It reflects what’s going on in thousands of Indian towns

mouse games between ‘katibayaaz’ (electricity thief) Loha Singh and

and cities.”

Ritu Maheshwari, the incoming director of the local energy company.

That’s why Mustafa and Kakkar intended from the outset to get their

Although Singh is partly presented as a modern-day Robin Hood

film in front of a sizeable local audience - no small feat in a country

figure, the filmmakers took great pains to balance their perspective,

where screening opportunities for documentaries are few and far be-

Kakkar asserted to The Bollywood Trade. “It would have been easier to

tween. “There’s this perception that they’re preachy”, Kakkar said.

take a side, to decide that Loha is our hero, or our villain. We could have

Nevertheless, following a successful international festival run includ-

edited accordingly. But that wasn’t the idea, and we worked very hard

ing awards recognition at festivals in Los Angeles and Mumbai, in late

to convince the Kanpur administration to let us film.”

August 2014 the film was released on over 60 screens in 15 Indian cities,

Mustafa had long wanted to make a documentary on Kanpur: he was

including Kanpur. “We spent eight months building up the release”,

born in the city, in the district of Chamanganj where much of the film

Mustafa told The Bollywood Trade before the film’s release. Those plans

takes place, but his parents emigrated when he was a young child.

were multiplied when distributor Phantom Films came on board: “It’s the

“Whenever we went back to Kanpur, we found it was stuck in this

first time a documentary is put out in a nationwide manner with all the

miasma”, the director told The Bollywood Trade. “There was no change

marketing and publicity. We hope that it does something good, which

at all in the last twenty years. What used to be a very proud industrial

opens up space for others.”

city having a certain working class culture, was sort of crumbling apart

That’s not the only impact the filmmakers hope to have, of course. Power-

without infrastructure.”

less hoped to ignite a discussion on the energy crisis that is looming large over India’s future, and its high-impact release seems to have opened the door for that. Although their main character, katiyabaaz Loha Singh, isn’t holding his breath, he said in an interview with GlamSham magazine: “I don’t think it will ever change. Electricity theft will never come to an end.”

5

Director Hajooj Kuka was present at IDFA 2014 with his film Beats of the Antonov.

Sudanese video journalist and filmmaker Hajooj Kuka worked intensively together with South African producer Steven Markovitz on Beats of the Antonov and received production funding from the IDFA Bertha Fund in 2014. Steven Markovitz has been collaborating with the IBF since 2002. Hajooj Kuka is a young filmmaker and new to the fund. With his cinematic eye and access to remote areas in Sudan, he formed a golden team with experienced producer Markovitz. Beats of the Antonov premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2014, winning the Audience Award and screened in the Best of Fests section of IDFA. During IDFA Kuka also took part in the IDFA Bertha Outreach Workshop to work on the strategy for an outreach campaign in Sudan.

6

IDFA BERTHA FUND

The Calm Between the Storms While studying in the United States, Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka felt news coverage of his home country was too limited. “It doesn’t show you what daily life is like, and that seemed more real, more important to me than the war. So at a certain point, I just decided that I had to do it myself.”

“I didn’t want to make a war movie, or a humanitarian movie - I wanted to give a sense of what life is like there”, Kuka explains. He spent several years working on the film, living in the remote war zone with only very basic equipment at his disposal. “But I had the trust of the people, which is mindblowing for me as a filmmaker. I may not have the best equipment, but I have access. I worked with this group, training local people to make films: how to shoot, how to do interviews, how to cover stuff. I’m still working with them, we’re starting a new project soon.

The place I spent most time in was in the middle of the country. The fighting happens at the borders, but most people live in the middle, where you don’t really notice the fighting except when the planes go over. Sometimes nothing gets bombed for two, three weeks, a month, and you’d have something close to normal life. Then suddenly, the bombing happens, and you come into this chaos, which lasts for a very short time - and then life goes back to normal.”

That rhythm feeds into the film, with long stretches of time when the audience, too, may forget that this is a war zone. Footage of cultural events and people dancing and singing is interspersed with interviews, giving context to Sudanese culture. “There’s always that struggle of having as little information as possible, but then saying all you want to say. In the end, I cared more about finding the right rhythm than about telling a story. Get the right music, get the right flow - the talk is secondary. Seeing how people dance, how they move, play music, you get a better image of what Sudan is like.”

While Kuka has had success on the international festival circuit, winning the audience award at the film’s world premiere in Toronto, showing it in Sudan is a tougher proposition. “How do you screen the film when the government is so oppressive? People aren’t allowed to meet anywhere. You can meet at the universities, or you can meet at the mosque, or in the marketplace. But there’s really nothing outside of that, so there’s no room for cultural activities. I’m working with a group to set up a mobile cinema system, to hold community screenings, not just of my own film but a few others as well, and have discussions after the screenings. Hopefully we can generate some kind of movement with this.”

7

Nadine Salib receives the Peter Wintonick Special Jury Award at IDFA 2014

Nadine Salib, director of Mother of the Unborn, received production funding of the IDFA Bertha Fund in 2013, after which the IBF invited her to participate in the IBF Project Factory 2013 and to attend the IDFAcademy Summer school 2014. At IDFA 2014 Mother of the Unborn took part in the First Appearance Competition and won the Peter Wintonick Special Jury Award, commemorating the 2013 deceased filmmaker and tutor Peter Wintonick: “The jury is proud to give the Peter

Wintonick award to a film that embodies Peter’s passionate commitment to films that take risks, push boundaries, and illuminate the unending complexity of the human condition.

Mother of the Unborn takes us inside a small rural village, where a woman struggles with the expectations and traditions of her family, her culture, and her community. The film is compassionate, poetic and strikingly candid and we think Peter would approve.”

8

IDFA BERTHA FUND

Chasing a Dream Egyptian director Nadine Salib forged an intimate bond with her protagonist Hanan for her debut feature Mother of the Unborn. That intimacy informed every part of the film, not least the process of making it.

At the outset, Mother of the Unborn wasn’t envisioned as a portrait of one woman. “I wanted to make a film about the rituals some Egyptian women go through to get pregnant”, director Nadine Salib explains.

“They seemed bizarre to me. But I didn’t want to make an ethnographic film, we always wanted it to be universal. Somehow I wanted to ask: Why do we really want to have babies? Why do we want to get married? But I didn’t really know what a film about those questions would look like. When I met Hanan, her spirituality and her strength changed the direction of the film. She’s vulnerable but also very strong and determined. We didn’t want it to just be a women’s film; it’s about someone who’s chasing a dream. And Hanan shaped that: she said things in a way that everyone could relate to.”

In the film, Salib manages to create a very intimate atmosphere, with the camera almost a house guest in Hanan’s family. “Her village is five or six hours away from Cairo by train, and I was an outsider at first.

It took time to be there, to get to know the place and the culture and the people. The film needed for me to just go there and film the whole time. By the end, I just knew how to film her. Also, her position changed a lot. As she became more comfortable with me and with the camera, our conversations became like a confession, almost. An opportunity for her to say all these thoughts she had been keeping inside.”

In large part, that intimacy stems from the close friendship the filmmaker and her subject developed, Salib says. “More and more, Hanan and I saw how much we have in common. At one point, she asked me: will you be happy when the film is finished? It really struck me that she saw that connection. She knew that this film was my child, in a way.”

Which made it all the more difficult to shape the hundreds of hours of material to a film of a managable length. A crucial turning point in that process was the IDFAcademy Summer School, a week-long training program in which Salib and her editor took part in July 2014.

“Before the Summer School, we were so lost inside the material, we really couldn’t make sense of anything. We had a two-and-a-half hour cut, much too long, but we didn’t really know how to kill our darlings.

Our tutor Ollie Huddleston was able to provoke us into making those choices. Of course, I went back to the village to film more after that, and we changed a lot. But those darlings we killed never came back!”

9

Directors Ileana Stanculescu and Artchil Khetagouri at IDFA 2014

Artchil Khetagouri founded the documentary festival CinĂŠDoc Tbilisi in Georgia with the help of his partner Ileana Stanculescu. The IDFA Bertha Fund supported the first and second edition of the festival in 2013 and 2014. Stanculescu is a familiar face to the IBF, having received a contribution in 2004 for her award winning documentary The Bridge and in 2007 for her documentary Noosfera, the latest directed together with Khetagouri. In the last few years Stanculescu and Khetagouri focused on building a documentary industry in the Caucasus by creating the CinĂŠ-Doc Tbilisi festival with a competition

section for the region and by organizing the workshop Docstories Black Sea for local filmmakers. The aim is to train them in innovative storytelling, different dramaturgical structures for documentary film and in how to access the European documentary market. Khetagouri was invited to IDFA 2014 to network, scout documentaries and join a special event for festival programmers. Stanculescu was also present at IDFA as one of the fifteen renowned female documentary filmmakers who contributed to compile the theme program The Female Gaze.

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IDFA BERTHA FUND

How to Watch Creative Documentaries Ciné DOC-TBILISI, the first festival for creative documentaries in the embattled Caucasus region, saw growth in its 2014 second edition. Festival director Artchil Khetagouri: “Little by little, the festival is becoming better known in the region, and people are getting more experienced in watching documentary films.”

The impetus for starting Ciné DOC-TBILISI lays a few years back, at the DocStories Black Sea workshop for documentary filmmakers from the Caucasus region, organized in collaboration with IDFA. Director/producer Ileana Stanculescu, who initiated both the workshop and the festival with Khetagouri, explains: “At that workshop we saw that there are many filmmakers in our region who have no chance to watch films from abroad in their home countries and no money to attend foreign festivals.” Nor were there chances to screen their own films in their home countries, Stanculescu adds. “There was nothing in the region. But there are very beautiful films made about the region, both by foreign filmmakers and by filmmakers from Georgia or Armenia for instance.”

While there is a growing group of filmmakers and critics working on creative documentaries in the region, however, it’s an unknown genre for the public, Khetagouri says. “If you say ‘documentary’ in Georgia, people think about informative television programs, which don’t have such a good name. We wanted to show them that documentaries can be something else. That’s why we try to find thematic connections between films, and hold debates and master classes throughout our program. That’s very interesting for our audience; you give them an orientation on how to watch these films, and what a creative documentary can be - how it’s different from the reports they watch on tv every day.”

If the success of the festival’s first editions is anything to go by, the audience was ready for it. “Especially among young people”, Khetagouri agrees. “Some 80 percent of the audience at the first edition was under 30.” Stanculescu continues: “We quickly realized young people are desperate to see what’s going on in the world. We didn’t have a high budget for promotion; it was mostly done via Facebook and through presentations at universities. But screenings were full. It’s still needs to grow, however, and the audience still needs to better understand what it is. There is still work to be done.”

Part of that work was setting the bar a little higher for its second edition in October 2014. While access to the first festival edition was completely free, 2014’s second edition saw the organizers introduce admission fees for selected screenings. “Admission at smaller venues was still free”, Stanculescu explains.

“And the films in CineDOC Young, our program for children and teenagers, were also kept free. But we introduced tickets for the main cinemas.” This was less a financial necessity than an organizational choice, Khetagouri explains. “The problem at the first edition, when everything was free, was that everybody who had nothing to do was walking around the cinema. People were playing on their phones, or they came in halfway through, disrupting the screenings. That was very different this year. Of course, we want the screenings to be full, but sometimes you’d rather have people who are very focused!”

