Partners of IDFA Premium Partner
Colophon Artistic Director: Orwa Nyrabia
Club IDFA ABN AMRO Bank NV,
Festival Director: Cees van ’t Hullenaar
Allen & Overy,
Head of IDFA Industry: Adriek van Nieuwenhuijzen
Artsen zonder Grenzen,
Head of Marketing & Communications: Martine van Duijn
deBreij, Houthoff, JBR,
Deputy director IDFA: Isabel Arrate Fernandez Editor: Roxy Merrell Production: Marie-Louise Calame, Marjolein Polder, Brigitte Ravensbergen, Nadine Maaraba, Annabel Troost. Design: Laura van Laar, Jan Geerling (Str8), Kaz Salemink
Main Partners
Jean Mineur Mediavision, Le Poole Bekema, Loyens & Loeff, PwC, Rotaform, Uitgeefhuis Nieuw Amsterdam and Van Tunen + Partners.
Donations to IDFA AVROTROS, Better Places, BNNVARA, Dutch CORE, EOdocs, Eye International, German Films, Goethe-Institut, Institut Français des Pays-Bas, Istituto Luce - Cinecittà, KRO-NCRV, LaScam,
Partners
Lutfia Rabbani Foundation, OUTtv, Samen Tussen Amstel en IJ and Zabawas Foundation.
Suppliers Alvero, Arti et Amicitiae, Avenu Media, Beam Systems, De Balie, DeLaMar Theater,
IDFA is subsidized and funded by
Eden Hotels Amsterdam, Event Engineers, Eye, FedEx Express, Filmtechniek BV, Fiona Online, Hapeco, Het Groene Paleis, Het Ketelhuis, INDYVIDEO, inVision Subtitling, Jaguar Nederland, Koninklijk Theater Carré, Kriterion, MacBike, Mausolos, Mercure Amsterdam Centre Canal District, Oberon, Prinsengracht Hotel,
IDFAcademy is supported by
Rex International, Rialto, Stichting Audiovisuele Toegankelijkheid, Tolhuistuin, Uniglobe Perfect Travel,
IDFAcademy & NPO Fund Workshop / ZappDoc LAB is supported by
VBVB Cultuurautomatisering, Vlaams Cultuurhuis de Brakke Grond and the Volkshotel.
IDFA DocLab is supported by
IDFA DocLab Research Collaborations ARTIS-Planetarium, CreativeXR, Diversion cinema, Het Nieuwe Instituut, POPKRAFT, The Immersive Storytelling Studio (National Theatre) and Tolhuistuin.
IDFA Forum is supported by
IDFA Bertha Fund is supported by
Creative Partner
Distributie festival trailer Jean Mineur Mediavision
IDFA would like to thank all Friends, Special Friends and Special Friends+ of the festival.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION Attending IDFA 2020 This year, IDFA invites international guests to experience the festival online. As much as we would like to receive you in person, the COVID-19 pandemic in Amsterdam has forced us to adapt. We have ensured that as an international professional, you are able to experience IDFA entirely online this year. IDFA Forum, Docs for Sale, IDFAcademy, and the Industry Program are taking place completely online. The film and new media programs have a hybrid form; however, all on-site programming will be geared towards local audiences in Amsterdam. IDFA online We have prepared an extensive online program for you. As an accredited guest, you can still access films in the program, take part in inspiring talks and debates, network with industry leaders, and lots more. •
Press & Industry Library–Watch films selected for the IDFA 2020 program online, on-demand from November 18 until December 6. Please note that films premiering at IDFA will be available online, from the time of their first screening. • Industry Program–In-depth market insight on a diverse range of topics, with: - Talks; - Sessions and other panel discussions; - Producers Network; - Presentations of Delegations’ Projects; - Consultancies. • IDFA Forum & DocLab Forum–Attending observers will get the chance to watch the pitches and get insight on up-to-date market and industry developments, and see which documentary films and new media projects are coming to cinemas and festivals in the near future. They will also be able to consult with a wide and varied range of industry professionals and experts. • Docs for Sale–Accredited users can access online Docs for Sale catalogue for the whole year. IDFA will connect producers and sales agents with a film in the Docs for Sale catalogue to potential buyers in pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings. • IDFA DocLab & IDFA on Stage–the online exhibition and all online events and performances are accessible worldwide. The following live events are free for online passholders: Little Ethiopia: Chez nous Motto Live do {not} touch: Opening Night feat. 7 Sounds do {not} touch: Confined Infinity do {not} touch: Home is where the art is do {not} touch: Symbiotic Bodies Booking a (free) ticket is required as some events have limited capacity. How to attend varies per event, full details can be found online.
• IDFAcademy–Selected emerging filmmakers will take part in an intensive training program with highly esteemed documentary professionals. • Social events–Catch up and network with other guests. • Talks Library–Watch a selection of recorded Talks. The Industry Program and Filmmaker Talks are completely live streamed and free for passholders. Afterwards they are available online in the Talks Library. Public screenings and Talks, except for the new media program, are geoblocked and only available in the Netherlands. International guests have access to selected films via the Press & Industry Library. The Public Talks are afterwards available in the Talks Library. Most Talks are available until December 6, with a few exceptions available until November 27. If you’re an accredited guest in the Netherlands (except for Docs for Sale participants), you can buy a ticket with reduction for the public online and onsite screenings. How to attend an industry event online? 1. Visit www.idfa.nl and login with your MyIDFA account. 2. Select an event in the Program per day and filter on the Industry Program. 3. You can add this selected event to your “Favorites” list in MyIDFA and export them to your personal calendar (Outlook, Google Calendar, etc). 4. When the event is due to start, click on participate (the event is accessible 20 minutes in advance). 5. When logged in, you will access a personal homepage, with a personal program for the upcoming 2 hours, and suggestions for other events that you might be interested in. 6. All your personal meetings can be found in the appointments in MyIDFA. 7. Still need help? Ask for support in the chatbox. How to watch a film or recorded content from the Industry Program? 1. Visit www.idfa.nl and login with your MyIDFA account. 2. You can watch a selection of films of the IDFA 2020 program on demand in the Press & Industry library. This library can be found in the quick navigation on the left-hand side of the homepage. Please note that films premiering at IDFA will be available online, from the time of their first screening. 3. The Talks Library will contain recorded content of the Program; Industry Talks, Filmmaker Talks, Q&A sessions. Content will be available for a limited time. The library is available via the quick navigation on the left-hand side of the homepage.
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INDUSTRY TALKS, AND MEETUPS IDFA offers an extensive program of talks and meetups to inspire and keep you up to date on the latest developments in the documentary industry. Industry Talk: Visions on the Future of Cinema
A series of short videoclips in which we have asked a variety of visionary people in the film industry: What is the Future of Cinema? In this short series, these inspiring people share how they envision the world of cinema to develop in the years to come.
Industry Talk: Archive Docs Rock in the Covidian Epoch
Elizabeth Klink tells you all on the opportunities of working with archive material during COVID-19 and what filmmakers need to know about its use in this Keynote session. When many genres of filmmaking were put on hold during 2020, archive-driven documentaries offered safe and creative solutions for filmmakers, programmers, and distributors. With the growing importance of user-generated archive and the insatiable hunger for music, celebrity, and sport documentaries, true crime series, and non-fake news– the documentary archive world has changed dramatically.
Industry Talk: Framing of us - Decolonizing documentary and shaping new perspectives on its cultural ethics
What is the impact of telling our stories framed through the eyes of others? BLM raised awareness and shed light on issues that are reflected in our industry. Inclusion and diversity are hot topics, but many black, indigenous and (historically) colonized filmmakers still feel that they cannot express themselves freely out of fear of damaging their careers. In this program, Tessa Boerman & Shamira Raphaëla make a plea for a drastic change in our industry, including an urgent call to action. To decolonize our practices we need to decolonize our minds, our eyes, our ears, and our perception of what (a good) film is, by taking a brutally honest look at ourselves as an industry.
Industry Talk: Innovations in online distribution (beyond COVID-19)
In response to challenges caused by COVID 19, distribution has seen major changes. Festivals have taken place online and taken a big role in online screenings; does this influence the traditional way of theatrical releases? Virtual cinema came up opportunistically, but is there a role for it in the future? Sales agents and distributors saw opportunities in VOD platforms in need of content, but did they live up to these expectations? Following the fast adaptation to the ‘new normal’ by some bigger parties in the industry, this talk will address the lessons learned so far, the do’s and don’ts, what changes will remain and their sustainability.
Industry Talk: IDFA in conversation with DOC NYC
As DOC NYC comes to an end, Amsterdam’s documentary festival IDFA is just getting started. In this dialogue across continents, festival heads Orwa Nyrabia (IDFA) and Thom Powers (DOC NYC) discuss the phenomenon of international filmmakers turning their lens on the United States.
Industry Talk: Masterclass editing by Jacopo Quadri
Multitalented and renowned editor Jacopo Quadri will give a special masterclass on editing. As an editor, Quadri worked on films by Bernardo Bertolucci, Gianfranco Rosi, Mario Martone, Paolo Virzì, Marco Bechis, Francesca Archibugi, Zhang Yuan, Alessandro Rossetto, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and many others. Next to his work as an editor, he directed various experimental short films and full-length documentaries: Un posto al mondo (2000), La scuola d’estate (2014), and Il paese dove gli alberi volano (2015). For his feature length documentary, Lorello and Brunello, he received the Cipputi Award and
the Special Jury Mention at the Torino Film Festival in 2017. Since the death of his father Franco Quadri, he has managed his publishing house Ubulibri, specialized in books about theater. His latest film Ultimina has its world premiere at IDFA 2020.
Industry Talk: Talking about families. Tom Fassaert in conversation with Laura Plancarte HOSTED BY VIDEOLAND
While families are often associated with conviviality, support, and reliability, they can also be complicated, carry secrets, or be very outspokenly controversial. This can produce stories of all shapes and sizes; from social, political, criminal, to interpersonal stories. Director Laura Plancarte who has a background in visual and fine arts, has dealt with families and communities in her work, such as in the award-winning Hermanos (2017) and Tierra Caliente (2015). In her most recent film: Non Western, selected in IDFA’s Best of Fest section, follows a Native/Non Native couple in Montana, ahead of their wedding. We see the challenges their interracial family face, and through their struggles we witness an on-going chain of oppression, exploring how gender and identity issues affect different generations in Montana. In this session, Dutch director Tom Fassaert (A Family Affair, 2015) will talk with Laura Plancarte about her approach to the families in her films, and how she interweaves all this in her highly cinematographic work. How did the filming process influence the dynamics within the family or community? This session is hosted by Videoland. Videoland and IDFA join forces in the collaboration Videoland Academy.
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Industry Talk/IDFAcademy session: Finding and engaging with your audience in a digitally overloaded world
Since the world has began living in and out of lockdowns, new modes of outreach and participatory models of cinematic experiences have been emerging. In collaboration with arthouse cinemas or online platforms, collective cinema experiences have created new possibilities for filmmakers to reach out and engage with their online audience. We have seen the launch of initiatives that have designed a creative strategy to get or stay in touch with their audiences, and get their films to an even broader audience than ever before. Not only watching films, but also including a more active role for the online audience, participating in and even co-creating events. In this session, Sarah Mosses (Together Films) presents the changing landscape and the opportunities for filmmakers to innovate their outreach strategies; to get their films out in the world in ways they couldn’t have imagined before and engage with audiences who are in need for good stories.
Industry Talk: Masterclass by Florencia di Concilio HOSTED BY BUMA MUSIC IN MOTION
Florencia Di Concilio is a renowned composer with an extensive career in both fiction and documentary films. She started her career as a pianist before she focused on writing and composing. Armed with undeniable virtuosity, the fruit of many years of learning, Florencia Di Concilio offers a world of striking richness. Between the opera records of Italian grandparents and the melodies of a jazz and tango pianist father, the Uruguayan composer colors her music with a multitude of influences, allowing her work to appropriate the films without ever disguising their nature. She has an extensive career in fiction film and shines in documentaries like, Buddy by Heddy Honigmann, Becoming Zlatan, and Love Hotel. Florencia Di Concilio has established herself as one of the strong figures of the new generation.
Industry Talk: Simone Bitton on her career as a filmmaker HOSTED BY LASCAM
Born in Morocco in 1955, Simone Bitton is the author and director of numerous documentary films that have contributed to a better understanding of the current events, history, and cultures of North Africa and the Middle East. Her commitment is also one of formal rigor and artistic exigency. Her work has been selected and awarded in many prestigious festivals and several of his films are considered as reference works and are regularly re-broadcast. Since 2014, she has worked as an associate professor in the film studies department of the University of Paris 8 (Vincennes-Saint-Denis). Bitton’s last film, Ziyara, has its world premiere at IDFA 2020, in the Masters selection. LaScam is the French-speaking society for documentary authors.
Industry Talk: Documentary Art in all the wrong places
With traditional exhibition venues and physical festivals hampered by a global pandemic, filmmakers and new media artists are exploring new platforms online and in public spaces. But if the last six months have taught us anything, it is that Zoom and Netflix are not the only answer. How are filmmakers and new media artists creatively responding to this challenge? What can filmmakers and artists from the interactive and immersive field learn from each other? How can we create new types of documentary experiences inside our living room, on a smartphone, in virtual reality or outside in public space? How can they inspire new formats and even inspire audiences to see public space, the internet, and the physical world in a different light?
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Industry Talk: The current VOD world – Beyond the ‘Comfort Zone’ of Doc Buyers Particularly since COVID-19, various international streamers started buying more, including wider genres–beyond their usual comfort zone–to try to meet consumer appetites. Correspondingly, the time may be right for you to go beyond your own comfort zone of docs buyers–and beyond just the Big Name streamers–to explore competitors or complementary VODs. Digital sector expert Wendy Bernfeld of Rights Stuff will give an overview of various platforms beyond just Netflix/Amazon types, across different licensing windows & business models (TVOD/ SVOD/AVOD/etc.) with appetite for docs, indie film, and foreign language titles. She will also highlight some pragmatics, such as outreach, rights, and deals. Lastly, she will touch on Originals funding, including flexible formats trends e.g. short form episodic, X-platform.
Industry Talk: Reframing the Archive
HOSTED BY THE NETHERLANDS INSTITUTE FOR SOUND AND VISION
A talk about reframing the collections of archives through artistic and institutional perspectives and narratives. We examine different instruments and examples by artists and institutes, and we discuss the unavoidable challenges of working with existing collections and structures. The conversation will address topics of absence and exclusion in collections and ways to achieve more inclusive archives for the future. Through works that use existing collections and works that democratize and expand the archive, we will talk about the range and availability of contemporary archives. Together with the institutes, the filmmakers discuss questions that arise when selecting and expanding the collection of a national archive, and how to include different perspectives that reflect the diversity in society, so that archives can be used and deployed as a source of contemporary debate and discourse.
Meetups The Industry Hub hosts a diverse range of meetups which mostly include the delegation pitches and other networking programs.
Industry Meetup: Meet the Chilean Delegation
Meet the newest and strongest Chilean projects that are looking for international partners. Get to know emerging & experienced filmmakers & producers with powerful stories & proposals. Organized by Chiledoc & Chilean Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage.
Industry Meetup: IDFA Producers Network
The Producers Network is the key industry event for producers looking for new international co-production partners. The event brings together producers from all over the world through one-on-one meetings and informal gatherings in break out rooms. It is a great opportunity to meet a large number of the producers attending the festival online. During the event several countries will present the possibilities of co-producing, producers will take part in pre-arranged one-on-one meetings and when not having meetings they can meet in one of the break out rooms. The meetings are tailor-made and scheduled to best interest of the producers.
Industry Meetup: Meet the Polish Delegation
ITA – Italian Trade Agency and Doc/it invite you to meet the Italian producers’ delegation during a pitching session of selected projects.
Sun, the opening film of IDFA this year, is her second feature documentary, a project with which she previously participated in the IDFAcademy Summer School. The film lucidly contrasts the hot, arid atmosphere of Paraguay’s Chaco region with the devastating stories of the Ayoreo people, an Indigenous community violently uprooted from their ancestral territory by white missionaries. Between past and present, forest and desert, folk songs and church hymns, it lays bare the raw emotions of the human condition, seen through a culture on the brink of disappearing, but not without a voice. Moderated by Orwa Nyrabia, IDFA’s Artistic Director.
Industry Meetup: Meet the Ukrainian Delegation
Filmmaker Talk: Gianfranco Rosi
POLISH DOCS PRO showcase presenting Polish creative documentary projects in progress. It consists of the pitching of the projects developed at DOC LAB POLAND program. The presentation is followed by the individual meetings with the decision makers
Industry Meetup: Meet the Italian Delegation
In this challenging year, Docudays UA is proud to bring the Ukrainian delegation to IDFA. The carefully curated showcase of 5 projects ready to meet international partners offers a glimpse into new developments in the Ukrainian creative documentary landscape.
Industry Meetup: Meet DAE - The new pan-European Documentary Association
Join the DAE team to know more about the new association and how to interact with us. We will give a quick rundown of what we’ve been up to since February, share what is coming, and want to hear your ideas and expectations for our future planning. DAE is a new, pan-European association for European documentary professionals to strengthen the industry, unite the community and create sustainable support for the genre with contemporary approaches and an international vision. DAE is primarily a member’s network made up of professionals working in the non-fiction film industry with the goal of strengthening and growing their networks, creating an abundance of opportunities, and protecting their interests on a pan-European and international level. The second concern of the association is to create resources, programming, and events to solidify these primary interests. How to be involved in our activities? Please visit our website for more information: www.dae-europe.org With Brigid O’Shea & Marion Schmidt, Volunteer Co-Directors.
Industry Meetup: Upcoming Catalan Docs
Feminism, education, cyber hacking, non-future-outsiders… it’s time for powerful gazes in these turbulent times. Come meet our filmmakers and their films.
Filmmaker Talks Filmmaker Talks are a series of conversations with renowned documentary directors: inspirational, hour-long talks covering their body of work, creative methods, and views on documentary filmmaking, illustrated with excerpts from their own films. This year, IDFA is honored to welcome Ulrike Ottinger, Sandra Madi, Gianfranco Rosi, Firouzeh Khosrovani and Arami Ullón, among others, to take the stage. The Filmmaker Talks will be available online in the Talks Library 24 hours after the live shows.
Filmmaker Talk: Arami Ullón
Paraguayan-Swiss director Arami Ullón (1978) is writer, director, and producer of the award-winning documentary El Tiempo Nublado, which was selected for more than 70 international festivals and was the first Paraguayan entry for the Oscars. Ullón’s work is strongly focused on Paraguayan reality. Nothing but the
Extensive conversation with director and IDFA’s Guest of Honor Gianfranco Rosi. Orwa Nyrabia, Artistic Director of IDFA, talks to Rosi about his new film Notturno and his earlier films, as well as the films that helped shape him, using excerpts from his own and his Top 10 favorite films. Rosi is the only filmmaker to win top awards at two A-list festivals with documentary films, the Golden Lion at Venice with Sacro GRA in 2013 and the Golden Bear at the Berlinale with Fire at Sea in 2016. He is one of the few filmmakers who has found the way to balance accessibility and commercial success with a highly demanding artistic language, and as such is a key figure in the “Golden Age of Documentary” that we are living in. Although he made only six films, his approach resulted in masterpieces that provide a unique view of society. In addition to Rosi’s retrospective, IDFA presents a Top 10 of Rosi’s favorite films.
Filmmaker Talk: Ulrike Ottinger
From 1962 to 1968 Ulrike Ottinger (1942) lived and worked as a visual artist in Paris. Since 1973 her main place of residence has been Berlin. She has made numerous well-known films, including Madame X – An Absolute Ruler, Ticket of No Return, Dorian Gray in the Mirror of the Boulevard Press, South East Passage and Chamisso’s Shadow. She writes, directs, and operates the camera herself on all her films. Her works have received numerous awards and have been honored at the most important international festivals, retrospectives and exhibitions, including the Cinémathèque française and Centre Pompidou in Paris, the MoMA in New York, a.o. Ottinger is a member of the Akademie der Künste Berlin and Munich, and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2019. Ottinger’s latest documentary Paris Calligrammes is selected for IDFA’s Masters section this year. Moderated by writer Pamela Cohn.
Filmmaker Talk: New Perspectives on AfricanEuropean Relations HOSTED BY UNIFRANCE
Special Filmmaker Talk with a panel of filmmakers of French co-produced films from Africa, focusing on their experience as filmmakers and how their films are rethinking African-European relations in a broader context. France and other European countries are actively participating in co-productions for films coming from regions of our world where intellectual freedom is not necessarily guaranteed, borders restrict movements, and colonial heritage of bygone centuries are encoded in their culture and lives. Here we encounter films that provoke change to outdated power relations in our societies, culture, and minds. How are these films and filmmakers negotiating the future of African-European relations? The panel consists of three filmmakers with films in the IDFA program this year: Myriam Bakir (Mothers - Competition for Mid-Length Documentary), Mohamed Said Ouma (Red Card - Luminous), and Dieudo Hamadi (Downstream to Kinshasa Masters). Moderated by Tessa Boerman.
Filmmaker Talk: Sandra Madi
Sandra Madi (Jordan, 1976) is a film director, actress, producer, and writer. She has 20 plays on her record and toured many Arab countries and Europe with them. She gave theater workshops, and was awarded best actress at several international theater festivals. She worked as a radio presenter, and as director and producer with many local and international production companies. After graduating from the Arab Institute of Film in December 2006, she established Red Carbon Productions in Amman, a company with which she produced many films, TV programs, and commercials. Her films Detention Camp (2011), Naher Al Bared Speaks (2013) and SAKEN (2014), among others, were selected for numerous international festivals and received several awards. Madi’s latest film Heaven Beneath My Feet is selected for IDFA’s Best of Fests section this year. Moderated by writer Pamela Cohn.
Filmmaker Talk: Firouzeh Khosrovani
Born in Tehran, Firouzeh Khosrovani settled in Italy to pursue her artistic studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan. She made her debut as a filmmaker with Life Train (2004), a documentary on the ‘play’ therapy. In 2007 she directed Rough Cut, which won thirteen international festival awards, followed by Cutting Off in 2008, an installation and video art piece for the museum of Triennale di Milano. After, she made numerous films and participated in different documentary projects: 1001 Irans (2010), Espelho Meu (2011), Unveiled and Veiled Again (2012), Profession: Documentarist (2014) and Fest of Duty (2014). Her latest film Radiograph of a Family (2020), a pre- and post-revolutionary story of the daughter of a secular father and a devout Muslim mother living under one roof, is selected for IDFA’s Feature-Length Competition this year. Moderated by writer Pamela Cohn.
Public Talks During the festival, we offer an extensive talks program to immerse you in the art of documentary filmmaking. Whereas our Industry Program includes various talks and meetups exclusively for professional guests, public Talks are open to all visitors. These Talks will be available online in the Talks library 24 hours after the live screenings. You can watch a selection of films of the IDFA 2020 program on demand in the The Press and Industry library. Please note that all films premiering at IDFA will be available online, at the same time as their premiere in the theater.
Gorbachev. Heaven + Talk
A conversation with journalist Derk Sauer and director Vitaly Manksi about the legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the former Soviet Union. How do they look back on his perestroika and glasnost policies, that led to the break-up of the country?
Downstream to Kinshasa + Talk
A conversation with director Dieudo Hamadi about the making of his film, the importance of commemorating the devastating impact of war, of justice, but above all the resilience of war victims, and the dangerous journey across the Congo River that he embarked on with some of them.
Gunda + Talk
A conversation with journalist Derk Sauer and director Victor Kossakovsky about his film, his choice to portray pig Gunda this way, on vegetarianism, and the human treatment of animals. What are the ethical dilemmas associated with eating meat? And how did the collaboration with Gunda go?
El Father Plays Himself + Talk A conversation with director Mo Scarpelli about the making of this documentary, a making-of the film La Fortaleza by Jorge Thielen Armand. Jorge will also be participating in the conversation. How do both directors relate to each other when reality and fiction intertwine?
Le temps perdu + Talk
A conversation with director Maria Alvarez about her film and Proust’s classic novel, which is embraced by the book club in her film. In what way is the original text reflected in the stories of those portrayed, and in what way did it shape the film?
White Cube + Talk
A conversation with director Renzo Martens and the CATPC art center in Congo over livestream. Derk Sauer will talk with them about the high-profile project that examines the relationship between colonialism and the art world.
Zero + Talk
A conversation with director Kazuhiro Soda and producer Kiyoko Kashiwagi, about their collaboration, why they returned to the clinic in Okayama where they previously made Mental, and how the loving story of psychiatrist Masatomo and his patients reflects on their own relationship.
White Noise + Talk hosted by De Groene Amsterdammer
A conversation with director Daniel Lombroso and Jaap Tielbeke, editor of De Groene Amsterdammer. How did he manage to get so close to the leaders of the alt-right movement? And what is his view of the rise of their extreme, racist ideas, and its impact on the US and beyond?
of the Year in 2018, because of her dedicated efforts to protect press freedom and cover the truth, despite the risk of facing violence and imprisonment.
Before the Dying of the Light + Talk
Curator Nat Muller talks to filmmaker Ali Essafi about his many years of research into North African film and video archives, and the thriving Moroccan film culture of the 1970s, which was ended by censorship and repression from the Moroccan regime.
Nardjes A. + Talk
A conversation with director Karim Aïnouz about the realization of his whirlwind film; a day in the life of the combative protester Nardjes, filmed on a smartphone. How does his film reflect the frustration of a new generation of Algerians?
Notes from the Underworld + Talk
A conversation with directors Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, about their intriguing film and the in-depth research that preceded it. How do you bring the Viennese underworld from the sixties to life, using only static, black-and-white interviews with leading figures of the time?