11

Filmstill of Saken by Sandra Madi

Saken was the first project from Jordan to receive support from the fund. The project received production support in 2013 and was finished in 2014, having its world premiere at IDFA. The project was selected by the IDFA Bertha Fund because of the characteristic cinematic style of Sandra Madi and her strong motivation. In Saken director Madi follows the life of a former

12

Palestinian militant Ibrahim, who became paralyzed in the conflict and has been bedridden in a hospital in Jordan for many years. Pointed straight at Ibrahim’s bed, the camera emphasizes his static, forlorn situation. The cinematography is impulsive but well studied and truly captures the essence of a life of immobility along with its frustrations.

IDFA BERTHA FUND

Staying in the Room Director Sandra Madi took a huge gamble when she decided that her film Saken would not leave the hospital room where its protagonists, former PLO fighter Ibrahim and his permanent caretaker Wahid, spend their days. “But the form is not a jacket the film puts on”, she explains.

“It comes from within the story.”

Asked how she managed to create the both intimate and cinematic moments in Saken, Madi shrugs: “I was there. I was there for so long that they were either used to me, or bored by my existence! Every situation has its own rules, you just have to find your way. The way I worked with Ibrahim and Wahid wouldn’t work in a big office with a lot of testosterone. It was just me and my DP, Ali Saadi, and we were there like family.

We were part of their life, I wasn’t just there for filming.”

That level of trust was built up over the course of years. “I met Ibrahim and Wahid while I was making my previous film Perforated Memories, about former Palestinian guerrilla fighters living in my home town Amman in Jordan. I’m a Palestinian refugee myself, and I’m very much influenced by that background. There is a lot to tell about us, a million topics hidden in the shadows. But I don’t explain all of that in the film; I wanted to tell that story, but in a different way. I don’t think cinema needs to explain everything, I’d rather get the audience to be more curious, in stead of giving them answers. So you need to know a bit about the historical background to connect with the film on every level.

Sixty or seventy percent of the population of Jordan is originally from Palestine. They were forced to flee after the occupations in ‘48 and ‘67 and ‘73. Ibrahim was a fighter, staying in a military hospital for the PLO. But it’s no longer in function as a military hospital, it’s all for paralyzed former fighters. In a way it’s just an image, a décor.”

Those kinds of images and metaphors form the backbone of Saken, which tells its story visually rather than through dialogue. “I gambled a lot on that choice”, Madi says. “But it’s not just a jacket I put on the film; it comes from within the story. So I tried to feel out how far I could go, staying with the characters, filming only in their room. I did try other things. I went to the village Wahid comes from, in Egypt. It’s like heaven on earth; it almost felt like the lost paradise that Ibrahim had sought as a refugee. But in the editing, I quickly decided I couldn’t use this. It didn’t connect with my experience in that hospital room.”

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Activities and Results 1. IDFA Bertha Fund General

Tailor-made consultancies and feedback: Supported filmmakers can receive individual consultancy in areas concerning script or editing. The

Aims

Fund can also provide advice to the filmmakers on distribution, festival

Since its foundation in 1998, the IDFA Bertha Fund has striven to stimulate

strategies or entering into agreements with distributors or TV stations.

the documentary climate in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe. The IDFA Bertha Fund supports independent film-

Festivals and Distribution

makers who make creative documentaries. In addition, the Fund supports

Getting a film made is one thing; getting it screened is quite another. By

the organization of documentary film festivals in these countries, aiming

supporting film festivals and several other activities, the Fund contributes

to address the shortage of screening opportunities in developing countries.

to creating screening opportunities in developing countries and assists its selected filmmakers in navigating the international documentary field.

How we work

Support of documentary festivals in developing countries: By supporting

The IBF acts as a financier, matchmaker and promoter of talented film-

film festivals in developing countries, the Fund aims to ensure indepen-

makers, documentaries and documentary film festivals from develop-

dent documentaries get screened.

ing countries. Each year, projects are selected for financial support. The

International distribution of IBF documentaries: Each year, the completed

IBF then makes efforts to strengthen and promote these projects and

documentaries are presented at IDFA and entered into IDFA’s Docs for Sale:

to ensure that filmmakers and festival organizations have access to an

the place where international distributors, festival programmers and televi-

international network of film professionals.

sion buyers come to view the new documentary harvest.

Each year, the IBF holds two selection rounds, the deadlines for which

Festival circulation of IBF documentaries worldwide: After IDFA, the

are February 1 and May 15. The applications the IBF receives for the two

documentaries are often invited to countless other international festi-

selection rounds are assessed by an international selection committee

vals. In this way, local stories are disseminated worldwide.

consisting of members active in various capacities within the documen-

Screenings of IBF documentaries in the Benelux: IBF-supported docu-

tary world. Appendix I shows the selection criteria applied and Appendix

mentaries contribute to the cultural diversity of IDFA and play a signifi-

II gives an overview of the selection committees in 2014.

cant part in attracting curious audiences to the festival. Each year, a number of the titles are released through the DVD label IDFA’s Delicates-

Core activities

sen, included in The Best of IDFA on Tour, screened online through IDFA.

Funding of documentary projects

tv, selected for special IDFA screening programs such as IDFA in Kriterion

To strengthen documentary production in developing countries, the Fund

and Docu by Night in Pakhuis de Zwijger, and offered to television chan-

provides financial contributions to creative documentaries at various

nels, cinemas and festivals in the Benelux.

stages of their production. The contribution for project development during the early phase plays a crucial role in starting up these projects. Financial

IBF network

support during the production phase allows filmmakers to make a start on

Over the past 17 years, aided by IDFA’s status within the documentary

the actual realization of their projects. During the post-production phase,

industry, the Fund has built up an extensive international network of

the documentary is edited, finished and made suitable for screening on

contacts and a wealth of experience with local partners as well as knowl-

television, in cinemas and at (international) festivals.

edge of the documentary industry. The Fund maintains a number of structural relationships with organizations in developing countries. Mak-

Professionalization of documentary filmmakers

ing these contacts, this experience and knowledge available to filmmak-

By focusing on talent development and assisting the selected filmmakers

ers and organizations in developing countries is one of the Fund’s core

in furthering their professionalization, the Fund stimulates the develop-

tasks. Every year, the IBF sends consultants to workshops and festivals

ment of these filmmakers, thereby also strengthening the documentary

all over the world in order to promote the Fund and IDFA, to extend its

genre. The Fund offers a range of activities aimed at supporting filmmak-

network and to provide concrete professional support to filmmakers from

ers in their creative process:

developing countries.

IDFAcademy Summer School: Selected filmmakers supported by IBF can take

In addition, the IBF strives to bring filmmakers and organizations from

part in the annual IDFAcademy Summer School, where they receive intensive

developing countries in contact with the international documentary

coaching from leading documentary professionals from all over the world.

industry. To achieve this, every year the Fund invites several filmmakers

IBF Project Factory: Filmmakers and producers of supported projects

and festival programmers to attend IDFA. IDFA is a major meeting place

are invited to IDFA and follow a special route through the IDFA Forum ,

for the documentary industry, and during the festival a great number of

IDFAcademy2 and Industry Talks3, including a tailor-made program with

activities take place aimed at stimulating filmmakers and organizations

consultancy on script, editing and outreach.

to make use of existing networks and co-production markets.

1

1 IDFA’s international co-financing and co-production market.

2 The IDFAcademy organizes workshops and training programs for emerging filmmakers during IDFA and throughout the year.

3 Talks on current developments in the documentary industry, covering such topics as VOD, research and clearance, impact distribution and selling rights.

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IDFA BERTHA FUND

2. Selected documentary projects and festivals in 2014 In 2014, the Fund supported 32 projects with a total amount of € 435,350. The table below gives an overview of the selection in 2013 and 2014.

Table 1 Selection Number of projects

Granted amount

% DAC countries

Number of projects

Granted amount

Project Development

7

35.000

14%

12

57.865

17%

Production & Post-Production

22

360.350

23%

17

285.000

29%

Documentary Festivals

3

40.000

33%

3

30.000

67%

Total

32

435.350

22%

32

€ 372.865

28%

Documentaries

2014

% DAC countries

2013

Other Activities

Explanatory notes on Table 1: Less applications for development fund-

continuing funding for three festivals in 2014, which were also financed

ing were granted in 2014 than in 2013. The balance between develop-

the previous year. This allows the Fund to strengthen its relationship

ment and production funding in 2014 reflects the Fund’s ideal. This

with these organisations and broaden its advisory role for the festivals.

was different in 2013 because many of the applications for project

Remarkably, a smaller percentage of the selected projects came from

development support were of a better quality than the applications for

the two left-hand columns on the DAC list 4. In absolute numbers, there

production & post-production support.

is a difference of 2 projects. In the latest iteration of the DAC list, Kir-

Only three documentary festivals were supported in the Other Activi-

ghizia was moved to the third column. Correcting for this change, the

ties category in 2013 and 2014. Due to lack of financial means, the Fund

difference between 2013 and 2014 is only 1 project.

could only set aside a smaller amount for this category. Therefore, no 4 The DAC list 2014, 2015, 2016 as drawn up by the OECD, http://www.oecd.org.

The two left-hand columns on the DAC list are the column Least Developed Countries and the column Other Low Income Countries.

open call was held for the festival category in 2014. The Fund decided on a more structural approach to supporting festivals in 2013, by

Showing unheard voices

Hajooj Kuka, Sudan, completed Beats of the Antonov was the first project from Sudan to receive support from the Fund. The project received production support in June 2014, premiered at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival in September receiving the Audience Award and screened at IDFA in November 2014. “Beats of the Antonov is a true standout deserving of a significant critical push. Hajooj Kuka’s short yet eloquent, even optimistic documentary about the peoples and music along the warravaged border between North and South Sudan is an exemplar of how filmmakers can give dignity to refugees by allowing them their names and their voices.” Film review in Variety

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Selected Projects 2014 The following projects received support from the Fund in 2014.

The list below includes the amount granted and a brief description of each project.

Project development 1 Another Wall in the Sugar Fields Oriol Estrada, Natalia Cabral, Dominican Republic € 5.000

You wake up one day to find out you are no longer entitled to a nationality. You can’t study, you can’t work and your passport is taken away. So begins the story of thousands of Dominican citizens of Haitian descent, children and grandchildren of workers from the sugar industry, who are deprived of their citizenship and rights.

2 Dreams in their eyes Siddharth Sinha, India € 5.000

The Civil Services Examination is a nationwide, extremely competitive examination in India for bureaucratic jobs. The candidates dream of the most prestigious, powerful, white collar jobs in India, and don’t mind risking 10 years of life for this dream and sometimes even their lives.

3 Grey Angel Agustina Comedi, Argentina € 5.000

After his death, the details of Jaime’s life get lost in the silence his wife and acquaintances begin to perpetuate. Years later, his daughter comes across the videotape her father used to record the moments preceding the accident that took his life.

4 Have a nice day!

Tali Yankelevich, Brazil € 5.000

Have a nice Day! pictures the lives of a small group of workers who spend most of their days inside a megastore supermarket, exploring an intimate and personal journey of their dreams and imagination while they go through their daily work.

5 Hissène Habré, A Chadian Tragedy Mahamat Saleh Haroun, Chad/France € 5.000

Hissène Habré, Chad president from 1982 to 1990, is to be judged for his crimes in 2015. This day comes at the end of a long battle for the victims of Habré’s regime and their lawyer Jacqueline Moudeina: they have been seeking to bring him to justice for 23 years.

6 Refugees Ismaël Louati, Tunisia € 5.000

A series of portraits of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, composing a filmic mosaic of the fractures and paradoxes of the region.

7 Which Educational System is Better Srdjan Sarenac, Bosnia-Herzegovina € 5.000

A humorous and upside down story about the educational system in Bosnia, the least reformed sector in Bosnian society. Children from two ethnic groups, Croats and Bosniaks, attend classes in the same building, but physically separated from each other.

Production & Post-Production 8 Afghanistan Night Stories Alka Sadat, Afghanistan € 17.500

The film follows a group of Afghan Commodes fighting Taliban for a better Afghanistan. A story of war, love, life and death, an unprecedented look at elite fighters, and the hopes and dreams they have rarely spoken of until now.

9 Beats of the Antonov Hajooj Kuka, Sudan/South Africa € 17.500

Traditional music gains new meaning in the Sudanese war: it keeps the people alive, literally and figuratively.

10 Blue ID Vuslat Karan, Burcu Melekoglu, Turkey € 17.500

A transgender man struggles with self-realization and acceptance in traditional society of Turkey.

11 The Boxing Women of Kivu Dieudo Hamadi, DR Congo/France

In the Kivu, a region known as the ‘world capital of rape’, a female police colonel is helping women by teaching them to box and giving them a way of fighting back.

12 Children of Las Brisas Marianela Maldonado, Venezuela/UK € 17.500

A reflective observational documentary that captures the struggle and transformation of a group of young musicians over five years as they strive for a better life through classical music.

13 Dust Liang Zhao, China/France € 17.500

The lives of four people from different backgrounds are intertwinded by a coal mine in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia.

14 The Fire We Will Become Gloria Carrión, Nicaragua/USA € 17.500

Fragments and remains of home-movies and historical archives are repurposed and re-contextualized to build a kaleidoscope of personal and collective history, challenging the myth of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua.

16

IDFA BERTHA FUND

15 The Forest of Punishments Hemal Trivedi, India € 17.500

Soni runs an orphanage in India’s bloodiest conflict zone, a dense forest where a mining company and rebel forces are at war. Caught in the crossfire, she is arrested, tortured and raped. Her arduous quest for justice makes her a symbol of resistance against state oppression in the world’s largest democracy.

16 Growing Up in Oil Anabel Cristina Rodríguez, Venezuela/UK € 15.000

A story of lack of love in a greedy world from the experience of three kids overcoming the disintegration of their families and gradual disappearance of their village Congo Mirador, built on stilts in the middle of Lake Maracaibo (Venezuela) - the largest oil field in Latin America.

17 Heaven Admits No Slaves Ruslan Batytskyi, Lesya Kalynska, Ukraine € 17.000

Heaven Admits no Slaves is about the Ukrainian Revolution on Maidan Square amid Russia’s war against Ukraine. The dramatic events turn regular people into freedom fighters when Special Forces assault peaceful protesters using tear gas, stun grenades, and devastating firearms.

18 I Never Left Shazia Khan, India € 16.500

In the conflict ridden region of Kashmir, deaths, disappearances and rapes have been carved in to the collective consciousness of the people. Filmmaker Shazia Khan returns to her homeland to record the story of a disappearance and make sense of her own.

19 In Praise of Nothing Boris Mitic, Serbia € 15.000

A satirical documentary parable about Nothing, filmed by dozens of cinematographers from around the globe in an exciting collective brainstorming process.

20 Kula: A Memory in Three Acts Inadelso Cossa, Mozambique € 17.500

Former political prisoners return to a place where they used to be interrogated and tortured by PIDE (former colonial secret police of Mozambique) to face their traumas and rebuild their memories.

21 Lyari Notes Maheen Zia, Miriam Menacherry, Pakistan/India € 17.500

In Pakistan a 36 year old rock star dares to teach a group of girls from the most volatile district of Karachi how to express themselves through music.

New stories

Gulistan Mirzaei/Elissa Bogos, Afghanistan, in production Amply present in the selection from Asia are the projects from Afghanistan and Pakistan. One of them is Mother Laila and the Bridge (pictured) about a woman trying to save heroin addicts who gather under a bridge in Kabul.

Having seen her brother suffer from drug addiction for more than 30 years, Laila gives up everything to do for others what she wasn’t able to do for her brother. The project received post-production support in 2014 and is expected for IDFA 2015.

17

22 Mother Laila and the Bridge Gulistan Mirzaei, Elissa Bogos, Afghanistan € 17.500

An Afghan woman risks everything in a David and Goliath battle to save heroin addicts in Kabul.

23 Please Remember Me Zhao Qing, China € 17.500

Fang, Alzheimer patient for eight years, has forgotten everyone except for her husband Feng. Please Remember Me follows the old couple in Shanghai over their final years as they fight for the failing physical health and memory loss, while celebrating a life-long memory of love and elegance.

24 Thank you, Doctor!

Adilet Karzhoev, Kyrgyzstan € 5.000

A surgeon named Ernst Akramov is famous beyond Kyrgyzstan. The gifted doctor is 77 years old and has dedicated 56 years of his life to surgery. Often he is the last of hope of his patients. But he is not like other people.

25 To The Amazon Claire Weiskopf, Nicolas Van Hemelryck, Colombia € 17.500

Valerie is an Englishwoman who - after the tragic death of her eldest daughter - gave up everything and went to the Amazon with her youngest daughter (director Claire Weiskopf) in search of her identity, leaving the past behind.

26 Ukrainian Sheriffs Roman Bondarchuk, Dar’ya Averchenko, Ukraine/Latvia € 17.500

When the state fails, people take control in their own hands: There is no police station in the village of Stara Zburievka. The villagers have chosen two men, endowing them with the title of “sheriffs” and the authority to enforce the security and protect the public order.

Number 27, 28 and 29 are 3 anonymous projects, with contributions of in total amounting to €46.500.

Documentary Film Festival 27 Cine-DOC Tbilisi Artchil Khetagouri, Georgia € 15.000

Ciné-DOC Tbilisi Documentary Film Festival is an international documentary festival that contributes to the development of the documentary culture and industry in the region, encourages cross-border cooperation between film professionals from countries affected by conflicts, and contributes to the development of the civil society in Georgia and the Southern Caucasus.

28 International Documentary Film Festival of Dominican Republic and Caribbean, RDOC Alejandro Andujar, Ana Paola van Dalen, Dominican Republic € 15.000

RDOC is the first meeting space and broadcasting point for documentary film in the Dominican Republic. The festival aims to promote the new generation of young filmmakers and provides the audience with a good selection of documentaries from the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean, Central and Latin America.

28 Wathann Film Festival Thu Thu Shein, Myanmar € 10.000

The Wathann Film Festival is a platform for Myanmar filmmakers to show their films in the field of documentary, fiction and experimental films to the Myanmar public.

18

IDFA BERTHA FUND

3. Funding of documentary projects

ico (countries with extensive support from national film funds) have not been permitted to submit applications in the production category.

The IDFA Bertha Fund supports independent documentary projects

The percentage of applications received from Africa, MENA and Eastern

by both experienced and talented young filmmakers. In addition, the

Europe remained basically unchanged in the last three years.

IBF is one of the few funds in the world that supports projects at the development stage, as well as projects dealing with risky topics or shot

Selected documentary applications

in dangerous situations. Often, projects by young, talented filmmakers

Of the 555 applications, 29 projects were selected. This constitutes less

are selected, turning the support of the fund into a seal of approval

than 5% of applications received. Some of the documentaries sup-

that attracts other financiers. In this way, the Fund strives to encour-

ported by the Fund are from unstable areas or countries with limited

age a new generation of male and female filmmakers to develop a

freedom of expression, an essential precondition for an independent

voice and style of their own.

film industry. In 2014, 15 projects (52%) were selected in countries

The diagrams below give an overview of the geographical distribution

where the situation concerning freedom of the press is difficult and

of applications received, applications selected, documentaries realized

5 projects (17%) from countries where the situation is very difficult.5

and the involvement of female filmmakers in documentary projects.

In total, 69% of the projects selected come from a country in which

The partition of regions has changed slightly starting in 2014, with the

freedom of9% expression is limited.

region of Middle East North Africa (MENA) replacing the Middle East.

New makers are well represented in the selection as a whole. Of the 29

As a consequence, the countries of Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and

selected projects, 13 projects (45%) are a first or second documentary.

Egypt are now counted as part of MENA instead of Africa. To allow for

Of the selected projects, 21% were from the two left-hand columns on

8%

18%

16%

18%

17%

29% 27% the DAC list, a higher percentage than in the applications received.

meaningful comparison with previous data, the 2013 diagrams have

28%

been redrawn using this new division.

29%

Figure 2: Geographical distribution of selected projects

Documentary applications received

% Selected projects in 2014

% Selected projects in 2013

In 2014, a total of 555 applications were received for documentary projects from Africa, Asia, Latin America, parts of Eastern Europe and

17%

the MENA region. The percentage of applications from countries from the two left-hand columns of the DAC list was 12% in 2014, compared

Figure 1: Geographical distribution of applications % Applications received in 2014

9%

8%

18%

16%

Africa

17%

Asia

14%

Latin America

Total selected projects: 29 MENA

Eastern Europe

13%

21%

13%

Explanatory notes on Figure 2: There are a number of notable shifts in

27%

28%

34% 14%

Total selected projects: 29

18%

29%

31% 24%

% Applications received in 2013

17%

31%

14%

to 13% in 2013.

3%

14%

the selection. The most prominent change can be seen in the MENA 20%

27%

29%

29% region, decreasing from 31% in 2013 to 14% in 2014. The political unrest in several North-African 29% countries lead to a greater number of urgent projects from this region in 2012 en 2013, which also led to a larger selection.

Total applications received: 555 Africa

Asia

17%

Latin America 14%

MENA

Eastern3% Europe

America were selected than before. Regarding selected projects from

17%

Latin America, a shift can be seen towards Central America. Because a number of larger countries, such as Argentina, Chile and Brazil, are

Explanatory notes on Figure 1: As shown in the diagrams, the geo31%

14% distribution of applications received is virtually unchanged. graphical 31%

27%

7%

Secondly in 2014, more projects from Eastern Europe and Latin

Total applications received: 568

no longer eligible, there is more room in the selection for the smaller

For the first time, applications from Asia constituted the largest

countries. This seems to have encouraged filmmakers in these smaller

percentage of applications. The number of applications from Asia has

countries, applications of a higher before.

44% quality than 56% 48% resulting in52%

34%

14% 24% grown incrementally over the last few years. Although the growth is

The increase in selected projects from Eastern Europe is harder to

relatively small, this trend has continued in 2014. To compare: in 2012,

explain. In the past few years, applications from this region did not

21% of applications came from Asia.

impress, resulting in no selected projects in 2012 and a single selected

Similarly, the decrease in the percentage of applications from Latin

project in 2013.

13% 13% America14% has continued 21%in 2014, sliding from 35% in 2012 to 28% in 2014.

For a few years now, filmmakers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mex-

27%

29% 29%

5 Based on the World Press Freedom Index 2014: http://rsf.org/index2014/enindex2014.php

20% 19

61%

39%

62%

38%

The high percentage of selected projects from Asia (31%) has remained virtually unchanged for several years now. In 2014 more than half of

Table 2 Selection of human rights projects Documentary Project

Director

m/ f

Country

I Never Left

Shazia Khan

f

India

Blue ID

Vuslat Karan, Burcu Melekoglu

f/f

Turkey

With support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Fund

The Forest of Punishments

Hemal Trivedi

f

India

launched a program (2014-2015) for human rights and social injustice

Beats of the Antonov

Hajooj Kuka

m

Sudan, South-Africa

Heaven Admits No Slaves

Ruslan Batytskyi, Lesya Kalynska

m/f

Ukraine

these projects hailed from China and India, with an unprecedented 3 projects (35% of the Asian projects) from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Human rights & social injustice

documentaries. The program focusses on stories of human rights violations which would not be seen or reflected upon without these documentaries. Stories which denounce social injustice through powerful means such as witness accounts. Stories whose revelation put their

IDFA Human Rights Day

makers, defenders of human rights, at risk.