Morning Star + Talk - Oxfam Novib Selection
A conversation with director Nantanaina Lova and producer Eva Lova-Bely. Bahram Sadeghi talks to them about the music culture of South-West Madagascar and the role that ancestors play in the activism against large multinationals that threaten the living environment and livelihoods of the local community.
MLK/FBI + Talk
A conversation with director Sam Pollard about his cinematic investigation into the highly questionable methods and motives of the FBI in the surveillance of Martin Luther King. A film in which Pollard expands on his extensive oeuvre, which focuses on exploring the history of American racial relations.
War and Peace + Talk
A conversation with directors Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti about their intriguing reflection on the relationship between image and conflict; the history of cinema and how it has been entwined with the emergence of a certain war aesthetic, be it propaganda or pacifist.
Arica + Talk - Oxfam Novib Selection
A conversation with directors Lars Edman and William Johansson Kalén about their film and the role of activism in their work. How does film contribute to addressing the toxic waste disaster in Arica, Chile; to help provide justice for victims, and to sue the Swedish multinational corporation responsible?
Epicentro + Talk
A conversation with Hubert Sauper about the history of bustling Cuba, which, as the geographic center of the American continents, is and frequently has been the battleground of imperialist forces and foreign influences. How does his cinematic portrait relate to the reality of Cuba’s resilient inhabitants?
Inside the Red Brick wall + Talk hosted by De Groene Amsterdammer
A conversation with the directors, who remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. Margreet Fogteloo, editor of De Groene Amsterdammer, talks to them about the film, recent political developments in Hong Kong, and the repressive regime in China. What does the future hold for Hong Kong and its residents?
Oeconomia + Talk hosted by De Groene Amsterdammer
A conversation with Diederik Baazil from De Groene Amsterdammer and economist Dirk Bezemer about our financial system and the inherent focus on economic growth, which is unbridled but also appears unsustainable. Where does this urge for growth come from and what are the alternatives?
The New Gospel + Talk hosted by the European Cultural Foundation
A conversation with the renowned, controversial director and theater maker Milo Rau and activist Yvan Sagnet, who plays the role of Jesus in the film. Friso Wiersum from ECF talks to them about interweaving fiction and documentary, political realities, and biblical myths.
She Had a Dream + Talk hosted by Mama Cash
A conversation with director Raja Amari and Zohra Moosa (director of Mama Cash) about the fight for women’s emancipation and against racism in a country where much has changed since the Arab Spring, but where democracy is still young and fragile. What is the role of young activists?
Nemesis + Talk
A conversation with director Thomas Imbach about the process of making his film, which he filmed from his living room window over the course of seven years. How do you shape a layered, cinematographic whole with those limitations?
A Thousand Cuts + Talk Oxfam Novib Selection
The screening is followed by a conversation with director Ramona Diaz and journalist Maria Ressa, whose work is being impeded by the authoritarian president of the Philippines, Duterte. Ressa was honored by TIME as Person
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Supporting powerful documentary films and extraordinary filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe
IDFA Bertha Fund - Classic
IDFA Bertha Fund - Europe
Funding opportunities for documentary filmmakers and producers living and working in IBF supported regions.
Funding opportunities for producing and distributing documentary films realized through international co-productions.
Development: Production of research trailer. Production & post-production: For all stages of production & post-production. Deadlines: 10 December 2020, 10 June 2021
Entry forms, regulations, and guidelines on how to submit are available on www.idfa.nl/idfaberthafund Contact: idfaberthafund@idfa.nl
International co-production: Feature-length documentary films with potential to reach a global audience. Deadline: 1 April 2021 Distribution of international co-productions: Inventive distribution plans with global impact. Deadline: open continuously from December 2020 until October 2021 Applications need to be submitted by a European partner.
The Netherlands Film Fund + IDFA Bertha Fund Co-production Scheme Funding opportunities for the realization of international documentary co-productions. Feature-length documentary films which have previously been supported by IDFA Bertha Fund are eligible. Deadline: 8 March 2021
Radiograph of a Family
FILMS A-Z 2020 Now in its 33rd year, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam offers an independent and inspiring meeting place for audiences and professionals to see a diverse and high-quality program. IDFA offers an alternative to mass entertainment and uniformity, confirming that there is an increasing need for high-quality films that delve deep and urge us to reflect. Documentary Film The creative documentary film is IDFA’s point of departure. These are films that are visually striking and express the filmmaker’s vision. The filmmaker makes artistic choices in the use of cinematic language to convey his or her vision. This artistic approach is the festival’s most crucial selection criterion—originality, stylistic coherence, and cultural, political and/or historical value play an important role as well.
Films pitched at IDFA Forum in previous years
GUEST OF HONOR The cinematic oeuvre of Gianfranco Rosi consists of six masterpieces that provide a distinctive view on society. His deeply humane point of view remains consistently clear through his unique documentary method, and we are overjoyed to welcome Rosi as our Guest of Honor at IDFA 2020.
Films supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund
Gianfranco Rosi’s TOP 10 Every year IDFA’s Guest of Honor compiles their Top 10 favorite films that inspired them. This year Gianfranco Rosi presents his Top 10, a selection that forms a nomadic journey through his world of cinema.
10 Shorts by Vittorio De Seta
Vittorio De Seta Italy, 113 min In the 1950s, Vittorio De Seta documented the lives of south Italian fishermen, farmers, and mine workers in short films with no dialogue. He packed astonishing density of information into rhythmically edited scenes, like a poetanthropologist.
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Susana de Sousa Dias Portugal, 2009, 93 min The faces of political prisoners stare straight back at us from photos in dossiers from dictatorship-era Portugal as we hear their recollections. A powerfully eloquent and multi-awardwinning minimalist documentary.
Anna
Alberto Grifi, Massimo Sarchielli Italy, 1975, 225 min Two filmmakers take in the homeless, heavily pregnant 16-year-old Anna. This cinéma vérité classic is not only a depiction of the deeply divided Italy of the 1970s, but also a fascinating portrait of the dynamics between filmmaker and subject.
Films workshopped at one of IDFAcademy’s talent development programs
Banditi a Orgosolo
Vittorio De Seta Italy, 1961, 98 min Law-abiding shepherd Michele is falsely accused of murder. He flees, loses everything, and finds he’s left with no option but to commit a crime. A deeply authentic feature film with documentary elements.
A Bigger Splash
Jack Hazan United Kingdom, 1974, 105 min The camera is right there when the relationship of artist David Hockney and Peter Schlesinger implodes. A Bigger Splash was revolutionary in both its form–all the protagonists play themselves–and its frank representation of homosexual themes.
Francesco, Giullare di Dio
Roberto Rossellini Italy, 1950, 83 min Monks at the Nocere Inferiore monastery enact nine parables from the life of St. Francis. Both Pasolini and Truffaut declared this to be one of the best films ever made–and even the Vatican concurred with their judgement.
The Mouth of the Wolf
La bocca del lupo Pietro Marcello Italy, 2009, 76 min Melancholy pervades this unashamedly poetic film that’s difficult to pigeonhole. A raw but lyrical portrait of an extraordinary couple–ex-criminal Enzo and transgender Maria–in the port city of Genoa.
Los Olvidados
Luis Buñuel Mexico, 1950, 81 min This intensively researched film by director Luis Buñuel gives a surrealistic twist to Italian neo-realism, such as in his well-known dream scene. This masterpiece dissects the destructive impact of poverty on young slum dwellers in Mexico City.
Route One/USA
Robert Kramer England, France, Italy, 1989, 255 min This documentary-fiction hybrid travels with two men on their way from the north of America to the south, along the east coast and through the nation’s history. Their guiding theme is the 2,300-mile highway U.S. Route 1.
India: Matri Bhumi
Roberto Rossellini Italy, France, 1959, 90 min A journey in India in 1959, a time when modernization was replacing nature and spirituality. The life stories of two ordinary Indians illustrate the rapacious march of progress, with comments by Rossellini in his poetic voice-over.
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Gianfranco Rosi’s RETROSPETIVE Every year IDFA selects work from the oeuvre of the festival’s Guest of Honor. Six feature-films by Gianfranco Rosi will be shown during IDFA 2020.
Below Sea Level
Gianfranco Rosi United States, Italy, 2008, 115 min About 200 miles southeast of Los Angeles and 20 feet below sea level, a commune of outcasts lives in the middle of the desert. Gianfranco Rosi follows them at a suitable distance, letting the images and the people speak for themselves.
Boatman
Gianfranco Rosi Italy, United States, 1993, 57 min Filmed in black and white, this nonetheless vividly colorful travelogue captures a boat trip along India’s Ganges River. Scenes of locals bathing and ritual water burials combine to evoke the surreal and devotional atmosphere around the sacred river.
El Sicario, Room 164
Gianfranco Rosi United States, France, 2010, 84 min In the motel room where he once tortured and murdered, an anonymous hit man discusses his work for a Mexican drug cartel. His detailed account describes the mechanisms of organized crime and the dehumanization that comes with it.
Fire at Sea
Fuocoammare Gianfranco Rosi Italy, France, 2016, 108 min This urgently topical film shows the intersection of two worlds: everyday life on Lampedusa, and refugees arriving full of fear and anxiety on this small European island, so deceptively close to the African coast.
Notturno
Gianfranco Rosi Italy, France, Germany, 2020, 100 min An impressionistic report from the border regions of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. In his distinctively stunning style, Gianfranco Rosi shows the people’s resilience and miseries of everyday life in a region scarred by decades of conflict and oppression.
Sacro GRA
Gianfranco Rosi Italy, 2013, 93 min Rosi holed up in an invisible part of Rome: along the GRA, the freeway that loops around the city. His warmhearted, sometimes humorous portraits of lives lived in the shadow of progress won him the Golden Lion at the 2013 Venice Film Festival.
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
COMPETITIONS AND AWARDS
IDFA’s competition program is supported by Ammodo.
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary IDFA’s flagship competition presents titles from established filmmakers. From intense visual experiences to intimate portraits, a great diversity of style and form typifies the yearly selection. • IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary – € 20,000 (to be shared between Director and Producer) • IDFA Award for Best Director – € 5,000 • IDFA Award for Best Editing – € 2,500 • IDFA Award for Best Cinematography – € 2,500
Feature-Length Competition
Gorbachev. Heaven WP
Gorbačovs. Paradīze Vitaly Mansky Latvia, Czech Republic, 2020, 100 min A fascinating interview with former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev, one of the most influential figures of the last century, whose rule heralded the end of the Soviet Union. In an intimate setting, he gives his view of Russia then and now. Feature-Length Competition
The Grocer’s Son, the Mayor, the Village and the World... WP
Le fils de l’épiciere, le maire, le village et le monde... Claire Simon France, Belgium, 2020, 111 min In a one-street village in southern France, while some are harvesting or struggling with hail, others are creating an international streaming platform for independent documentaries. An inspiring tale of tenacity and idealism and their salutary effects. Feature-Length Competition
Inside the Red Brick Wall IP
Hong Kong Documentary Filmmakers Hong Kong, 2020, 88 min A candid account of the student protests that took place at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2019, culminating in a violent police crackdown. The journalistic reporting makes this feel like a compelling action movie. Feature-Length Competition Morning Star WP
Aza kivy Nantenaina Lova Madagascar, Reunion, 2020, 77 min Fishermen in Madagascar are alarmed when an Australian company threatens to turn their sacred beach into a harbor. Filmmaker Nantenaina Lova follows the passionate activists and paints an engaging portrait of the villagers who refuse to give in. Feature-Length Competition Nemesis IP
Thomas Imbach Switzerland, 2020, 131 min Zurich’s old railway station is making way for a giant prison, soon to be filled with rejected refugees. Their testimonies turn the spectacle of transformation, shot entirely from the filmmaker’s window, into a vision for our times.
Feature-Length Competition The New Gospel IP
Das neue Evangelium Milo Rau Germany, Switzerland, Italy, 2020, 107 min The story of the crucifixion of Jesus gains topical relevance in this docufictional film about alarming conditions for illegal farm workers in southern Italy. A convincing passion play, making-of film, and powerful statement against exploitation. Feature-Length Competition
Nothing but the Sun WP
Apenas el sol Arami Ullón Switzerland, Paraguay, 2020, 75 min For years, Mateo Sobode Chiqueno has been visiting Ayoreo communities in Paraguay with an antique cassette recorder to register conversations, stories, and songs of his people. This heritage contains the poignant testimonies of a disappearing culture. Feature-Length Competition Odoriko WP
Yoichiro Okutani Japan, United States, France, 2020, 114 min Odoriko are the dancers of the dying Japanese striptease theater. An intimate observation of the moments backstage when, stripped of their costumes, they chat, eat, and philosophize–until it’s time to get ready for the next act. Feature-Length Competition
Radiograph of a Family WP
Firouzeh Khosrovani Norway, Iran, Switzerland, 2020, 82 min Director Firouzeh Khosrovani is the daughter of a secular father and a devout Muslim mother, co-existing under one roof in Tehran. The Islamic Revolution took place in their home, affecting every corner of their family life. Feature-Length Competition Le temps perdu WP
El tiempo perdido Maria Alvarez Argentina, 2020, 102 min At a cafe in Buenos Aires, a group of aging Marcel Proust fans have been getting together for years to read In Search of Lost Time, the author’s sevenpart classic novel. This black-and-white film celebrates writing, reading, and bygone times. Feature-Length Competition War and Peace IP
Guerra e pace Massimo D’Anolfi, Martina Parenti Italy, Switzerland, 2020, 128 min Every day we can witness scenes from countless violent conflicts all over the world, through television, news sites, social media and newspaper images. This exciting, dreamlike film explores the intimate relationship between war and cinema. Feature-Length Competition, Dutch Competition White Cube WP
Renzo Martens Netherlands, Belgium, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2020, 78 min Congolese plantation workers set a new precedent: they successfully coopt the concept of the ‘white cube ‘ gallery space as a means to stop the commercial exploitation of their land by multinationals such as Unilever.