As part of the program, IDFA collaborated with the Movies that

Each year five documentaries will receive a production grant. In addi-

Matter Festival in organising a Human Rights Day during IDFA 2014.

tion to funding, guidance is offered during production and editing. The

This Movies that Matter Day consisted of a program of four films: The

selected filmmakers also participate in an outreach workshop, guiding

Look of Silence, Those Who Said No, We Come as Friends and Uyghurs,

them in using their films to draw attention to certain themes and sub-

Prisoners of the Absurd. Each screening was followed by Extended

jects. Connected to this program, a day of human rights films is held

Q&A’s with the filmmakers.

during the IDFA festival.

Selection human rights program From the applications, five projects from India, Turkey, Ukraine and Sudan were selected. The projects focus on individuals who are at risk in their home countries, fighting for their rights. Beats of the Antonov premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. The other four films are still in production.

Fighting for human rights

Ruslan Batytskyi, Lesya Kalynska, Ukraine, in production This project received production support from the IDFA Bertha Fund via the Human Rights and Social Injustice program of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Heaven Admits no Slaves is about the Ukrainian Revolution on Maidan Square amid Russia’s war against Ukraine. The dramatic events turn regular people into freedom fighters when Special Forces assault peaceful protesters using tear gas, stun grenades, and devastating firearms. During IDFA 2014 the filmmakers took part in the IDFA Bertha Outreach Workshop.

20

27%

29%

20% FUND IDFA BERTHA

29% 27%

7%

IDFA Bertha Outreach Workshop

Figure 3: Female filmmakers involved in selected projects

The filmmakers of all projects selected for the human rights program

% Female filmmakers in 2014

% Female filmmakers in 2013

were invited to IDFA, where they participated in the IDFA Bertha Outreach Workshop. A total of nine filmmakers and producers attended the workshop, given by the Bertha Foundation and Britdoc, two institutes experienced in creating campaigns for message films. The

48%

two-day workshop started with a plenary session in which case studies

52%

44%

56%

were used to explain the basic tenets and possibilities of outreach campaigns. The workshop then split into smaller groups, allowing experts and participants to focus on individual projects, taking the first steps towards creating their own campaigns.

The selected filmmakers all indicated that they want to have a wide

Male

Female

distribution of their films and not necessarily through traditional screens. Their stories are all of importance in their home countries,

Explanatory notes on Figure 3: For the purposes of the figures above,

while several could also be used as part of an international campaign.

both directors and producers are considered filmmakers. Director and producer equal role in the creation 62% of a documentary: 38% the 61% often play an39%

Female filmmakers

director in terms of content and the producer in the area of getting the

The Fund considers it important that female filmmakers are represent-

film made. Slightly more than half of the 29 selected projects (52%) are

ed among the selected projects. The figures below show the ratio of

from female filmmakers – almost the same percentage as in 2013 (56%).

male to female filmmakers. Since 2012, the number of selected projects by female filmmakers has grown and since 2013 female filmmakers

Documentaries realized

have been involved in at least half of all selected projects.

In 2014, 14 documentaries that previously received a contribution from the Fund were realized. Of these, 10 were selected for IDFA 2014, 7 were debuts and 4 were made in a country from the two left-hand columns of the DAC list.

The Female Voices of Latin America

More than half of the total selection has a female director, but more striking is that all the projects coming from Latin American are directed by a woman. One of them is The Fire We Will Become by Gloria Carrión about the filmmaker’s family at the time of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua. Fragments and remains of home-movies and historical archives will be repurposed and re-contextualized to build a sensitive, complex, and live kaleidoscope, in which personal and collective history are intertwined. The project received a contribution for production and is expected for IDFA 2015.

21

31%

14%

31%

34% 14%

24%

Figure 4: Geographical distribution of projects realized

Explanatory notes on Figure 4: The number of documentaries realized

Documentaries realized 2014

in 2014 is almost the same as in 2013. Both years saw a slightly lower

Documentaries realized 2013

number of realized projects compared to the years before. This can be

14%

13%

21%

With regards to geographical distribution, the percentage of realized documentaries from Latin America has seen a sharp decrease. This

20%

27%

29%

traced back to 2012, when only a single selection round could be held.

13%

can be explained by the fact that fewer projects from this region were selected in 2012 and 2013.

29%

Similarly, the larger share of selected projects from Asia and Africa in

27%

7% Total: 14 Africa

Asia

Latin America

MENA

2012 and 2013 has resulted in a larger number of realized projects from these regions in 2014.

Total: 15 Eastern Europe

48%

52%

44%

56%

61%

39%

62%

38%

Finding the right narrative

Directors Vinay Shukla and Khushboo Ranka are working with editing mentor Menno Boerema on their project Proposition for a Revolution during the IDFAcademy Summer School. “Our trip to Amsterdam for the Summer School couldn’t have come at a better time. We had been editing scenes from our apparently unending footage, hoping that the film would magically align itself with some inherent narrative logic. But documentary films are elusive like that, or so we have learnt on this film. The Summer School proved to be a much needed trigger for ideas that were liberating and exciting at the same time. Our tutor, Menno, understood our problem of access and helped us to focus on our instincts (which is really not as easy as it sounds)”. Directors Vinay Shukla and Khushboo Ranka from India

22

IDFA BERTHA FUND

4. Professionalization of filmmakers

Since 2008, filmmakers with projects selected by IBF have been able to participate in the IDFAcademy Summer School. In 2013 the Fund set up

Since 2013, the IDFA Bertha Fund has made it a priority to not only give

the IBF Project Factory. Both programs offer supported filmmakers dif-

financial support to filmmakers, but also provide tailor-made practi-

ferent opportunities to receive individual consultancy on the develop-

cal guidance. IBF offers its selected filmmakers a number of training

ment, editing and distribution of their projects.

opportunities to stimulate their development and strengthen their documentaries. The Fund aims to support filmmakers in their cre-

IDFAcademy Summer School 2014

ative process and where necessary, help them bring their work to an

From June 30 through July 5, young filmmakers, editors and producers

international level. In most countries where the Fund is active, there is

from 15 different countries gathered at De Brakke Grond in Amsterdam

little or no film training and hardly anything that could be called a film

for the seventh IDFAcademy Summer School. A week full of discussions,

industry. Often there are no funds offering support to documentary

lectures and workshops helped participants take their documentary

filmmaking and filmmakers struggle with inadequate screening op-

projects to the next level. Two workshop tracks were offered, focusing

portunities for their documentaries.

on writing and editing respectively. In 2014, a total of 16 projects were selected for the Summer School, eight of which were supported by the IBF.

Table 3: IBF Participants at the IDFAcademy Summer School 2014 Documentary project

Country

Category

Filmmakers / participants

m/f

Another Wall in the Sugar Fields

Dominican Republic

Development

Natalia Cabral

f

God’s Ambassador’s Netball Club

Kenya

Development

Peter Murimi, Toni Kamau

m/m

Kula: A Memory in Three Acts

Mozambique

Development

Inadelso Cossa

m

Ukrainian Sheriffs

Ukraine

Development

Roman Bondarchuk

m

Bukom Fighter

Ghana

Editing

Makafui Zimrani

f/m

Mother of the Unborn

Egypt

Editing

Nadine Salib, Micheal Youssef Shafek

f/m

Proposition for a Revolution

India

Editing

Khushboo Ranka, Vinay Shukla

f/m

Tea Time

Chile

Editing

Maite Alberdi, Juan Eduardo Murillo

f/m

Explanatory notes on Table 3: Of the eight IBF projects that partici-

Tea Time had its world premiere in the IDFA Competition for First Ap-

pated in the IDFAcademy Summer School 2014, six are still in produc-

pearance and won the Alliance of Women Film Journalists’ EDA Award

tion while two were screened at IDFA 2014: Mother of the Unborn

for Best Female-Directed Documentary at IDFA 2014. This project also

(Egypt) and Tea Time (Chile). Another two documentaries screened

took part in the Summer School in the final stages of its creation, find-

at IDFA 2014 that had participated in former editions of the Sum-

ing the proper ending for the film.

mer School: Die Before Blossom (Indonesia) and In the Dark (Serbia).

The makers of Die Before Blossom participated in the Summer School

All four documentaries attended the Summer School to work on the

early on in their editing process and were able to structure their sto-

editing of their film.

rylines and make the film accessible to international audiences. After

For Mother of the Unborn the Summer School came at the final phase of

premiering in Indonesia, the film was selected for the IDFA Competi-

the film and was crucial in providing the filmmaker some perspective on

tion for First Appearance.

the story. The collaboration with the editing mentor helped director Na-

Similarly, In the Dark came to the Summer School with an early edit.

dine Salib get some distance from a story she had been shooting for sev-

Guided by the tutors, the filmmakers developed the main storyline of

eral years. Before IDFA the film premiered at the Abu Dhabi International

the film. The film was selected for the Panorama section.

film festival were it won the Fipresci Award. At IDFA it was selected for the First Appearance competition and won the Peter Wintonick Special Jury Award. See page 9 for an interview with Salib.

23

Overview of the course taken by each project Since the first Summer School in 2008, the Fund has facilitated participation by a number of supported projects. Table 4 shows the course these projects have taken, and the final outcome.

Table 4: Overview IBF Summer School projects 2008-2014 Documentary project

Year Summer School

Country

Status

IDFA Forum

IDFA

Docs for Sale

2010: FA Competition

2010

31

5

2007

2008: FA Competition

2008

32

5

Total Festivalscreenings

Total Awards

Cinema Komunisto

2008

Serbia

completed

The Caviar Connection

2008

Serbia

completed

The Devil Operation

2008

Peru

completed

2010: Panorama

2010

45

4

King Naki and the Thundering Hooves

2008

South Africa

completed

2011: FA Competition

2011

7

2

Retiro Shelter

2008

Argentine

completed

2008: Panorama

2008

14

3

Good Old Bad Times

2008

Bolivia

on hold

Therapies in Tehran

2008

Iran

on hold

The Death of Jaime Roldós

2009

Ecuador

completed

2013: Panorama

2013

16

9

My Name is Salt

2009

India

completed

2013: FA Competition

2013

40

16

Sand Fishers

2009

Mali

completed

2012: Panorama

2012

32

3

World without Shadow

2009

Maleisia

completed

rejected for 2011

Other

Winner First Appearance Award IDFA 2013

1

The Iron Demon

2009

Sri Lanka

in production

expected for 2015

5 Broken Cameras

2010

Palestine

completed

2011: FA Competition

2011

64

22

Oscar Nomination 2013, Audience Award & Special Jury Award IDFA 2011

Are you Listening!

2010

Bangladesh

completed

2012: Panorama

2012

26

4

Opening Film Leipzig Int. F.F.

Citadel

2010

Bolivia

completed

2011: Panorama

2011

8

1

Where the Condors Fly

2010

Chile

completed

2012: Panorama

2012

29

5

Bukom Fighter

2010

Ghana

in production

In the Dark

2011

Serbia

completed

2014

1*

Lost in Shanghai

2011

China

completed

rejected for 2014

Waiting for Heaven

2011

Palestine

in production

expected for 2015

What Will Tomorrow Bring

2011

Nigeria

on hold

expected for 2015

The White Volta

2011

Ghana

in production

The Devil’s Lair

2012

South Africa

completed

2012

2013: Best of Fests

2013

16

I, Afrikaner

2012

South Africa

completed

2009

2013: FA Competition

2013

7

Red Wedding

2012

Cambodia

completed

2011 online

2012: ML Competition

2012

24

4

Winner First Appearance Award IDFA 2012

Camera / Woman

2012

Morocco

completed

2012 online

2012: ML Competition

2012

42

3

Nomination First Appearance Award IDFA 2012

The Cleaner

2012

Morocco

on hold

expected for 2015

GITI - Paradise in Hell

2012

Rwanda

in production

expected for 2015

Logs of War

2012

Kenya

in production

Whose Country?

2012

Egypt

in production

The Mulberry House

2013

Yemen

completed

2013: Panorama

2013

13

2

The Silence of the Flies

2013

Venezuela

completed

2013: Panorama

2013

35

4

Little Red Dragonfly

2013

South Africa

in production

expected for 2015

Die Before Blossom

2013

Indonesia

completed

2014: FA Competition

2014

2*

Lyari Notes

2013

India

in production

expected for 2015

The Shadow Lawyers

2013

Egypt

in production

expected for 2015

expected for 2015 2011 online

2014: Panorama

expected for 2015 3

expected for 2015 2011

expected for 2015

24

IDFA BERTHA FUND

The Donkey that Carried the Cloud on its Back

2013

Kenya

in production

expected for 2015

Mother of the Unborn

2014

Egypt

completed

2014: FA Competition

2014

2*

Peter Wintonick Special Jury Award for First Appearance IDFA 2014

Tea Time

2014

Chile

completed

2014: FA Competition

2014

2*

Alliance of Women Film Journalists’ EDA Award for Best Female-Directed Documentary IDFA 2014

Another Wall in the Sugar Fields

2014

Dominican Republic

in production

expected for 2015

Bukom Fighter

2014

Ghana

in production

expected for 2015

God’s Ambassador’s Netball Club

2014

Kenya

in production

expected for 2015

Kula: A Memory in Three Acts

2014

Mozambique

in production

expected for 2015

Proposition for a Revolution

2014

India

in production

expected for 2015

Ukrainian Sheriffs

2014

Ukraine

in production

expected for 2015

2011

FA Competition = IDFA Competition for First Appearance, ML Competition = IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary, FL Competition = IDFA Competition for Feature Length Documentary, *These films had their world premiere or international premiere at IDFA 2014 and are starting their festival careers in 2015.

Explanatory notes on Table 4: Since 2008, 44 IBF projects have partici-

IBF Project Factory 2014

pated in the IDFAcademy Summer School. One of these has partici-

From November 20-26, IBF filmmakers from eleven projects in produc-

pated twice, for both the script as well as the editing workshop. Slightly

tion and one realized documentary were invited to attend the second

more than half of all the projects have now been realized (24 completed

edition of the IBF Project Factory during IDFA 2014. For an entire week

projects, 55%). Of these 24 realized projects, 22 were selected for IDFA

long, the participants were able to immerse themselves in the IDFA

(92%). Exactly half of these films (11) were screened in one of the festival’s

program, attend lectures and discussions, consult with experts in the

competitions. Five documentaries won awards at IDFA.

area of development, editing or outreach and meet other international

Of all the projects, 17 (38%) are still in production and 4 projects (9%)

documentary professionals.

are on hold due to safety concerns or a lack of production funds. Of the projects still in production, 13 (76%) are expected to be completed in time for IDFA 2015.

Table 5: Participants at the IBF Project Factory 2014 Documentary project

Country

Participants

m/f

Beats of the Antonov

Sudan / South Africa

Hajooj Kuka

m

Blue ID *

Turkey

Vuslat Karan, Burcu Melekoglu

f/f

An Endless Revolution

Philippines / France

Jewel Maranan, Julien Roumy

f/m

The Forest of Punishments

India

Hemal Trivedi, Yashodara Udupa

f/f

Greener Pastures

Myanmar

Aung Nwai Htway, Yasmin C. Rams

m/f

Heaven Admits No Slaves

Ukraine / USA

Ruslan Batytskyi, Lesya Kalynska

m/f

I Never Left

India

Shazia Khan

f

In Praise of Nothing **

Serbia

Boris Mitic

m

Thank You, Doctor

Kirgizstan

Adilet Karzhoev

m

To the Amazon

Colombia

Claire Weiskopf, Nicolas Van Hemelryck

f/m

Weaving *

China

Wang Yang, Jiaqing Huang

m/m

Which Educational System is Better **

Bosnia - Herzegovina

Srdjan Sarenac

m

* pitched at the IDFA Forum 2014; ** observer at the IDFA Forum 2014

Explanatory notes on Table 5: For each of the projects, the Fund put

As part of the Project Factory, the Fund organized tailor-made consul-

together a tailor-made program. The five projects from the human rights

tancies for a number of projects. The editor and producer of Greener

program (see page 20) participated in the IDFA Bertha Outreach workshop.

Pastures worked on their rough cut with editor Danniel Danniel, the

The filmmakers of seven projects participated in the IDFAcademy, an inten-

filmmakers of Weaving consulted with editor Ollie Huddleston, and the

sive four-day training program for emerging filmmakers and producers.

director of I Never Left consulted with editor Jesper Osmund. The Fund

25

received very positive feedback, both from the participating filmmak-

ever, the director was struggling with the editing. The IBF facilitated a

ers and the mentors.

consultancy with editor Ollie Huddleston, who worked intensively with

Furthermore two of the projects were selected for the IDFA Forum.

the filmmakers to restructure the story and cut a first edit.

Blue ID and Weaving both pitched their project to a panel of commis-

The projects in the human rights program were also offered practi-

sioning editors during the Round Table pitches. Blue ID won the award

cal guidance and advice on distribution. The production of Beats of

for best Round Table pitch. IBF facilitated the participation of both proj-

the Antonov was not easy, as director Hajooj Kuka (see page 7 for an

ects to the Forum as well as the pitch workshop, helping them prepare

interview) filmed in a war zone and had a myriad of problems getting

their presentation.

his footage out of the country. To be able to structure all this material the team wanted to work with editor Pekka Heikkinen, so the IBF

Tailor-made consultancies and feedback

facilitated this. The other human rights projects were not far enough

The timing of the IDFAcademy Summer School and the IBF Project Fac-

along in 2014 to consult on editing or distribution strategies, but this

tory is not convenient for all filmmakers in relation to their production

will be offered in 2015.

process. In order to still offer support to these filmmakers, the Fund

In terms of the business side of documentary making, the filmmakers

brought in experts and offered filmmakers individual consultancy ses-

can also approach the Fund for advice on distribution, on a festival

sions, tailored to the stage their projects were at.

strategy or on agreements with distributors or TV stations. To provide

Fireflies in the Abyss (India) was selected by IBF in 2013 and did not make

this, the Fund makes use of the knowledge present within IDFA as well

it into the selection of the IDFAcademy Summer School in 2014. How-

as its extensive international network.

Pitching, networking and getting feedback

Director Wang Yang and producer Jiaqing Huang were invited to IDFA 2014 to join the IBF Project Factory with their project Weaving. They were selected for a Round Table pitch at the IDFA Forum, where they presented their project to ten different commissioning editors. They also received a private editing consult from famous editor Ollie Huddleston “The session with Ollie was a very encouraging experience, he was very honest and direct in a helpful way. Through our conversation we were able to rediscover the strengths and weaknesses of the rough cut, and freed our creative thinking so we could see what was lacking and where to improve.� Producer Jiaqing Huang from China

26

IDFA BERTHA FUND

5. Festivals and Distribution

Support of documentary festivals Due to a limited budget, the Fund was unable to hold a selection round

Screening opportunities for documentaries in general and especially in

for film festivals in 2014. Instead, the Fund supported new editions of

the countries where the IDFA Bertha Fund is active are often limited.

several festivals that also received funding in 2013. This is in line with

Through providing financial support to documentary festivals, the

the decision in 2013 to emphasize creating long-term relationships with

Fund creates new opportunities for the screening of independent

supported festivals, by supporting at least three consecutive editions of

documentaries in developing countries. Furthermore, various means

every festival. In addition, the Fund offers guidance regarding program-

are used to promote IBF documentaries among festivals and distribu-

ming, organisation and financing, where needed, allowing these festi-

tors worldwide. Most of the documentaries realized are presented at

vals to lay the foundations on which to build an independent future.

IDFA, an important starting point for the international career of a film.

In 2014, the Fund continued its support for the Wathann Film Festival in

Documentaries that screen at IDFA and are included in Docs for Sale

Myanmar (September 2014), CinĂŠ-Doc Tbilisi in Georgia (October 2014)

often go on to have many more screenings at international festivals or

and RDOC in the Dominican Republic (February 2015). Additionally, two

be broadcast on television worldwide.

festivals were held that received support by the Fund in 2013: the first edition of RDOC (February 2014) and the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival in Myanmar (June 2014).

Table 6: Festival support in 2014 Festival Support

Africa

Asia

Latin America

MENA

Eastern Europe

Total

-

1

1

-

1

3

Number of festivals that took place in 2014

-

2

1

-

1

4

Number of screened films

-

90

39

-

41

170

Number of screenings

-

186

39

-

70

295

Audience Attendance

-

10.315

2.700

-

6.500

19.515

Selection in 2014 Number of supported festivals

Results festivals in 2014

Explanatory notes on Table 6: No festivals in Africa or MENA were sup-

Table 6 also shows all supported festivals that took place in 2014, four in

ported or took place in 2014. In the final selection round held in 2013, no

total. The Asian festivals (50%) took place in countries from the two left-

festivals from Africa and MENA were selected, as the applications from

hand columns of the DAC list. Together, the four events accounted for

these regions were not good enough. As there was no selection round in

295 screenings of 170 films, of which on average 58% were drawn from

2014, no new festival applications were received. The Fund hopes to be

their own continent. These events attracted a total of 19,515 visitors.

able to hold a selection round for festivals in 2015, allowing new festivals

The festival in Eastern Europe (CinĂŠ-Doc Tbilisi) managed to attract a

from Africa and MENA and other regions to be discovered.

high number of visitors to its second edition in 2014. The festival in Lat-

All of the selected festivals in 2014 were selected for the 2nd time. They

in America (RDOC) was held for the first time in 2014. Not visible in the

are still fledgling festivals and the programmers were invited to attend

table above is the fact that with 1.115 visitors, the audience numbers at

IDFA for the second time in order to network, get to know the IDFA

the 2014 Wathann Film Festival were significantly lower than previous

organization and to follow a special program for festival program-

editions. This can be attributed to problems with its screening location,

mers, organized by IBF for the first time. This program consisted of a

forcing the festival to relocate at the last minute.

networking lunch and two presentations on obtaining sponsorship and generating funds and on audience building. Of the three selected festivals, the Wathann Film Festival from Myanmar (33%) is from the left-hand column of the DAC list.

27

International distribution of IBF-supported documentaries IDFA 2014 In 2014, 10 new documentaries supported by IBF were presented at IDFA and included in Docs for Sale. In total, 4 documentaries were selected to participate in a competition program. In addition 3 older IBF supported films were selected for The Female Gaze program of IDFA 2014: The Bridge from Romania, Gulabi Gang from India and Magic Words (to Break a Spell) from Nicaragua.

Table 7: IBF documentaries selected for IDFA 2014 IDFA Competition for First Appearance 1

Die Before Blossom Ariani Djalal Indonesia, 2014, 89’ IP

A portrait of two girls during the last year of elementary school in Jogyakarta, Indonesia, where Islam is exerting ever more influence on the educational system.

2

Mother of the Unborn Nadine Salib Egypt/United Arab Emirates, 2014, 85’ IP

Hanan has spent 12 years trying to become a mother. From serious operations to terrifying rituals, she will try anything to make her dream come true.

3

Tea Time Maite Alberdi Chile, 2014, 70’ IP

Five women have had tea together every month for the past 60 years. Their meetings are like a meditation on youth, age and friendship.

IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary 4

The Storm Makers Guillaume Suon Cambodia/France, 2014, 60’ EP

A portrait of a victim of human trafficking and two profiteers: so-called recruiters, who are called “storm makers” in Cambodia.

Masters 5

The Dream of Shahrazad A fascinating journey through the Eastern tradition of storytelling and a celebration of the solace it can offer in François Verster the wake of contemporary outbreaks of violence.

South-Africa/Egypt/Jordan/France/The Netherlands, 2014, 107’ WP

Best of Fests 6

Beats of the Antonov Hajooj Kuka Sudan/South Africa, 2014, 66’ EP

Traditional music gains new meaning in the Sudanese war: it keeps the people alive, literally and figuratively.

Panorama 7

Ady Gasy, the Malagasy Way Nantenaina Lova Madagascar/France, 2014, 84’ DP

People in Madagascar tackle the financial crisis inventively and sustainably, never losing their unique identity and good humor.

8

Fest of Duty Firouzeh Khosrovani Iran, 2014, 60’ WP

For Muslims, puberty begins at the age of nine, and from that moment on girls wear the hijab. What’s been happening in the lives of two Iranian girls since this important event?

9

In the Dark Goran Stankovic Serbia, 2014, 60’ WP

A patiently, beautifully filmed portrait of a 22-year-old mineworker named Davor, who dreams of a new life when the time is right.

10

Saken Sandra Madi Jordan/Palestine, 2014, 90’ WP

Walid has been caring for paralyzed Ibrahim in a Palestinian hospital for many years. An intimate film about politics and war, but also about dependence and friendship.

The Female Gaze 11

The Bridge Ileana Stanculescu Romania, 2004, 75’

Bridges connect people, unless it is forbidden to cross them, and this is exactly what is happening with the bridge between Sighet in Rumania and Slatina in the Ukraine.

12

Gulabi Gang Nishtha Jain India/Norway/Denmark, 2012, 94’

A subtle portrait of a women’s rights organization that denounces injustices taking place in corrupt and poverty-stricken northern India.

13

Magic Words (to Break a Spell) Mercedes Moncada Rodriguez Nicaragua/Mexico/Guatamala, 2012, 82’

Magic Words crisscrosses history to connect the accumulation of violence, corruption and poverty in Nicaragua with personal and geopolitical events.

WP = World Premiere, IP = International Premiere, EP = European Premiere, DP = Dutch Premiere

28

IDFA BERTHA FUND

Table 8: Audience Attendance at IDFA The number of tickets sold and the occupancy rate of the theatre are listed separately for each screening.

Screenings

1

2

3

4

5

6

Total

IDFA Competition for First Appearance Die Before Blossom

78

45%

84

47%

130

100%

74

55%

94

98%

460

Mother of the Unborn

62

35%

56

22%

44

25%

102

59%

69

66%

333

Tea Time

191

100%

175

100%

130

100%

90

100%

177

100%

763

175

100%

117

87%

95

99%

135

100%

531

100%

1053

176

99%

178

57%

154

40%

82

55%

85

62%

179

100%

105

100%

72

15%

90

29%

531

100%

IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary The Storm Makers * Masters The Dream of Shahrazad *

531

100%

1206

Best of Fests Beats of the Antonov *

977

Panorama Ady Gasy, the Malagasy Way

67

50%

130

100%

90

100%

92

96%

379

Fest of Duty

103

98%

55

42%

45

50%

64

71%

267

In the Dark

43

24%

20

21%

52

30%

33

25%

148

Saken

32

17%

61

64%

15

8%

25

26%

133

The Female Gaze The Bridge

61

47%

66

49%

127

Gulabi Gang

114

84%

44

25%

158

Magic Words (to Break a Spell)

36

40%

91

100%

127

Total

6.131

* The Storm Makers, The Dream of Shahrazad and Beats of the Antonov were screened during the World Documentaries Program, a compilation program consisting of three films supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund. 531 is the total number of tickets sold for one screening of this program, and the theatre was 100% sold out.

Explanatory notes on Table 8: Of the 53 screenings, 16 (30%) were

tickets, against 39.137 tickets sold with 11 documentaries in 2013. This

completely sold out and 5 were almost sold out, with an occupancy

enormous decrease can be explained by the success of two films in

rate above 95%. Tea Time is the most exceptional case with all screen-

2013: Return to Homs was the opening film of IDFA 2013 and My Name

ings being sold out, reaching an audience of 763 people during IDFA

is Salt was selected for the Best of IDFA program at IDFA 2013. In both

(not counting Industry Screenings and Doc for Sale views). Counted

cases this resulted in a great number of extra screenings and thus a

together, all screenings of IBF documentaries during IDFA sold 6,131

larger audience.

Creating a platform for Myanmar filmmakers In 2014 the Wathann Film Festival (WFF) received a second contribution of the Fund to organize the festival in Myanmar. The festival aims to expose and discuss documentaries from Myanmar filmmakers, and to educate the local audience by screening high quality documentaries. Director Thu Thu Shein was invited to IDFA 2014 to network, scout documentaries and join the special event for festival programmers. “The Wathann Festival is a spring-board for local filmmakers to national and international recognition. The audience knows that WFF offers them new, fresh, artistic and experimental films from Myanmar, that they cannot find in any other event in the country.” Thu Thu Shein, director Wathann Film Festival

29

Docs for Sale 2014

Explanatory notes on Table 9: This overview shows the 2014 Docs for

Docs for Sale is IDFA’s documentary market, with an extensive online

Sale viewing figures for IBF-supported films shown at IDFA 2014 and

catalogue available throughout the year and a video library during IDFA

2013. The 10 documentaries selected for IDFA 2014 were included in

where the documentary industry can watch the latest films. It is a ma-

the Docs for Sale festival catalogue (during IDFA) as well as the online

jor meeting point for distributors, sales agents, television buyers and

library (starting from November). The 12 films comprising the 2013

festival programmers worldwide. The Fund pays for all IBF-supported

IBF harvest were available in the online library throughout 2014. The

titles to be included in Docs for Sale, as well as Docs for Sale Online for

figures show that films screened at IDFA live a long life online, as the

a period of one year, in order to reach those documentary professionals

2013 harvest remained popular in the online library throughout 2014, especially titles such as the award-winning Return to Homs, Powerless,

who couldn’t be at IDFA in person.

I, Afrikaner, My Name is Salt and The Devil’s Lair, each registering several hundred views. Return to Homs is especially popular with 336 online

Table 9: Docs for Sale viewing figures

views in November and December 2013 and 508 online views in 2014,

IDFA 2014

Docs for Sale @ IDFA 2014

Docs for Sale online 2014

Die Before Blossom

32

40

Mother of the Unborn

35

75

Tea Time

47

89

The Storm Makers

40

47

Cooperation with sales agents

The Dream of Shahrazad

46

39

Beats of the Antonov

21

25

The films selected for Docs for Sale are made available online in early No-

Ady Gasy, the Malagasy Way

13

29

Fest of Duty

26

58

In the Dark

15

35

attention of world sales agents. Sales agents who are interested in an IBF

Saken

14

11

documentary can represent the Benelux rights held by the Fund, meaning

due to it being IDFA’s opening film in 2013 and a big success on the international festival circuit in 2014.

vember, several weeks ahead of the festival, to allow sales agents to view films before coming to Amsterdam. The Fund brings its harvest to the

they have access to a more complete package of rights. This will no longer be the case in the future, since the Fund decided in 2013 to no longer ask

IDFA 2013

Docs for Sale @ IDFA 2014

Docs for Sale online 2014

Return to Homs

N/A

508

I, Afrikaner

N/A

99

My Name is Salt

N/A

84

The Fund will however continue to promote selected documentaries

The Devil’s Lair

N/A

95

in the Benelux, and strengthen its contacts with sales agents to more

Powerless

N/A

115

The Death of Jaime Roldos

N/A

19

actively connect them to projects.

The Mulberry House

N/A

42

The River

N/A

28

The Silence of the Flies

N/A

18

After IDFA, most of the documentaries go on to have a lot of screenings at

Temptation

N/A

3

international festivals. In 2014, IBF documentaries screened on the interna-

Mercedes Sosa, the Voice of Latin America

N/A

13

tional circuit at major festivals like the Berlinale, Sundance, and HOTDOCS,

The Shark’s Eye *

N/A

4

as well as the International Film Festivals of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The

for the Benelux rights in exchange of support. Sales agents have more time to dedicate to sales and more expertise in the area of distribution.

Festival circulation of IBF documentaries worldwide

number of festival screenings and the number of awards won gives an

* The Shark’s Eye was not selected for the IDFA festival program, but did take part in Docs for Sale online 2014.

important indication of the international appreciation for a documentary, which in turn can give an impulse to local production, inspire new filmmakers who are just starting out and ensure that filmmakers are able to build a reputation, making it easier to find financing for their next project.

Table 10: Circulation of IBF-supported documentaries at film festivals in 2014 Documentaries from…

Africa

Asia

Latin America

MENA

Eastern Europe

Total

2014

2013

2014

2013

2014

2013

2014

2013

2014

2013

2014

2013

Number of IBF films shown at festivals

6

5

16

16

12

13

8

6

5

5

47

45

Number of festivals that selected IBF films

47

29

131

183

94

92

81

47

8

25

361

376

% national screenings at festivals

6%

7%

26%

11%

9%

11%

3%

0%

0%

0%

13%

9%

% regional screenings at festivals

6%

10%

7%

15%

38%

27%

12%

15%

50%

16%

17%

17%

% international screenings at festivals

88%

83%

67%

74%

53%

62%

85%

85%

50%

84%

70%

74%

5

6

30

34

23

14

15

8

0

1

73

63

Total number of awards

30

IDFA BERTHA FUND

Explanatory notes on Table 10: In 2014, a total of 47 IBF documentaries

Looking at the African documentaries, it is very striking that while only

were screened at 361 festivals worldwide. More than half of them (59%)

one more documentary circulated on the festival circuit in 2014 com-

were IBF-supported films from Asia and Latin America, which together

paring to 2013, the number of screenings is much higher in 2014. One

accounted for 62% of festival screenings. This continues a trend that has

example is the film Ady Gasy, the Malagasy Way (screened in the Pan-

been visible since 2011, owing to the fact that a high percentage of films

orama section at IDFA 2014 and the first ever project from Madagascar

finished in 2012 (85%) and 2013 (47%) are from these regions. But the

to be supported by the Fund), which started its festival life in late April

MENA region is also becoming increasingly popular, due to the urgent

2014 at HOTDOCS (Canada) and was shown at no less than 17 festivals

topics of the films related to the current political situation. Although only

in the following eight months.

a few more films from this region were in circulation in 2014 (8) compared

The number of IBF titles from Eastern Europe stayed the same as in

to 2013 (6), the number of festival screenings doubled. The eight docu-

2013 (five films), but they were screened at significantly less festivals

mentaries from this region circulating in 2014 were shown at a stunning

(2013: 25 festivals, 2014: 8 festivals). This is due to the fact that these

81 festivals worldwide, with 85% of the screenings in the international

were the same five titles as in 2013, so no new films from the region

circuit and only a very small number of national or regional screenings

were entering the festival circuit in 2014. Films draw by far the most

due to the political unrest in the region. All films were successful in the

attention in their first year of circulation.

festival circuit, with Syrian Return to Homs being by far the most popular:

Compared with 2013, almost the same amount of films was circulat-

after its world premiere as opening film of IDFA 2013, the film was shown

ing in the festival circuit (45 in 2013 and 47 in 2014), but with a slightly

at no less than 43 festivals (42 international and 1 regional). Among those

lower amount of festival screenings (376 in 2013, compared to 361 in

were internationally renowned festivals such as Sundance (USA), where it

2014). The films circulating in 2014 did win a much higher number of

won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize, the Abu Dhabi International Film

awards (73 awards, 10 more than in 2013). This can be explained by the

Festival (United Arab Emirates) and HOTDOCS (Canada).

success stories of award-winners such as My Name is Salt and Return

Latin American titles prove to be especially interesting for regional au-

to Homs. 17% of the circulating documentaries were screened at 15 or

diences. National and regional festivals account for 47% of all screen-

more festivals in 2014, down from 25% in 2013. However, in 2014 the

ings in 2014, compared to 38% in 2013. Especially popular in South

films averaged more screenings per film than in 2013, thanks to a num-

America were The Silence of the Flies (world premiere at IDFA 2013), The

ber of success stories. The extremely popular films were screened at a

Death of Jaime Roldós (international premiere at IDFA 2013) and Mer-

remarkably long list of festivals, such as Return to Homs (42 festivals),

cedes Sosa, the Voice of Latin America (screened at IDFA 2013).