The Competition for First Appearance offers a strong selection of first feature-length documentary films that demonstrate excellence and present us with a career to follow up with. • IDFA Award for Best First Appearance – € 10.000 • FIPRESCI Award – € 5,000
First Appearance Competition 5 Houses WP
5 Casas Bruno Gularte Barreto Brazil, Germany, 2020, 85 min Twenty years after he left his hometown in the south of Brazil, a filmmaker returns. His portraits of five local people reawaken painful memories. A bitter yet tender look at the past. First Appearance Competition Divinations WP
Divinazioni Leandro Picarella Italy, France, 2020, 86 min A remarkable Sicilian fortune teller and tarot reader helps desperate clients with affairs of the heart, but has his own personal problems. A mysterious yet earthly portrait with fictional elements. First Appearance Competition
Everything Will Not Be Fine IP
Totul nu va fi bine Adrian Pirvu, Helena Maksyom Romania, Ukraine, 2020, 82 min The Chernobyl disaster caused Adrian’s near blindness in one eye. To give his life meaning, he makes a film about other people affected by this event. Falling in love with one of them changes everything, in this moving, candid journey of discovery. First Appearance Competition The Fifth Story WP
Ahmed Abd Qatar, Iraq, 2020, 90 min After decades of devastating war in Iraq, the horrors are still fresh in the minds of different generations. Their disturbing stories are filmed in a poetic style that also cautiously opens a door to beauty and contemplation. First Appearance Competition The First Woman WP
La primera mujer Miguel Eek Spain, 2020, 77 min After six years in a psychiatric institution, Eva will soon move on to assisted living, the next step to a ‘normal ‘ life. And then she has another dream: to reunite with the son she hasn’t been in contact with for ten years. First Appearance Competition The Last Hillbilly IP
Diane Sara Bouzgarrou, Thomas Jenkoe France, Qatar, 2020, 76 min All the preconceptions about his community are true, born-and-bred hillbilly Brian Ritchie admits. But there is much more to the life of the American mountain people, as we see in this poetic portrait imbued with musings about nature and legacy. First Appearance Competition Nan WP
Peng Zuqiang China, United States, 2020, 80 min An intimate portrait in which filmmaker Peng Zuqiang follows his uncle Nan and his elderly parents during the last years that the three live together. A warm and sometimes humorous ode to informal caregiving and the strength of family ties.
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Asmae El Moudir Morocco, 2020, 83 min Finding an old picture postcard of a mountain village marks the start of an existential journey for director Asmae El Moudir. She explores life in Zawia, Morocco, where her mother was born. First Appearance Competition
Showgirls of Pakistan WP
Saad Khan Pakistan, United States, 2020, 106 min People may regard the way Afreen, Uzma, and Reema earn their living as vulgar, but these Pakistani dancers hold their heads high despite the threats, censorship, and prejudice. An energypacked, taboo-busting record of a dynamic subculture. First Appearance Competition The Sky Is Red WP
El cielo está rojo Francina Carbonell Chile, 2020, 73 min The Santiago prison fire of 2010 left 81 inmates dead. This reconstruction reveals the vulnerability of prisoners when penal institutions are overfull and maladministration and corruption are the order of the day.
Mid-Length Competition
The Blue House WP
La maison bleue Hamedine Kane Belgium, Senegal, Cameroon, 2020, 56 min Alpha is an artist living in the Calais Jungle refugee encampment, where he has transformed his self-built cabin into an artwork. He calmly continues building and drawing, and becomes a local celebrity in this no man’s land. Mid-Length Competition A Boy WP
Mal’chik Vitaly Akimov Russia, 2020, 52 min 23-year-old Vitaly Akimov portrays his family in the shrinking Russian provincial town of Arsenyev. His tenyear-old nephew Stepan acts as a guide to this grim environment, appropriately filmed in black and white. Mid-Length Competition Diving Horses WP
Camille Grosperrin France, 2020, 60 min A wistful portrait of a small American amusement park long past its heyday. Despite the lack of visitors, amid all the faded glory, the staff still pins their hope on their top attraction, the High Diving Horse Show.
First Appearance Competition
This Rain Will Never Stop WP
Tsey doshch nikoly ne skinchytsia Alina Gorlova Ukraine, Latvia, Germany, Qatar, 2020, 102 min While navigating the human toll of armed conflict, war refugee and Red Cross volunteer Andriy tries to secure a sustainable future. A striking cinematographic account of the devastating impact of war. First Appearance Competition A Way Home WP
Dans la maison Karima Saïdi Belgium, Morocco, France, Qatar, 2020, 90 min Filmmaker Karima Saïdi’s mother has Alzheimer’s. Now, they turn their thoughts back in time together, for one last time. A poetic portrait of a complex mother-daughter relationship, renewed acquaintance, and a loving farewell.
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary The films in the Competition for MidLength Documentary are between 40 and 70 minutes long. These films stick to no predictable rules, abandon traditional conventions, and carve out a new space for imagination. • IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary – € 7,500
Mid-Length Competition Anny WP
Helena Třeštíková Czech Republic, 2020, 67 min For sixteen years Czech film veteran Helena Třeštíková followed Anny, who at the age of 46 took up sex work alongside her job as a restroom attendant. Always a smile, always a cigarette. In just one hour, we watch her life slip by. Mid-Length Competition
Before the Dying of the Light IP
Ali Essafi Morocco, 2020, 70 min This glittering collage of posters, magazine covers, archive footage, jazz music, and cartoons takes you back to the art scene of 1970s Morocco. It was a time of excitement about the future, but was extinguished by repression.
Mid-Length Competition
Green Bank Pastoral WP
Federico Urdaneta United Kingdom, 2020, 54 min In sleepy Green Bank there’s a huge radio telescope, which means Wi-Fi is officially prohibited. The offline village attracts a colorful procession of electrohypersensitive people who hope to find the Wi-Fi-free paradise they have been searching for. Mid-Length Competition Holy Bread WP
Nane e Moghadas Elaheh Nobakht, Rahim Zabihi Iran, 2020, 54 min A stark account of the highly dangerous work carried out by Kurdish kulbars: men who become human beasts of burden and carry extremely heavy loads across the Iranian border to support their families. Mid-Length Competition Mothers IP
Oumahat Myriam Bakir Morocco, France, 2020, 63 min In Morocco, unmarried women who become pregnant still risk criminal prosecution and social exclusion. The Oum El Banine association in Agadir, headed by 62-year-old feminist Mahjouba Edbouche, is there to support them. Mid-Length Competition Rebel Objects WP
Mid-Length Competition Ultimina WP
The Last One Jacopo Quadri Italy, 2020, 61 min More than 80 years after her birth in Tuscany farming country, Ultimina looks back on a tough life in which men have always been the boss. But that hasn’t quelled her energy and rebellious nature one bit. Mid-Length Competition The Wheel WP
Khurd Nomin Lkhagvasuren Mongolia, 2020, 52 min In Mongolia, a third of the population lives in poverty. Is that why the suicide rate is so high? Suicide survivors and family members of those who took their lives relate their circumstances, far removed from the freedoms of traditional nomadic life.
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary The best and brightest Dutch filmmakers compete in the IDFA Competition for Dutch documentary, including both well-known filmmakers and promising new talent. • IDFA Award for Best Dutch Documentary – € 7,500
Dutch Competition 100UP WP
Heddy Honigmann Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, 2020, 93 min Can you still be full of lust for life when you’re over 100? Absolutely! Despite declining health, the loss of loved ones, and concerns about the future of the world, the centenarians in this documentary portrait are eager for each new day. Dutch Competition Bruce WP
Daniel Krikke Netherlands, 2020, 48 min After years spent in institutions and prison, 27-year-old Bruce is looking for a way back into society. With the help of his aunt and best friend he learns, for the first time, to reflect on his habits, behavior, and feelings.
Dutch Competition
Here We Move Here We Groove WP
Sergej Kreso Netherlands, 2020, 92 min A stirring and hopeful musical story about building bridges with music. DJ Robert Soko, who came to fame with his Balkan Beats, embraces musical influences from newcomers in multicultural Europe. Dutch Competition
In His Image WP
Tami Ravid Netherlands, 2020, 72 min The stories of three Israeli mothers mourning their sons who died during military service. Using semen collected shortly after their sons’ deaths, they hope to have them live on in a posthumous grandchild. Dutch Competition Sheltered WP
Dierbaren Saskia Gubbels Netherlands, 2020, 73 min Tough and tender observations of the ups and downs at an animal shelter, where humans and animals alike find unconditional love. Not every story has a happy ending, but the caregivers keep on fighting–even for the total misfits. Dutch Competition
Silence of the Tides WP
Pieter-Rim de Kroon Netherlands, 2020, 103 min The passage of time is spellbinding in this cinematic tour de force about the Wadden Sea. A film that inhales and exhales along with the tides as it explores the fragile relationship between man and nature. Dutch Competition, Feature-Length Competition White Cube WP
Renzo Martens Netherlands, Belgium, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2020, 78 min Congolese plantation workers set a new precedent: they successfully coopt the concept of the ‘white cube ‘ gallery space as a means to stop the commercial exploitation of their land by multinationals such as Unilever.
Dutch Competition
Dealing with Death WP
Dood in de Bijlmer Paul Sin Nam Rigter Netherlands, 2020, 74 min Funeral director Anita is tasked with ensuring that the many cultures in the Bijlmer suburb of Amsterdam can all find their place at a proposed new funeral home. But the more she learns, the more she doubts her mission.
Objetos Rebeldes Carolina Arias Ortiz Costa Rica, Colombia, 2020, 69 min A personal film in which filmmaker Carolina Arias Ortiz returns to Costa Rica, the land of her youth. Research into the mysterious ancient stone spheres found here offer her a new perspective on her cultural and personal identity, and on death. Mid-Length Competition Silent Voice WP
Reka Valerik France, Belgium, 2020, 51 min Khavaj, a young Chechnyan martial arts fighter, is hiding in Belgium because of his sexual orientation. The traumas he’s been through caused him to lose his voice. Cut off from his family and far from home, his only option is to reinvent himself.
Bruce
First Appearance Competition The Postcard WP
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IDFA Competition for Short Documentary A selection of international short films compete in the IDFA Competition for Short Documentary, reflecting an aesthetic and remarkably bold approach to documentary filmmaking. • IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary – € 5,000
Short Competition
Short Competition
Esther Polak, Ivar van Bekkum Netherlands, 2020, 8 min After retiring, a man wants to return to the Caribbean island where he lived during his working life. However, advancing dementia ruins his idyllic plans. He moves there but never really arrives.
Marlén Viñayo El Salvador, 2020, 36 min Geovanny became a gang member and a murderer when he was 12. In prison, he joined an evangelical church that lavished God’s forgiveness on him. However, one sin is unforgivable for both the gang and the church: Geovanny is gay.
Lost on Arrival WP
Unforgivable EP
Short Competition
Made for Walking WP The Big-Headed Boy, Shamans & Samurais WP
Bibhusan Basnet, Pooja Gurung Nepal, France, 2020, 38 min An intriguing travelogue by two filmmakers who go in search of actors in a remote Nepalese mountain village. The grainy black-and-white images allude to archive footage and ethnographic films, but in the commentary we get to hear the real story. Short Competition The Bodies WP
Os corpos Eloy Domínguez Serén Spain, 2020, 11 min A compelling visit to the traditional Carnival in Galicia, in northwestern Spain, just ten days before the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the region–adding another layer of significance to the nighttime scenes of the partying crowd. Short Competition
Burnt. Land of Fire IP
Grigio. Terra bruciata Ben Donateo Switzerland, Italy, 2020, 15 min All the senses are engaged in this meticulously composed landscape film about the depopulation of the southern Italian countryside. The deafening chirping of crickets fills the otherwise deserted, barren fields. The emptiness is almost palpable. Short Competition
Hotel Astoria IP
Alina Cyranek, Falk Schuster Germany, 2020, 28 min Memories of the renowned Hotel Astoria in Leipzig in the days of the GDR are brought to life in a mix of archive footage and animation. Although the Stasi were always watching, former staff and guests also remember this place with nostalgia. Short Competition
A Little Bit of Paradise WP
Troche raju Andrzej Cichocki Poland, 2020, 19 min Beautiful details of the everyday life of a Silesian family in a remote corner of Poland. Living on the outskirts of the city, their world is inextricably linked with the nature around them.
Short Competition Nenad IP
Mladen Bundalo Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020, 22 min As an emigrant, Mladen Bundalo still feels drawn to his native country, no matter how much Bosnia and Herzegovina has changed. As he follows the life of Nenad, who is also about to emigrate, he explains his dilemmas with poetic precision. Short Competition One Day WP
Yi tian Jiang Jin China, 2020, 23 min We follow an elderly man walking along a misty mountain path in China. Filmed in a refreshingly understated style, his journey opens up a space for philosophical reflection about what we do with our time. Short Competition
Same/Different/Both/ Neither WP
Igual/Diferente/Ambas/Nenhuma Fernanda Pessoa, Adriana Barbosa Brazil, United States, 2020, 19 min During lockdown, two girlfriends exchange video letters between São Paulo and Los Angeles. They experiment with image, text, and sound, sharing poetic inspirations and everyday realities. Short Competition
To Calm the Pig Inside EP
Ang pagpakalma sa unos Joanna V Arong Philifpines, 2020, 19 min Filipino filmmaker Joanna Vasquez Arong looks back at the devastation that Typhoon Haiyan wreaked in her country. In just 19 minutes she tells a remarkably sensitive, personal and rich story.
Hiljaisuus Saara Hakkarainen Finland, 2020, 15 min ‘How would you feel if you were never able to embrace your own sexuality? ‘ Aleksi has been struggling for years with pedophilic feelings. This sincere and honest hybrid film offers glimpses into his heartrending loneliness. Student Competition
The Snow Calls WP IDFA Competition for Student Documentary The filmmakers of the future are already here… with a fresh view of the world, and of filmmaking. All selected for the IDFA Competition for Student Documentary have in common that they are searching for a cinematic signature. • IDFA Award for Best Student Documentary – € 5,000
Student Competition Boyi-biyo WP
Boyi-biyo – Double poumon Anne Bertille Vopiande Ndeysseit Central African Republic, France, 2020, 28 min Shilo and his family in the Central African Republic can barely get by on what he earns as a meat ‘pusher‘ (courier). Despite the many obstacles, he still dreams of a career as a marathon runner. Student Competition Dusk WP
Félhomály Bálint Bíró Hungary, Belgium, Portugal, 2020, 21 min An ominous documentary viewing a global theme from the perspective of a small Hungarian community. A ‘landguard ‘ and his son go on patrol in the border area near Serbia, where an invisible danger looms. Student Competition
Hello Grandma WP
Halo babciu Kamila Chojnacka Poland, 2020, 29 min The intimate record of a family’s life in lockdown. Filmmaker Kamila Chojnacka lives with her toddler and husband in their small home. News reports and telephone conversations with her grandmother form fragile connections to the outside world. Student Competition
I Don’t Feel at Home Anywhere Anymore WP Viv Li Belgium, China, 2020, 16 min A wistful but witty account of a trip to Beijing by filmmaker Viv Li, a Chinese art student who has been living abroad for ten years. Her stay with her family mercilessly exposes how uprooted she has become by her life abroad. Student Competition
The Perfect Picture WP
Hala El Kouch Lebanon, 2020, 31 min Filmmaker Hala El Kouch creates a therapy session setting to confront her parents about a traumatic event. Photos of a happy family accompany a conversation that takes an unexpected turn. Has permanent damage been done to the perfect picture?
Unforgivable
Short Competition
400 paires de bottes Hélène Baillot, Raphael Botiveau France, 2020, 18 min Wading through knee-high snow in the mountains separating France and Italy, young West-Africans venture clandestinely across the border at night. Then they hand back the boots they received from volunteers so that the next person can cross.
Student Competition Silence WP
Barf minamad Marjan Khosravi Iran, 2020, 49 min After bearing three daughters, Mina has one more chance: her next child has to be a boy, or her husband will marry another woman. A painful and intimate portrait of the tension between love and tradition. Student Competition Storgetnya WP
Hovig Hagopian France, 2020, 22 min The tunnels of an Armenian salt mine, 230 meters below the Earth’s surface, are home to an unusual kind of health center: a speleotherapy clinic. This magical-realistic graduation film follows the perpetual goings-on here without commentary. Student Competition Tábor WP
Stanislav Danylyshyn Germany, United States, 2020, 45 min A calmly observed black-and-white impression of daily life in one of Ukraine’s largest Roma communities. In richly textured monochrome we see the seemingly archetypal figures of mother, father, and child as they carry on a timeless way of life. Student Competition
Ugoku Tokai — Moving City WP Ugoku Tokai Lars Ostmann Germany, 2020, 96 min A young man’s essayistic exploration of Tokyo’s varied rhythms. Guided by his musings and a map, we search the downtown streets, the suburbs, and the surrounding countryside for answers to life’s questions. Student Competition
The Way We Wait IP
Ji-Yoon Park United Kingdom, South Korea, 2020, 11 min While the filmmaker’s grandmother is in the hospital, on the seashore an apartment building is being sculpted from sand, but the sea is already starting to wash away its foundations. Sensitive observations about the vulnerability and insecurities of life.
IDFA Competition for Kids & Docs IDFA takes young audiences seriously, offering them the best and most entertaining documentary films in the IDFA Competition for Kids & Docs. • IDFA Award for Best Children’s Documentary – € 5,000
Kids & Docs Competition At Eleven IP
A los once Carolina Admirable García Mexico, 2020, 22 min Disarming excerpts from video diaries offer intimate glimpses into the lives of two bubbly Mexican girls, on the cusp of puberty. Lots of what these two best girlfriends do and experience is universal, but not everything.
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Kids & Docs Competition, do {not} touch Cabinets of Wonder WP
Meine Wunderkammern Susanne Kim Germany, 2020, 15 min In this virtual reality experience you enter three fantasy worlds of children who feel out of place in the real world. Glide along a river in Cameroon, dive underwater with a mermaid, and explore a planet with guinea pigs and a talking machine. Kids & Docs Competition
Cut the Chit Chat
Dormant
On fait salon Léa Forest France, 2019, 27 min Léa Forest talks to barbershop customers, boys aged between 12 and 18. Even the toughest looking guys give candid answers to forthright questions about love, sex, grief, and what it’s like to be a man. Kids & Docs Competition
An Intermission WP
Edwin Mingard United Kingdom, 2020, 23 min Director Edwin Mingard worked with a group of young homeless people to portray their views on the world. In their short film we hear how they see contemporary Britain, as well as their collective story of abandonment and resilience. Kids & Docs Competition
Jano & Shiro, a Brother’s Journey WP
Els van Driel, Eefje Blankevoort Netherlands, 2020, 35 min An experimentally filmed account of the far-reaching consequences of Dutch asylum policy for Jano and Shiro, two brothers who fled from Syria. With music and editing at times reminiscent of a video clip. Kids & Docs Competition
My Family Is a Circus
Circus zonder tent Nina Landau Belgium, 2020, 16 min A Belgian girl performs with her circus family in France for a summer. In letters to classmates she relates her experiences, her life as a circus performer, and her big dreams for the future. Kids & Docs Competition Our Road IP
La nostra strada Pierfrancesco Li Donni Italy, 2020, 70 min A coming-of-age portrait about the final school year of young people in a poor neighborhood of Palermo. There’s a stark contrast between their dreamy childhood world and the harsh realities around them. Kids & Docs Competition
Radio Felix
Lauranne Van den Heede Belgium, 2020, 16 min A lucid youth documentary about a school-age boy with autism. Felix makes serious radio items about world problems that symbolize the chaos, loneliness, and conflict he experiences on an average day. Kids & Docs Competition Seahorse IP
Nele Dehnenkamp Germany, 2020, 16 min Fleeing from IS five years ago, Hanan crossed the Mediterranean in a rubber dinghy that almost sank. Now she has become a swimming teacher, using this newfound skill as her way of dealing with the traumatic memories.
Kids & Docs Competition Shadegan EP
Ako Salemi Iran, 2019, 15 min A beautiful observation of 12-yearold Milad, who spends his days in the Shadegan Wetlands of Iran. Life seems unhurried, and in close contact with nature, but here too the threat of drought and pollution looms. Kids & Docs Competition
Skies Above Hebron WP
Esther Hertog, Paul King Netherlands, 2020, 55 min This coming-of-age story follows the lives of three Palestinian boys from Hebron over five years. How do they cope in an environment where their freedom is constantly being curtailed by Israeli settlers and soldiers? Kids & Docs Competition TicToc EP
Mark Adam Waters United Kingdom, 2020, 23 min Felix, a 16-year-old boy with Tourette’s syndrome, allows us into his world. What he finds especially hard to deal with is the misunderstanding he often encounters. His mission is to raise awareness about the reality of Tourette’s. Kids & Docs Competition
Trio
Zu Dritt Benjamin Bucher, Agnese Làposi Switzerland, France, 2020, 24 min Friendship, exclusion, obsessions, and insecurities: Trio shows what happens beyond the organized educational activities at a school camp and captures the familiar moments of three adolescents on their way to adulthood.
IDFA Competition for Creative Use of Archive The IDFA Competition for Creative Use of Archive made possible by The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (Beeld en Geluid) pays tribute to one of the pillars of documentary filmmaking, the archive, with the ReFrame Award. • Beeld en Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award € 5,000
Masters
Irradiated
Irradiés Rithy Panh Cambodia, France - 2020 - 87 min. Rithy Panh is unrelenting as we become witnesses to human evil in an overwhelming, three-screen meditation on the mechanisms of violence. These are the same all over the world, and they all cause the same unspeakable pain and distress. Masters
MLK/FBI EP
Digital Storytelling competition
24h Sunset/Sunrise v2 WP
Dries Depoorter, Shishani Vranckx Belgium, Netherlands - 2020 Two screens show a live sunrise and sunset taking place at the same time somewhere in the world, using images from unsecured surveillance cameras. A live soundscape underscores the beauty that is accidentally captured by surveillance. Mid-length Competition
Before the Dying of the Light IP
Ali Essafi Morocco - 2020 - 70 min. This glittering collage of posters, magazine covers, archive footage, jazz music, and cartoons takes you back to the art scene of 1970s Morocco. It was a time of excitement about the future, but was extinguished by repression. Luminous
Dormant WP
La vida dormida Natalia Labaké Argentina - 2020 - 74 min. The granddaughter of Argentinian lawyer and politician Juan Labaké makes subtle use of old and new home videos to shed light on the subordinate role of women in politics and society, against the backdrop of the politician’s rise in the 1990s. Best of Fests
The Foundation Pit
Kotlovan Andrey Gryazev Russia - 2020 - 70 min. This hard-hitting, found-footage film shows Russian citizens voicing their concerns and rage about Putin’s rule. Combined in this way, the clips constitute a powerful protest against a government that appears to have forgotten about its citizens.
Sam Pollard United States - 2020 - 106 min. A revealing documentary drawing on declassified documents released by the American government and the FBI that uncovers the steps taken by the intelligence service to bug Martin Luther King and discredit him. Masters
Paris Calligrammes
Ulrike Ottinger Germany, France - 2020 - 131 min. Portrait of the cultural circles director Ulrike Ottinger moved in when she arrived in 1960s Paris as an ambitious young artist from a small German town. Archive material and black-and-white footage captures the atmosphere of a turbulent period. Feature-Length Competition
Radiograph of a Family WP
Firouzeh Khosrovani Norway, Iran, Switzerland - 2020 82 min. Director Firouzeh Khosrovani is the daughter of a secular father and a devout Muslim mother, co-existing under one roof in Tehran. The Islamic Revolution took place in their home, affecting every corner of their family life. First Appearance Competition The Sky Is Red WP
El cielo está rojo Francina Carbonell Chile - 2020 - 73 min. The Santiago prison fire of 2010 left 81 inmates dead. This reconstruction reveals the vulnerability of prisoners when penal institutions are overfull and maladministration and corruption are the order of the day. paradocs
There Will Be No More Night Il n’y aura plus de nuit Éléonore Weber France - 2020 - 77 min. Helicopter pilots and gunners have to make complex decisions during their nighttime missions in war zones. An intense, topical documentary about the tension between observation and interpretation.
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Frontlight
Taking Back the Legislature EP
PROGRAM SECTIONS Frontlight
Frontlight
The 18 films selected for the noncompetitive section Frontlight encourage a deeper understanding of the world today, examining the zeitgeist from lesser-heard perspectives.
Jill Li Hong Kong, 2019, 179 min People living in the coastal village of Wukan, South China, spend years combating corruption among local administrators. But even after a new village council is elected, democracy remains a fragile process.