My Name is Salt (40 festivals), The Silence of the Flies (35 festivals), Mercedes Sosa (25 festivals), and Gulabi Gang (25 festivals).

Platform for new talent

Director Maite Alberdi received the Alliance of Women Film Journalists’ EDA Award for Best Female-Directed Documentary with Tea Time, also part of the First Appearance Competition at IDFA 2014. Tea Time is about a group of elderly women who’ve been meeting weekly for a visit and tea since they were school girls. The jury members were impressed by the film’s delicacy and intimacy: “Filming her subjects for years, Alberdi was able to capture the nuances of their lasting friendships, their varying opinions on everything from marriage and childbearing to changing fashion. Heart breaking and hilarious, ribald and sweet, this film presents the reality of women’s friendship as a means to get through life’s many sorrows and joys.” Tea Time received production funding from IBF in 2011. The project was also pitched at the IDFA Forum in 2011 and one of the projects in the IDFAcademy Summerschool 2014, after which the final film took part in the First Appearance Competition of IDFA 2014.

31

Screenings of IBF documentaries in the Benelux

well as Videoland On Demand, MovieMax Online en MeJane.com.

In 2014 in the Benelux, IBF-supported documentaries were shown at

The Dutch public broadcasters purchased some older IBF-supported

IDFA, on the internet, on TV, at festivals and in special themed programs.

titles, including Last Train Home, Camera/Woman and Children of the

Return to Homs was part of the Best of IDFA on Tour program in 2014, ac-

Decree, to be screened through the digital channel Holland Doc (now

cruing 50 screenings in 38 cities throughout the Netherlands and Belgium.

renamed NPO Doc) and public broadcaster VPRO screened Powerless

Furthermore, a number of films were available on-demand through

and Return to Homs in 2014.

several Interactive TV services, including Ziggo, WhapZapp, Cinetree

Furthermore, 81 Fund-supported documentaries were available

and The Entertainment Group (TEG), which manages number of plat-

through IDFA.tv during 2014, 25 more than were available in 2013.

forms, including services for KPN TV-subscribers, Tele2 subscribers as Table 11: Screenings in the Benelux of IBF-supported documentaries Film Screenings Benelux IDFA on Tour

The Netherlands

IDFA in Kriterion

Amsterdam

50 screenings in 38 cities of Return to Homs Screening of Return to Homs followed by a discussion

Cinema Arabe Rialto

Amsterdam

Salata Baladi

Food Film Festival

Amsterdam

My Name is Salt

Movies that Matter

The Hague

Powerless

Onderwijsfestival

Hilversum

On the Way to School

University College Roosevelt

Middelburg

Powerless

Internationaal Kamermuziekfestival

Schiermonnikoog

Mercedes Sosa, The Voice of Latin America

Reporting Change: stories from the Arab World

Amsterdam

Return to Homs

MOOOV Festival

different cities in Belgium

Return to Homs

LAB111

Amsterdam

Return to Homs

Podium ‘t Beest

Goes

Regular cinema release Return to Homs

Groninger Forum

Groningen

Regular cinema release Return to Homs

Lumière Cinema

Maastricht

Regular cinema release Return to Homs

Filmhuis de Spiegel

Heerlen

Regular cinema release Return to Homs

Cinema Zevenskoop

Den Helder

Regular cinema release Return to Homs

De Zwarte Doos

Eindhoven

Regular cinema release Return to Homs

VPRO

The Netherlands

Powerless

VPRO

The Netherlands

Return to Homs

TV Screenings Benelux

Video on Demand Ziggo

The Netherlands

Return to Homs

WappZapp

The Netherlands

!Vivan las Antipodas!, 5 Broken Cameras, Last Train Home and Sins of My Father

TEG

The Netherlands

!Vivan las Antipodas!, 5 Broken Cameras and Last Train Home

Cinetree

The Netherlands

5 Broken Cameras

The stories behind the news

With the IDFA opening night as the starting point of Return to Homs, the film travelled around the world to more than 30 different countries in 2014 and won a lot of prestigious prices, amongst others the World Cinema Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. “What’s natural to cinema, in my opinion, is that it can bypass prejudice and help people identify. When an American audience finally feels that what’s happening in Syria is a human situation they can identify with, then we can all together find a way to do something.” Producer Orwa Nyrabia, Syria.

In the Benelux the film took part in The Best of IDFA on Tour to 38 different cities, screened on TV and was popular on on-demand services.

32

IDFA BERTHA FUND

6 IBF Network

(Estímulo México-Centroamericano para Cine Documental), an initiative by the Mexican film fund IMCINE in collaboration with Cinergia,

The Fund has an extensive industry network, which encompasses both

Audiovisual Fund for Central America and the Caribbean, International

the international film industry and organisations active in the regions

Film Festival San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas (Mexico) as well as IBF.

where IBF is active. In addition to its core activities as outlined above,

Each partner brings its own set of expertise to the table. For instance,

the Fund utilizes this network to provide information to filmmakers,

the Fund was closely involved in the early stages, advising on the struc-

organisations and other interested parties. For example, European

ture of EMC-Docs’ guidelines and categories. The partnership will be

producers and filmmakers often approach the Fund for contacts within

continued in 2015, when the Fund will be involved in training sessions

a specific region or country the Fund is active in, and vice versa.

for selected projects.

This experience and network function was also utilized in several coop-

2014 also saw the launch of Afridocs, a bold and exciting broadcast

erations with other organisations in 2014.

stream that sees African and international documentaries screened across 49 countries of sub-Saharan Africa every week. The Fund is in

Local partner organizations

close contact with the organisation, encouraging every possibility for

In 2014, the Fund continued and reinforced partnerships started in

the screening of documentaries. Many IBF-supported films, both recent

previous years and also instigated new collaborations.

and classic, have been and/or will be broadcast. The Fund will keep

For the fourth consecutive year, IDFA and the IBF partnered with the

Afridocs informed of its selections from Africa in the future.

Durban FilmMart, the annual co-financing market for documentary projects from the region at the Durban International Film Festival. The

Embassies

aim of this collaboration is to stimulate the documentary industry in

Since 2009, the Fund has also advised Dutch embassies in those

Africa. In agreement with the Durban FilmMart it was decided that

countries where the IBF has supported a festival or documentary

as of 2014 IDFA and the IBF, while remaining partners in the FilmMart,

project. In this way, the Fund expands its own network and opens it

would hand over the day-to-day operation to Durban FilmMart itself.

up to local partner organizations. The Fund attaches great impor-

IBF and IDFA took part in project selection and played an advisory role

tance to keeping the embassies informed of the IBF’s activities in the

in the formation of the program.

many different developing countries. A number of embassies around

Since 2007, the Fund has maintained good contacts with the Syrian

the world, including those in Cuba, Indonesia, Morocco and Afghani-

organization of the Dox Box festival. Because of the political unrest in

stan, are already aware of the way the Fund works, the selection

Syria, the festival has not been able to take place since 2012, and the

rounds and the application procedure.

organizers have had to leave the country. In 2013 they begun a process of reshaping Dox Box to a centre for Syrian and Arab filmmakers, which

International partner organizations

took shape in Berlin in 2014. IBF plays an advisory role.

The Fund has a number of close relationships with other organizations

IBF has been in regular contact with DOCUBOX, a film fund in Eastern Af-

working with filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle

rica started in late 2013. The IBF Manager Isabel Arrate Fernandez also held

East and Eastern Europe, such as the Sundance Institute Documentary

a consultancy session for the filmmakers in the first DOCUBOX selection.

Fund from the United States, the Hubert Bals Fund of the Interna-

2014 saw the start of a new collaboration between IBF and EMC-Docs

tional Film Festival Rotterdam and the Dutch crowd funding plat-

Pitching at the Durban FilmMart

The Mozambican filmmaker Inadelso Cossa pitched his project Kula: A Memory in Three Acts to the Finance Forum at the Durban FilmMart, consisting of representatives of international and local tv stations, local producers and international and regional funds. “Being part of the pitching in Durban was a great challenge and unique experience. I got different feedback that helped the project to move on. Also the one on one meetings with funders, distributors, sales agents and producers were very crucial to decide the future of the project.” Director Inadelso Cossa.

The IBF supported this project with a production contribution in early 2014 and invited the director to attend the IDFAcademy Summer School, likewise in 2014. The documentary is expected for IDFA 2015.

33

form Cinecrowd. The IBF provides contact details of filmmakers from

scheme for co-production funds in the new Creative Europe program

developing countries to the Sundance Documentary Fund, which in

that will be operational as off 2015.

turn gives filmmakers who have already received a contribution from

Every year IDFA is host to official delegations from various countries.

the IBF an extended period in which they can submit their project to

The Fund is closely involved with several of these contacts and helps

Sundance. The IBF has maintained a good relationship with the Hubert

put together an activity program. In 2014, delegations from Columbia,

Bals Fund for many years now. Documentary filmmakers wishing to

Chile and Mexico as well as a delegation from the Arab Funds for Arts

make a fiction film are referred to the HBF, and vice versa.

and Culture (AFAC) were assisted in this way.

For the second time, the Fund has supported the crowdfunding campaign for one of its supported films, in collaboration with IDFA and the Dutch

Consultancy worldwide

platform Cinecrowd. Both IDFA and IBF promoted the campaign for the

Each year, the Fund sends consultants to workshops and festivals all

film Lyari Notes through their newsletters, website and social media chan-

over the world. During these visits, concrete support is provided to indi-

nels. The campaign was very succesful, raising more than the set target.

vidual filmmakers from the region, local organizations are incorporated

For Cinecrowd, this collaboration is a means of finding international proj-

into the Fund’s network, the Fund is promoted in developing countries

ects as well as to connect with the IDFA brand, while it allows IBF to help

and the knowledge and contacts obtained are shared. During indi-

projects find additional funding as well as international attention.

vidual consulting sessions, filmmakers are given concrete feedback on

Furthermore, the IBF is part of a network of coproduction funds (World

their documentary project as well as advice on fundraising in general

Cinema Fund, Sorfond and Hubert Bals Fund) that consult with each

and on the IDFA Bertha Fund in particular. In 2014, working visits were

other on a regular basis and share experiences and evaluations. The

made to documentary events in South Africa, Morocco, India, Bolivia

network lobbied successfully with the European Union to include a

and Georgia.