Frontlight Arica WP
Lars Edman, William Johansson Kalén Sweden, Chile, Belgium, Norway, United Kingdom, 2020, 97 min After the Swedish company Boliden dumped toxic waste in the Chilean desert town of Arica in 1984, thousands of local residents fell ill. In this sequel to Toxic Playground (2009), the filmmakers follow the lawsuit against the mining company.
Lost Course EP
Frontlight
The Magnitude of All Things IP Jennifer Abbott Canada, 2020, 85 min In a deeply personal film journey, director Jennifer Abbott (The Corporation) draws parallels between grief for the loss of a loved one and grief for what we are losing due to the climate crisis, and explores the relationship between sorrow and hope. Frontlight
Frontlight
Brazil Is Thee Haiti Is (T)here IP O que Há em Ti Carlos Adriano Brazil, 2020, 16 min This unsettling, associative film poem uses material that includes shocking archive footage to expose the links between the current Brazilian government and bloody incidents in Haiti involving the UN peace mission in 2005 and 2006.
Mission: Hebron WP
HaMesima: Hebron Rona Segal Israel, 2020, 22 min A revealing account by young Israeli ex-soldiers of their mission in Hebron. Their rare, candid testimonies paint a shocking picture of the oppression of Palestinian civilians, humiliation, and needless violence. How do they feel about it now?
Hong Kong Documentary Filmmakers Hong Kong, 2020, 47 min In Hong Kong, protesters filmed the storming of the Legislative Council Complex in 2019, resulting in this turbulent and compelling visual account. Their emotional discussions reveal what is at stake for these young people.
Klassen Ester Gould, Sarah Sylbing Netherlands, 2020, 50 min This series on the fight for equal opportunities in Dutch education follows pupils in Amsterdam in their last year of primary school. At 11, they receive a recommendation that will determine the level of their future education. But is that fair? Frontlight
Dear Elnaz WP
Elnaz Jan Mania Akbari Canada, Iran, United Kingdom, 2020, 85 min Elnaz died in an air disaster on January 8, 2020, when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran shot down the passenger plane she was in. Her husband gives full vent to his grief and rage in this fittingly unpolished film. Frontlight
In My Skin IP
Dentro da minha pele Toni Venturi Brazil, 2020, 86 min A powerful impression of deep-rooted everyday racism in Brazil. The film is a superbly composed blend of interview clips, poetry, music, historical material, and reflections of the white filmmaker. Frontlight
Landfall EP
Cecilia Aldarondo United States, 2020, 94 min When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, the island was already deep in debt. Landfall is a multilayered portrait of the aftermath of a double disaster, and the anger of the residents. Meanwhile, newcomers see financial opportunities.
20
Ndagukunda déjà WP
Sébastien Desrosiers, David Findlay Canada, Rwanda, 2020, 21 min Sébastien Desrosiers knows hardly anything about Rwanda, where his father was born. In this intimate and personal film, he goes in search of his roots, exactly 25 years after the genocide against the Tutsis. Frontlight
The Okrestin Sisters WP
Syostry Okrestina Kolya Kuprich / Belarus Free Theatre Belarus, 2020, 15 min The Belarus Free Theatre exposes the abuses at the Okrestin prison in Minsk, where detainees await their appearance in court. A disturbing chapter in the long campaign to remove Europe’s last dictator. Frontlight
The Rebellion of Memory IP
La rebelión de la memoria Daniel Yépez Brito Ecuador, 2020, 21 min A large number of smartphone videos, punctuated by cinematic shots and news footage, offer a dynamic perspective on both the unrest and the solidarity during mass demonstrations in Ecuador in 2019. Frontlight
She Had a Dream WP
Raja Amari France, 2020, 90 min Ghofrane Binous is a charismatic figure who became politically active during the Tunisian national elections. In a class-based society with mostly men at the helm, this young, Black, workingclass woman has plenty of obstacles to overcome.
Atardi — The Life of Curaçao’s Musical Genius Rudy Plaate IP
Selwyn de Wind Curaçao, 2020, 120 min A chronological homage to singersongwriter Rudy Plaate, who was born in his beloved Curaçao in 1937. Now that the ‘singing greengrocer ‘ has dementia, his family and friends tell the story of his colorful life with the help of archive material.
Frontlight
A Thousand Cuts EP
Ramona Diaz United States, 2020, 98 min A vivid portrait of intrepid journalist and CEO Maria Ressa. Despite slander and threats, she continues to deploy her steely yet modest personality in the fight against the populist Filipino leader Duterte. Frontlight
We Are the Thousand IP
Anita Rivaroli Italy, 2020, 78 min An uplifting, inspiring, and emotional music documentary about a seemingly impossible plan to record a song by the Foo Fighters with a thousand musicians. This feelgood film celebrates pipedreams, pluck, and perseverance. Frontlight
White Noise IP
Daniel Lombroso United States, 2020, 95 min A glimpse into the extreme right-wing world of alt-right activist Richard Spencer, influencer Lauren Southern and anti-feminist Mike Cernovich. Even they had little idea of what effect their ‘white noise ‘ would have.
Frontlight Frontlight Class WP
Luminous
Luminous What does it feel like to be alive today? The 20 films selected for the non-competitive section Luminous answer this question from a kaleidoscope of perspectives and shifting certainties. All of them give cause to pause and reflect, prompting audiences to consider lives that aren’t their own. Luminous 499 EP
Rodrigo Reyes Mexico, United States, 2020, 88 min 499 years after the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, a conquistador washes ashore on the coast of Mexico and sets out on a journey of discovery. An original magical-realistic road movie that puts the violence of modern-day Mexico in a historical context. Luminous
The Ark WP
Fang zhou Dan Wei China, 2020, 101 min Observation of a crisis in restrained black-and-white, at micro and macro level. With the Covid-19 pandemic unfolding across the globe, an elderly woman fights for her life in a hospital in China. The family refuses to budge from her side, no matter what. Luminous
O arrais do mar IP
Elisa Celda Spain, 2020, 18 min A poetic portrait of nighttime activities on the Portuguese coast. A fishing net is hauled in, while further along people search out sexual encounters. The images are dark, with brief flashes of activity–like a nocturnal radiography of a territory.
Luminous
Between Fire and Water WP
Viviana Gómez Echeverry Colombia, 2020, 92 min Camilo was adopted by a Quillasinga couple in southwest Colombia. Now he’s the only Black member of this indigenous community. He has been lovingly assimilated into society, but he struggles with himself and wants to find out more about his origins. Luminous
Bosco WP
Alicia Cano Menoni Uruguay, Italy, 2020, 80 min Over 13 years, Alicia Cano filmed both her elderly grandfather in Uruguay and his distant relatives in the tiny Italian village of Bosco. A compassionate observation about dealing with impermanence and loss. Luminous
The Case You WP
Alison Kuhn Germany, 2020, 80 min Five young women who were subjected to sexual harassment and abuse of power during a film audition refuse to be victimized and instead aim for testimony and indictment in the spirit of #MeToo. On camera. Luminous
Dormant WP
La vida dormida Natalia Labaké Argentina, 2020, 74 min The granddaughter of Argentinian lawyer and politician Juan Labaké makes subtle use of old and new home videos to shed light on the subordinate role of women in politics and society, against the backdrop of the politician’s rise in the 1990s. Luminous
Facunda EP
Marta Romero Spain, 2020, 17 min Distinctly untypical portrait of an elderly Spanish woman who calmly does what the director, her grandniece, tells her to do. In between all the instructions, disarming and true-to-life moments arise that are beyond anyone’s control. Luminous
Far from You I Grew EP
Marie Dumora France, 2020, 102 min Thirteen-year-old Nicolas was placed in a children’s home as a toddler. He has to find his way to adulthood on his own, without the help of parents, but is supported by the Odyssey and his best friend Saef. Luminous
The Hidden Shadow WP
La sombra refugiada Francisco Álvarez Ríos Ecuador, 2020, 24 min The annual Diablada is a colorful festival in the Ecuadorian town of Píllaro. When he puts on his mask, ángel becomes the devil himself. ‘Immerse yourself, ‘ he says, ‘and feel the adrenaline.
Luminous
Luminous
Madonna Adib United Kingdom, 2020, 10 min This personal short film by Madonna Adib centers on her body–a body which was attracted to girls when she was growing up in Damascus, was punished for failing to follow the government’s rules, and which she now cherishes as her only real possession.
Mohamed Said Ouma France, Reunion, Comoros, South Africa, 2020, 87 min Three women on the Comoros Islands train with the national women’s basket-ball team for a major international tour-nament. Despite poverty and unemployment, the former French archipelago is proud of its independence.
Luminous
Love, It Was Not IP
Ahava, zot lo hayta Maya Sarfaty Israel, Austria, 2020, 83 min A reconstruction of the extraordinary history of a Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz and the SS officer who fell in love with her. Interviews, diary excerpts, and archive footage tell the story from multiple perspectives. Luminous
New Gods IP
Les nouveaux dieux Loïc Hobi Switzerland, France, 2020, 19 min Told from the perspective of an algorithm and accompanied by fitting imagery, we hear the story of LonerWolf58, a member of the incel movement. The algorithm is tasked with detecting and removing his violent content.
Red Card WP
Luminous
Rumba Rules, New Genealogies WP
Rumba Rules, nouvelles généalogies Sammy Baloji, David Nadeau-Bernatchez Democratic Republic of the Congo, Canada, Belgium, 2020, 108 min Enjoyably rough-edged glimpse into the music scene of Kinshasa, where dancers and singers alike work up a sweat so every show’s a blast. Here, music is a connecting force generated by creativity and raw energy. Luminous
Socks on Fire IP
Bo McGuire United States, 2020, 93 min The death of director Bo McGuire’s much-loved grandmother brings to light family issues that engender melancholy, strife, and intimacy. Why did his favorite aunt become homophobic and reject her queer brother?
Luminous
The Night Flowers IP
Luminous
Luminous
Mujer de soldado Patricia Wiesse Risso Peru, 2020, 82 min Many young Peruvian women were raped by army soldiers in the 1980s during the internal war against the terrorist group Sendero Luminoso. Decades later, they are taking the perpetrators to court to demand justice and regain their dignity.
Option Zero WP
La Opción Cero Marcel Beltrán Cuba, Colombia, Brazil, 2020, 80 min A lesser known Cuban escape route to the United States runs via the rainforests of Guyana and Colombia to Central America. This poignant portrait follows a group of Cubans for whom living in their native country is no longer an option.
Soldier’s Woman IP
Best of Fests Striking documentary films from the international festival circuit are central to Best of Fests. The program showcases prize-winners, public favorites, and high-profile titles from the past year.
Best of Fests
’Til Kingdom Come
Maya Zinshtein United Kingdom, Israel, Norway, 2020, 76 min Even in the poorest parts of the U.S., the Christian faithful collect donations for Israel. The controversial connection between evangelical Christians and Jews is partly about belief, and partly about money, power, and politics.
Best of Fests
Best of Fests
Radu Ciorniciuc Romania, Germany, Finland, Zimbabwe, 2020, 86 min A filmic portrait of a large Romanian family going though turbulent times. After 20 years of living in nature near Bucharest, they must return to modern, urban society–and all its problems.
El Father Como Sí Mismo Mo Scarpelli Venezuela, United Kingdom, Italy, United States, Canada, 2020, 105 min A making-of documentary about a movie with an uncontrollable protagonist in the remote jungle. Sharp and moving observations reveal the dynamics of a son directing his father who’s playing his totally-off-the-rails self.
Acasă, My Home
Best of Fests
The Art of Living in Danger
Honar dar khatar zendegi kardan Mina Keshavarz Iran, Germany, 2020, 87 min Iranian women have lived in fear for decades, with no legal protection against domestic violence. Filmmaker Mina Keshavarz follows a group of activists fighting for change, intertwined with the story of her own family. Best of Fests
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross United States, 2020, 99 min In a dark neighborhood bar on the outskirts of Las Vegas, the regulars drop by one final time to seek refuge in alcohol and in each other. This cinéma vérité-style ode to the American dive bar evokes unexpected feelings of nostalgia. Best of Fests
Bulletproof
Todd Chandler United States, 2020, 85 min A provocative look at the industry surrounding U.S. school shootings. Restrained images of bullet-proof school furniture, shooting courses, and evacuation drills provide space to reflect on responses to gun violence in the United States. Best of Fests
Dope Is Death
Mia Donovan Canada, 2020, 82 min Combining controversial political activism with the struggle for civil rights in 1970s America, Mutulu Shakur stood up for people living in poverty in New York’s South Bronx and was at the forefront of acupuncture treatment for drug addiction. Best of Fests
The Earth Is Blue as an Orange
Земля блакитна ніби апельсин
Iryna Tsilyk Ukraine, Lithuania, 2020, 74 min With bombs falling all around their home in Ukraine, Anna and her four children manage to keep the chaos of war at bay by making a film about their experiences. Red Card
Las flores de la noche Omar Robles, Eduardo Esquivel Mexico, 2020, 85 min A warm and casually composed portrait of a group of queer young people in Mexico who are trying to feel at home in their conservative environment while preserving their often hard-won identities.
Acasă, My Home
Let My Body Speak IP
El Father Plays Himself
Best of Fests
Feels Good Man
Arthur Jones United States, 2020, 94 min Brilliant animations illustrate this documentary about comic strip artist Matt Furie and his attempts to free his popular character Pepe the Frog from the shadowy world of online memes, hate campaigns, trolls, and alternative facts. Best of Fests
The Foundation Pit
Kotlovan Andrey Gryazev Russia, 2020, 70 min This hard-hitting, found-footage film shows Russian citizens voicing their concerns and rage about Putin’s rule. Combined in this way, the clips constitute a powerful protest against a government that appears to have forgotten about its citizens. Best of Fests
The Game
Das Spiel Roman Hodel Switzerland, 2020, 17 min Soccer refereeing is a demanding sport: you’ve got to run for 90 minutes, always be alert, and make tough decisions in a heaving stadium. A roller coaster ride packed with drama and excitement, filmed from the perspective of referee Fedayi San. Best of Fests
Garage People
Garagenvolk Natalija Yefimkina Germany, 2020, 97 min In northern Russia, the garage is a treasured refuge for people who want space to daydream, enjoy hobbies, or just get some peace and quiet. It’s an ideal place for quirky pastimes, reflecting on life, and drinking vodka without being bothered. Best of Fests
Gevar’s Land
Ard Gevar Qutaiba Barhamji France, Qatar, 2020, 78 min Gevar is from Syria and has recently started living in France with his girlfriend and young son. Tending his community garden plot while trying to put down roots of his own in his new country, he discovers both processes are hard work.
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Best of Fests
Heaven Beneath My Feet IP Sandra Madi Lebanon, France, 2020, 90 min Heartbreaking stories from Lebanon, where divorced mothers have to fight for years just to see their children. Filmmaker Sandra Madi follows three women in their struggle for justice–and for motherhood. Best of Fests
Hey! Teachers!
Yulia Vishnevets Russia, 2020, 90 min The idealistic approach of two young teachers is put to the test in a provincial Russian town. Beneath their students’ typical adolescent behavior, there is also deep-rooted conservatism. Russia as we rarely see it.
Best of Fests
Best of Fests
Best of Fests
David Osit United States, United Kingdom, 2020, 89 min Emmy winner David Osit follows the likeable mayor of Ramallah through dryly humorous meetings, school visits and everyday local politics, as he tries to hold his own in a geopolitical minefield.
Laura Plancarte Mexico, United Kingdom, United States, 2020, 93 min Well-educated, independent Nanci is marrying Thaddeus, a Cheyenne man. In the run-up to their wedding, they see they have considerable differences about gender roles. Gradually they learn to understand and appreciate each other’s cultures and feelings.
M e z e r y Nora Štrbová Czech Republic, 2020, 8 min Moving and cleverly crafted animated film about the devastated short-term memory of the filmmaker’s brother. The jittery animation captures his fragmented perception and memory: lost in time and space, trapped in a loop.
Mayor
Best of Fests
Me and the Cult Leader
Aganai Atsushi Sakahara Japan, 2020, 114 min In 1995, director Atsushi Sakahara survived a nerve gas attack by the Aum cult on the Tokyo subway. Now he holds a long and courageous conversation with Araki, executive cult member, who was not personally responsible–but has remained a member.
Best of Fests
Il mio corpo
Michele Pennetta Switzerland, Italy, 2020, 81 min Fact and fiction blur in this sensitive film about a young scrap metal collector and an African boat refugee living in Sicily. Their lives turn out to be more similar than they might have imagined. Best of Fests
Jacinta
Jessica Earnshaw United States, 2020, 105 min An intense and candid portrait of an American family in which drug addiction and crime are passed on from mother to daughter. The 26-year-old Jacinta wants to break the cycle. Best of Fests
Jungle
Louise Mootz France, 2019, 52 min A group of very vocal women with diverse backgrounds dance, laugh, fuck and dither their way through life in a Parisian suburb. The energy crackles from the screen in this intimate and cliché-crushing portrait of true Parisiennes. Best of Fests
Long, Live, Love
Lever Elsker Savner Sine Skibsholt Denmark, 2020, 79 min Rosemarie, age 15, already survived cancer twice. Now she’s recovered and wants to get on with life–school, friends, love, parties. Her young mother hasn’t yet come to terms with her fear of losing her child. A search to establish a new relationship. Best of Fests
Lost Kids on the Beach
Copii pierduti pe plaja Alina Manolache Romania, 2020, 70 min The director embarks on a personal quest in Romania to portray the generation born shortly after the fall of the country’s dictator Ceausescu–and the beginning of a new, post-communist era. Best of Fests
Makongo
Elvis Sabin Ngaibino Argentina, Central African Republic, Italy, 2020, 73 min A cinematic portrait of two young Aka pygmies from the Central African Republic. In their efforts to improve education for their communities, they discover that city dwellers are not as altruistic as they are themselves.
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Best of Fests
The Metamorphosis of Birds
A metamorfose dos pássaros Catarina Vasconcelos Portugal, 2020, 101 min A magnificent personal portrait of a Portuguese family. Rich in beautiful, fictionalized scenes that find universal truths in the warmth of a family, the melancholy of seeing children grow up, and the absence of a mother. Best of Fests
The Mole Agent
Maite Alberdi Chile, United States, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, 2020, 90 min In this blend of spy flick and observational documentary, 83-year-old Sergio goes undercover in an old folks’ home. Starting out as a wryly comical detective yarn, the film ultimately offers us an intimate look at affection and loneliness in old age. Best of Fests
Moth
Pyrale Roxanne Gaucherand France, Belgium, 2020, 49 min We follow the story of two girls in a village in southeastern France that is preparing for the annual, disruptive invasion of the box tree moth. Lou develops feelings for her childhood friend Sam, in a sultry mix of documentary and fiction. Best of Fests
Mundo
Non Western
Best of Fests
Best of Fests
Aufzeichnungen aus der Unterwelt Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel Austria, 2020, 116 min What starts as a portrait of the popular Austrian singer Kurt Girk develops into a unique and powerful document of an era: the Austrian underworld in the 1960s. Packed with tall tales, bad cops and bittersweet songs.
Lisa Marie Malloy, J.P. Sniadecki United States, 2020, 81 min Vivid impressions of Sundog’s selfsufficient life in the Sonora desert, far removed from the unhealthy rat race of city life. Seeing his freedom and the ecosystem coming under increasing threat, he dreams up an act of ecoterrorism.
Notes from the Underworld
Best of Fests
Carmen Losmann Germany, 2020, 90 min A multilayered quest to fathom the workings of the capitalist system. Financial sector insiders grapple with simple questions such as ‘Where does profit come from? ‘ and ‘How is money created? ‘ Some of the staged scenes are quite telling.
Theo Montoya Colombia, Argentina, 2020, 15 min Camilo Najar was known on the Medellín queer scene as ‘Son of Sodom’. At the age of 21 he died of a heroin overdose. Montoya explores the nofuture mentality of his generation in a freewheeling, punk style.
Oeconomia
Best of Fests
Once Upon a Time in Venezuela
Anabel Rodríguez Venezuela, United Kingdom, Austria, Brazil, 2020, 99 min A Venezuelan fishing community on Lake Maracaibo struggles with the decline brought about by oil pollution, political division, and neglect–a situation that reflects the deplorable state of the country as a whole. Best of Fests
An Ordinary Country
Zwyczajny kraj Tomasz Wolski Poland, 2020, 53 min The Polish Secret Service kept a very close watch on its citizens from the 1960s through the 1980s, often using hidden cameras and microphones. This compilation paints a claustrophobic picture of a brutal and bureaucratic surveillance state. Best of Fests
Petit Samedi
Best of Fests
Best of Fests
Clebs Halima Ouardiri Canada, 2019, 19 min Atmospheric shots accompanied by spot-on sound design capture the daily life of hundreds of stray dogs in a Moroccan shelter. With resignation they unknowingly wait to be adopted.
Bitte Warten Pavel Cuzuioc Austria, 2020, 86 min A beautifully filmed allegory about communication and connection, told from the perspective of telecom engineers and their customers. Modern means of communication offer a window on the world, but also reveal what people are missing.
Best of Fests
Narcissus Off Duty
Narciso em férias Renato Terra, Ricardo Calil Brazil, 2020, 84 min Brazilian singer and composer Caetano Veloso was imprisoned for two months during his country’s military dictatorship. Fifty years on, his recollections give an impression of the military regime’s practices and the impact of being deprived of one’s liberty.
A Shape of Things to Come
Best of Fests
Ana Edwards Chile, 2020, 19 min Matilde is an elderly alpaca herder surrounded by the awe-inspiring natural scenery that was once sacred to the Aymara, the indigenous Chilean community to which she belongs. But today all that counts for Mathilde is the Word of God: the Bible.
Mutts
Spaces
Paloma Sermon-Daï Belgium, 2020, 75 min A warm, observational portrait of a mildmannered man and his mother, who tirelessly supports him in his struggle with addiction. His latest attempt to stop using drugs creates tension in their close, interdependent relationship.
Please Hold the Line
Best of Fests
Punta Sacra
Francesca Mazzoleni Italy, 2020, 97 min A captivating portrait of the small village of Ostia and its inhabitants. The five hundred families who live there–illegally–show why they feel such a deep bond with this place surrounded by the waters of the sea and the Tiber.
Son of Sodom
Best of Fests
Songs of Repression
Estephan Wagner, Marianne HougenMoraga Denmark, 2020, 89 min The aftermath of atrocities that took place in a German sect in Chile lives on in the surviving former members. They’ve made the best of the situation by transforming the colony into a tourist attraction. Best of Fests
Stray
Elizabeth Lo Turkey, United States, Hong Kong, 2020, 72 min The stray dogs Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal the puppy trot calmly from one favorite place to another in Istanbul. The camera follows them at snout level as they join forces with other urban outcasts. Best of Fests
Their Algeria
Leur Algérie Lina Soualem France, Switzerland, Qatar, Algeria, 2020, 73 min After 62 years of marriage, Aïcha and Mabrouk decide to separate. Their granddaughter Lina is stunned. In this movie she explores her family history to try to understand her grandparents better. What is it like to live in France as an Algerian? Best of Fests
Things We Dare Not Do
Cosas que no hacemos Bruno Santamaria Mexico, 2020, 75 min The village of El Roblito on a peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean seems to be mainly inhabited by children. We see the machismo of the adult world only in passing in this subtle yet compelling coming-of-age story filtered through children’s eyes. Best of Fests
Time
Garrett Bradley United States, 2020, 81 min An impressive portrait of Fox Rich, who raised six sons on her own while fighting the judicial system. Her husband was sentenced to 60 years in prison for a bank robbery with a loot of just a few thousand dollars.
Best of Fests
Masters
Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw Italy, United States, Greece, 2020, 84 min In the forests of Piedmont, Italy, a dwindling group of joyful old men and their faithful dogs hunt for the world’s most expensive ingredient: the white Alba truffle. This real-life fairy tale is a celebration of human passion, and of a community forgotten in time.
Spike Lee United States, 2020, 105 min Spike Lee’s spellbinding concert film of David Byrne’s Broadway show American Utopia. The former Talking Heads front man sings, talks, and even dances, as he searches for hope and connection–with a touch of politics and activism.
The Truffle Hunters
Best of Fests
David Byrne’s American Utopia
Masters
Downstream to Kinshasa
Best of Fests
Masters
Masters
Masters
Alex Winter United States, 2020, 129 min With unlimited access to Frank Zappa’s extensive personal archive, Alex Winter has crafted a striking portrait from more than a thousand hours of material, presenting the brilliant musician and composer as the guide to his own eventful history.
Hubert Sauper Austria, France, 2020, 109 min A kaleidoscopic portrait of Cuba: The former epicenter of the New World has been ravaged by repeated invasions and struggled under the yoke of dictators. Now, it’s being overrun again–this time by tourists.
Karim Aïnouz Algeria, France, Germany, Brazil, Qatar, 2020, 82 min A spectacular record of a mass demonstration against the Algerian regime in the spring of 2019. We follow a day in the life of activist Nardjes A., who voices the discontent of Algerians young and old.
Simone Bitton France, Morocco, 2020, 99 min A personal pilgrimage through Morocco, once home to 300,000 Jews. Long after their departure, their traces can still be seen in Jewish shrines, synagogues, neighborhoods, and cemeteries, which today are lovingly maintained by the locals.
Zappa
Epicentro
Masters includes the latest films by auteurs whose work IDFA closely follows, and who have an unmistakable cinematographic signature. The section celebrates the great documentary filmmakers of our time with titles that span international, European, and Dutch premieres.