Table 12: Consultancies at festivals in 2014 Country

Documentary Event

Activity

Colombia

Cartagena International Film Festival

Panelist for project pitches and individual meetings with filmmakers

Czech Republic

East Doc Platform

Individual meetings with filmmakers

Domenican Republic RDOC, International Documentary Film Festival

Promotion IDFA and IBF, advice on the organisation of the festival, inidividual meetings with filmmakers

France

Cannes International Film Festival

Individual meetings with filmmakers

Germany

Berlin International Film Festival

Individual meetings with filmmakers

Georgia

Ciné - Doc Tbilisi

Jurymember, presentation IBF, individual meetings filmmakers

India

Docedge

Panelist for project pitches and individual meetings with filmmakers

India

Good Pitch Mumbai

Panelist for project pitches and individual meetings with filmmakers

Morocco

Agadir Documentary Film festival

Promotion IDFA and IBF, advice on the organisation of the festival, inidividual meetings with filmmakers

Mexico

Doculab - Guadelajara International Film Festival

Panelist for project pitches and individual meetings with filmmakers

South Africa

Doc Circle Pitch - Durban International Film Festival

Panelist for project pitches and individual meetings with filmmakers

Taiwan

CNEX Chinese Doc Forum

Panelist for project pitches and individual meetings with filmmakers

Uruguay

DocMontevideo

Panelist for project pitches and individual meetings with filmmakers

Explanatory notes on Table 12: This table also includes travels to the

activities take place aimed at stimulating filmmakers to make use of

Czech Republic, France, Germany and Taiwan. These are not countries

existing networks and co-finance markets, such as the IDFAcademy,

where the Fund is active, but are regularly visited by filmmakers from

the IDFA Forum, the Industry Talks and the Guests Meet Guests drinks.

regions supported by the IBF.

IBF-supported filmmakers were able to attend plenary sessions at the IDFAcademy, structured as master classes by established filmmakers,

Meeting at IDFA

producers and other documentary experts. These sessions are not only

Each year, the Fund invites all filmmakers of IBF-supported documen-

of great educational value, but are also important opportunities to

taries selected for the IDFA program, as well as a number of program-

meet documentary professionals.

mers from festivals in developing countries, to attend IDFA. Additional-

IBF-supported filmmakers present at IDFA can also visit the IDFA

ly, the Fund organized the second IBF Project Factory during IDFA 2014

Forum, IDFA’s annual co-financing market. This is one of the major

(see page 25). Attending IDFA is a great opportunity for documentary

meeting places for filmmakers and the industry, which gives the Forum

professionals to expand their networks, as well as to see many docu-

a very significant networking function.

mentary films unavailable in their own region. They can then make

At the daily Industry Talks during the festival, attending professionals

direct contact with the approximately 2,500 international professionals

further their knowledge of the documentary industry and get up

who are present in Amsterdam during the festival. During IDFA, many

to speed on its latest developments. Topics included selling your

34

IDFA BERTHA FUND

rights, outreach campaigning and new financing models through

Festival programmers

branded funding.

The Fund invites festival programmers to IDFA to bring them into

Another important meeting place at IDFA are the daily Guests Meet

contact with documentary organizations from all over the world,

Guests drinks, an opportunity for all documentary professionals to

to see the documentaries selected for IDFA, to pick up ideas for the

come together in an informal setting. This is also an excellent occasion

organization of their own festivals and to expand their networks. In

for the Fund to introduce filmmakers to specific people from its own

2014, organizations from Iraq, Afghanistan, the Dominican Republic,

network who can be of use to the filmmakers.

Myanmar, Georgia and Morocco were invited. The Fund covers all

Filmmakers with a selected documentary

tions from these countries to attend IDFA and meet the international

All directors and producers of the 13 IBF-supported documentaries se-

documentary industry. All festival programmers took part in a new

lected for IDFA 2014 attended the festival – 22 directors and producers

program created by IBF, consisting of a networking lunch and two pre-

in total, including three directors invited as part of the theme program

sentations on obtaining sponsorship and generating funds as well as

The Female Gaze. After IDFA, the Fund sent out a survey to the filmmak-

on audience building. Festival programmers from Ethiopia and Ukraine

ers of the 10 new documentaries (thus excluding the directors selected

took part in this program as well. It proved to be a valuable experience

for The Female Gaze). They all considered their attendance at IDFA to be

meeting each other and exchanging experiences. Other opportunities

valuable, primarily because it enabled them to expand their network.

to meet each other were provided during Guests Meet Guests and at

86% of the respondents stated that they met other film profession-

Docs for Sale, IDFA’s documentary market where these programmers

als and filmmakers. In addition, the survey found that most of the

have access to a catalogue of 500 selected documentaries as well as

filmmakers gained knowledge about the documentary industry (86%),

opportunities to get in touch with filmmakers and world sales agents

used their visit to watch other documentaries (100%) and brought a

at the Docs for Sale Happy Hour.

expenses for these visits to IDFA and makes it possible for the organiza-

new project to the attention of industry experts (57%). 43% of the filmmakers were introduced to the IDFA Forum. Filmmakers also actively

Filmmakers selected for the IBF Project Factory

participated in networking events such as the IDFA Bertha Fund lunch

The second IBF Project Factory gave filmmakers in attendance the op-

(86%), the daily Guests Meet Guests drinks (100%), the Filmmakers

portunity to not only broaden their knowledge and skills, as described

Breakfasts (100%), IDFAcademy (29%), and Docs for Sale (100%).

in paragraph 2.4, but also increase their networks. During IDFA, they had various opportunities to meet the international documentary industry, during the IDFAcademy program, Guests Meet Guests and the IDFA Forum.

Building an audience through crowdfunding

The crowdfunding campaign of Lyari Notes from India was very succesful, raising 136% of the set target. Crowdfunding is not only helpful to seal the last gap in the budget, it also helps to generate attention for a project in an early stage. “The campaign drew in supporters from all parts of the world. Besides reaching our financial target, it has brought for us many well-wishers for the film, who we consider our greatest asset because they believe in the film and will champion its cause when the film is ready”. Director Miriam Menacherry from India.

35

Creating a buzz at IDFA

The filmmakers of Blue ID won the award for Best Round Table Pitch at the IDFA Forum. “Pitching at IDFA Forum to a diverse group of decision makers in one setting was a great opportunity.

Connecting with people, networking and finding support, be it financial or otherwise, was very rewarding and gave us more motivation to keep pushing forward with our film.”

Blue ID was part of the IBF Project Factory at IDFA 2014. Besides pitching, the team took part in the Outreach Workshop. “The Workshop inspired us to think further about the actual impact that can happen around the film. Seeing that potential made us realize that as filmmakers we would like to play an active role of creating a change, through concrete steps we learned during the workshop.” Director Burcu Melekoglu from Turkey.

36

IDFA BERTHA FUND

APPENDIX I: Selection Criteria Selection criteria: In selecting the projects the selection committee uses the following criteria: General criteria for selection: • Intrinsic qualities of the proposed project • The cinematographic qualities of the project • The importance of the subject • Originality of the subject, the perspective on the subject and/or the style of the proposed film • The narrative structure of the proposed project Secondary criteria for selection: • Trust in the filmmaker and the proposed project • Need for financial aid from the fund to achieve the proposed project • The situation of the documentary climate in the region or the country • The presence of a documentary tradition • Options for fundraising • Intensity of general documentary productions • The position of the producing country on the DAC-list of the OECD1 For the financial support of organizations the fund has a preference for festivals that have a role in the distribution of locally produced films.

These festivals should stimulate the dialogue between filmmakers and between filmmakers and audiences.

1 O rganisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OEDC).

The DAC list of the OECD gives an overview of countries which qualify as a developing country.

37

APPENDIX II Organization 2014 Board

Selection committee:

The board has the following members:

The selection committee of the documentary projects is composed of

• Chairman: Walter Etty, partner at Andersson Elffers Felix

a group of alternating members and guest readers for each selection

• Member: Jan Hoekema, mayor of Wassenaar, former director Cultural

round. The committee consists of five members per round.

Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs • Member: Adrienne van Heteren, director small media foundation

Selection committee February 2014:

London

• Adriek van Nieuwenhuijzen, Head of IDFA Industry Office

• Member: Marischka Leenaers, consultant in fundraising

(the Netherlands) • Denis Vaslin, producer, Volya Films (the Netherlands)

and sponsoring

• Elizabeth Wood, founder and director of DocHouse (UK)

• Member: Marijn Wiersma, transition development and innovation

• Rebecca Lichtenfeld, director of Social Impact Media at Bertha

at MFO.

Philanthropies (UK/USA)

Staff

• Steven Markovitz, producer, Big World Cinema (South Africa)

• Director: Ally Derks • Manager: Isabel Arrate Fernandez

Selection committee May 2014:

• Producer: Mélanie de Vocht

• Adriek van Nieuwenhuijzen, Head of IDFA Industry Office

• Assistant producer: Fleur Welter

(the Netherlands) • Ally Derks, director IBF and IDFA (the Netherlands)

Pre-selection committee:

• Mikael Opstrup, Head of Studies & Co-production Guide Editor

All projects are first assessed by a pre-selection committee.

at EDN (Denmark)

This committee is composed of IDFA staff members and documentary

• Orwa Nyrabia, producer, Proaction Film (Syria/Germany)

experts on specific regions.

• Rebecca Lichtenfeld, director of Social Impact Media at Bertha Philanthropies (UK/USA)

Pre-selection committee February 2014: • Diana El-Jeiroudi, producer / director, Proaction Film(Syria/Germany) • Djo Munga, producer, Suka! Productions (Democratic Republic of Congo) • Isabel Arrate Fernandez, IDFA Bertha Fund manager (the Netherlands) • Joost Daamen, programmer/researcher IDFA Program Department (the Netherlands) • Laura van Halsema, Press & Publicity IDFA Communication Department (the Netherlands) • Mélanie de Vocht, IDFA Bertha Fund producer (the Netherlands) • Neil Brandt, producer, Fireworx Media (South Africa) • Raul Niño Zambrano, programmer/researcher IDFA Program Department (the Netherlands) • Yorinde Segal, coordinator IDFA Forum (the Netherlands)

Colophon

Pre-selection committee May 2014: • David Teigeler, Advisor IDFA Program Department (the Netherlands) • Don Edkins, producer, Steps International (South Africa)

Text: Joost Broeren, Isabel Arrate Fernandez,

• Isabel Arrate Fernandez, IDFA Bertha Fund manager (the Netherlands)

Mélanie de Vocht, Malka Jonas

• Joost Daamen, programmer/researcher IDFA Program Department

Translation: Joost Broeren

(the Netherlands)

Production: Mélanie de Vocht

• Laurien ten Houten, coordinator IDFA Docs for Sale (the Netherlands)

Lay-out: Sjoukje van Gool

• Mélanie de Vocht, IDFA Bertha Fund producer (the Netherlands) • Yorinde Segal, coordinator IDFA Forum (the Netherlands)

This is a publication of the IDFA Bertha Fund

38

IDFA BERTHA FUND

Appendix III Statement of Income and Expenditure 2014 Foundation Jan Vrijman Fund, Amsterdam

2014

2013

FNL. STMNT 2014

BUDGET 2014

FNL. STMNT 2013

€

€

€

INCOME Government grants

150.000

150.000

230.000

Other grants

530.000

530.000

369.890

46.388

66.500

25.458

726.388

746.500

625.348

Other income

EXPENDITURE

Administration costs Staff

29.006

26.600

27.976

Housing/support costs

39.288

37.000

36.688

Total administration costs

68.293

63.600

64.664

Activity costs

Staff Projects and programmes Total activity costs Contingency

Net result

80.358

74.700

74.287

581.704

608.200

463.521

662.062

682.900

537.808

-

-

730.356

746.500

601.763

-3.968

-

23.585

709-

39

-

Contact: IDFA Bertha Fund / E: idfaberthafund@idfa.nl / P: 31 20 6273329 / www.idfa.nl/idfaberthafund