Masters
9to5: The Story of a Movement EP
Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar United States, 2020, 86 min Dolly Parton’s hit song ‘9 to 5 ‘ and the 1980 comedy film of the same title were inspired by an influential women’s movement of the early 1970s. Members of this movement look back on their resistance to the disenfranchisement of female office staff. Masters
Bitter Love
Jerzy Sladkowski Sweden, Finland, Poland, 2020, 87 min An extraordinarily intimate, observational portrait of passengers on a river cruise–full of drama, poetry, vulnerability, humor, and melancholy music. As Russian landscapes peacefully glide by, both young and old struggle with love. Masters
City Hall
Frederick Wiseman United States, 2020, 275 min In long takes that compel us to listen patiently and observe, Wiseman immerses viewers in the local government of his hometown of Boston. His portrayal of how the city is run shows what it means to live together as a society. Masters
Crazy, Not Insane
Alex Gibney United States, 2020, 119 min U.S. forensic psychiatrist Dorothy Lewis has been studying serial killers for decades. Are they simply bad or mentally disturbed? Her controversial theory is vital in a country where the distinction can make the difference between life and death.
Nardjes A.
Masters
Masters
Marc Isaacs United Kingdom, 2020, 75 min In protest against sensationalism in the documentary industry, Marc Isaacs makes a film in his own home. Blending fact and fiction, he explores the theme of hospitality and indirectly asks questions about authorship.
Une nuit à l’Opéra Sergei Loznitsa France, 2020, 20 min A dream gala evening at the Opéra Garnier in Paris, composed of archive footage expertly edited to produce a dazzling society portrait of the 1950s and 1960s. With royalty, Brigitte Bardot, and the unparalleled Maria Callas.
The Filmmaker’s House IP Masters
Epicentro
David France United States, 2020, 107 min Russian activists take unimaginable risks to smuggle persecuted LGBTQ+ people out of Chechnya. In this chilling documentary thriller, David France films the most dangerous moments of their escapes.
En route pour le milliard Dieudo Hamadi Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Belgium, 2020, 89 min A powerful record of a desperate call for justice. The civilian victims of the sixday war in Kisangani, DR Congo, in June 2000, are still waiting for compensation. They travel to the capital Kinshasa to make their voices heard.
Welcome to Chechnya
A Night at the Opera
Masters
Final Account
Luke Holland United Kingdom, 2020, 90 min Testimonies from ordinary people who sided with the Nazis during the Second World War, whether out of fear, complacency, or conviction. Their sedate tone of voice makes the accounts of these elderly speakers even more shocking. Masters
Gunda
Victor Kossakovsky Norway, United States, 2020, 93 min Minimalist and meditative monument to a sow named Gunda and her newborn piglets–with supporting roles for ecstatic cows and a one-legged chicken. The engaging scenes in black and white amount to a powerful statement that clearly makes its case. Masters
Irradiated
Irradiés Rithy Panh Cambodia, France, 2020, 87 min Rithy Panh is unrelenting as we become witnesses to human evil in an overwhelming, three-screen meditation on the mechanisms of violence. These are the same all over the world, and they all cause the same unspeakable pain and distress. Masters
MLK/FBI EP
Sam Pollard United States, 2020, 106 min A revealing documentary drawing on declassified documents released by the American government and the FBI that uncovers the steps taken by the intelligence service to bug Martin Luther King and discredit him.
Ziyara WP
Paradocs In the Paradocs section, IDFA showcases 11 of the year’s best experimental documentary artworks. Pushing time to its cinematic limits. Peeling back layers of representation. These films will make you question what you’re really seeing.
Masters
Paris Calligrammes
Ulrike Ottinger Germany, France, 2020, 131 min Portrait of the cultural circles director Ulrike Ottinger moved in when she arrived in 1960s Paris as an ambitious young artist from a small German town. Archive material and black-and-white footage captures the atmosphere of a turbulent period. Masters
Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue
Jia Zhang-Ke China, 2020, 112 min Famous Chinese authors such as Yu Hua and Jia Pingwa talk about the role of the countryside in their lives and work. A look at 70 years of Chinese history, portrayed by the chronicler of rapidly changing provincial life, Jia Zhangke. Masters
Vivos
Ai Weiwei Germany, Mexico, 2020, 112 min Six dead, 43 missing, no convictions: that’s the final tally of the 2014 attack on a group of buses in Mexico packed with students. Ai Weiwei’s record of the broken lives of the families they left behind is an indictment of a corrupt narco-state. Masters
Zero
Kazuhiro Soda Japan, United States, 2020, 128 min After working as a psychiatrist for more than 50 years, 82-year-old Masatomo Yamamoto is about to retire–though his care and thoughtful tenderness are undiminished. A sincere and deeply moving portrait of compassion.
Paradocs 13 IP
Shinya Isobe Japan, 2020, 11 min For five years, filmmaker Shinya Isobe left his camera in exactly the same spot to record a series of time-lapse shots of the sunset. In his hypnotic short film, the images combine to create a unique poetic experience. Paradocs
Cause of Death
Jyoti Mistry Austria, South Africa, 2020, 20 min A timeless and universal phenomenon: violence against women. This rhythmic montage of women’s bodies from archive footage and animation accompanied by a spoken lament produces an experience that is almost hypnotic. Paradocs
Corporate Accountability
Responsabilidad empresarial Jonathan Perel Argentina, 2020, 69 min A haunting minimalist account of how major national and international companies were actively involved in serious human rights violations under the military dictatorship of Argentina from 1976 to 1983. Paradocs
Geographies of Freedom
Miguel Peres dos Santos Curaçao, Netherlands, 2019, 47 min A compilation of archival footage and images of the current landscape on Curaçao lays bare the painful historical relationship between the oil refineries of Dutch multinational Shell and the inhabitants of the Netherlands Antilles.
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Paradocs
do {not} touch,
Al houbout Akram Zaatari Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, 2019, 63 min First, there was desert. Then came the houses for a Bedouin community. But now the sand has returned: it seeps through the ruins as three men pluck and scrape to elicit experimental music from this site that sparks the imagination.
Dylan Valley South Africa, 2019, 10 min A thought-provoking, 360-degree view of an overgrown, dilapidated Johannesburg house squatted as a political and artistic statement by two Black artists. Will their attitude change when they find out who owns the house?
The Landing
Maalbeek
Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis France, 2020, 17 min The suicide bombing on the Brussels subway on March 22, 2016 leaves Sabine in a coma for three months. When she wakes up, there is a black hole in her memory. Her search for explanations is beautifully depicted in this collage of images and sound. Paradocs
Ouvertures
Louis Henderson, Olivier Marboeuf France, Haiti, United Kingdom, 2019, 133 min In the streets of Port-au-Prince, a group of young Haitian actors pay tribute to the 18th-century revolutionary Toussaint Louverture. They reflect on theatrical texts with themes such as colonialism, racism, and identity. Paradocs
Purple Sea
Amel Alzakout, Khaled Abdulwahed Germany, 2020, 67 min A boat sinks off the coast of Lesbos with Syrian artist Amel Alzakout onboard. She shoots dizzying footage from the water: dangling legs and almost nothing to cling onto. An utterly gripping experience. Paradocs
Red Moon Tide
NEW MEDIA & PERFORMANCE
do {not} touch, do {not} touch,
Expo
Motto
do {not} touch: Exhibition Discover interactive installations and digital non-fiction artworks on diverse online platforms, in your living room, and outdoors.
do {not} touch,
Digital Storytelling Competition 24h Sunset/Sunrise v2 WP
Dries Depoorter, Shishani Vranckx Belgium, Netherlands, 2020, interactive Two screens show a live sunrise and sunset taking place at the same time somewhere in the world, using images from unsecured surveillance cameras. A live soundscape underscores the beauty that is accidentally captured by surveillance. Winner of the 2020 Netherlands Film Fund DocLab Interactive Grant. do {not} touch,
Digital Storytelling Competition Facework WP
Kyle McDonald United States, 2020, interactive This website and installation literally transforms the increasingly urgent discussions surrounding automated face analysis into a game. Can you fool the neural network as it searches for sunglasses, your smile, or your criminal disposition? do {not} touch,
Paradocs
do {not} touch,
Paradocs
The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin) C.W. Winter, Anders Edström United States, Sweden, Japan, United Kingdom, 2020, 480 min This meditative marathon film is a comprehensive record of the everyday activities of an elderly couple in the Japanese countryside. As hospital visits increase, the serenity of their lives is tragically disrupted.
IDFA DocLab Spotlight
In Order of Disappearance IP
Bart van de Woestijne Netherlands, 2019, 50 min This immersive experience is an exercise in isolation. You start walking, and leave everything behind. Can you be alone? Or will you disappear into an endless vacuum? do {not} touch,
Digital Storytelling
Later Date IP
Lauren Lee McCarthy United States, 2020, interactive A performance in two parts that was started during lockdown, caught between hope and fear. In part one, Lauren Lee McCarthy chats online with people about an encounter they could have in the future. Part two is that encounter. Later. do {not} touch,
Digital Storytelling Competition Orbit Diapason WP
Tabita Rezaire France, South Africa, 2020, 30 min Scientific research conducted by NASA, an African cosmology that assumes the existence of extraterrestrial life, and mass bee die-offs heralding the apocalypse: these are the ingredients of a powerful appeal for human introspection and humility. do {not} touch,
Sylvia WP
Digital Storytelling Competition
Ziv Schneider United States, 2020, interactive Sylvia is a virtual influencer, a digitally created Instagram model. But unlike her ‘colleagues’ who are deployed to promote major brands, she doesn’t possess eternal youth. On the contrary: Sylvia is ageing rapidly and will die during IDFA.
Immersive VR film & experiences do {not} touch: VR films & experience Discover 10 of this year’s best 360 films and virtual reality experiences IDFA has to offer inside Tolhuistuin. do {not} touch: VR on demand Do you have access to a VR headset? Throughout the festival you can experience VR films & experiences from the do {not} touch program from wherever you are.
do {not} touch,
Agence
Randall Okita Canada, 2020, 25 min Director Randall Okita’s grandfather emigrated from Hiroshima to Canada in 1935. During the Second World War he was sent to an internment camp. This interactive reconstruction of the life of a taciturn man fills in the gaps in history. do {not} touch,
Digital Storytelling Competition
Bridge to Sovietopia WP
Marie Alice Wolfszahn Austria, Germany, Ukraine, 2020, 16 min Like an invisible spirit, the user of this VR glides through scientific, industrial, and cultural structures of the former Soviet Union, weathered monuments of a vanished utopia. A memento mori for every worldly power. Kids & Docs Competition, do {not} touch Cabinets of Wonder WP
Meine Wunderkammern Susanne Kim Germany, 2020, 15 min In this virtual reality experience you enter three fantasy worlds of children who feel out of place in the real world. Glide along a river in Cameroon, dive underwater with a mermaid, and explore a planet with guinea pigs and a talking machine. do {not} touch,
IDFA DocLab Spotlight
Corpus Misty EP
Aubrey Heichemer Germany, 2020, 18 min Wandering through a labyrinth of soft shapes, the viewer encounters stories of genderqueers and women who fall outside the norm. This immersive VR documentary shows that there is more that connects us than divides us. do {not} touch,
IDFA DocLab Spotlight
Ferenj: A Graphic Memoir in VR Ainslee Robson United States, Ethiopia, 2020, 9 min During a VR flight through EthiopianAmerican director Ainslee Robson’s memories of Cleveland and Addis Ababa in pointillist form, cultural dislocation and the elusiveness of her mixed-race identity become palpable.
IDFA DocLab Spotlight
Pietro Gagliano Canada, 2020, 10 min Play God in a universe populated by intelligent machines. You can nurture their peaceful coexistence or plunge them into chaos and conflict. The story of evolution in this VR game is never the same twice.
IDFA DocLab Spotlight
Life Cycle Series [AR]
David OReilly United States - 2019, interactive These three narrative augmented reality filters rely on people’s customary willingness on social media to cast themselves as the visual subject. At the same time, they put this selfcenteredness firmly into perspective.
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do {not} touch,
Digital Storytelling Competition
Anne Huffschmid, Pablo MartinezZarate Mexico, Germany, 2020, 80 min In South America, thousands of victims of state terror, civil war, and gang violence have been exhumed in recent decades by forensic teams. This beautifully designed interactive web documentary guides you through their work.
Il n’y aura plus de nuit Éléonore Weber France, 2020, 77 min Helicopter pilots and gunners have to make complex decisions during their nighttime missions in war zones. An intense, topical documentary about the tension between observation and interpretation.
Vincent Morisset Canada, 2020, 100 min An interactive novella intertwining ancient storytelling traditions with the contemporary language of the internet. It’s a story that is told via thousands of ultrashort video fragments made by anonymous users all over the world— including you.
Forensic Landscapes EP
Lúa vermella Lois Patiño Spain, 2020, 85 min An unforgettable, mystical portrait of a community on the Galician coast. When a man goes missing at sea, his fellow villagers wait for news, frozen in time, suspended in a twilight zone between life and death.
There Will Be No More Night
IDFA DocLab Spotlight
IDFA DocLab Spotlight
The Book of Distance
Forensic landscape
Paradocs
Digital Storytelling Competition
Azibuye — The Occupation EP
IDFA DocLab Spotlight
Missing Pictures: Birds of Prey
Clément Deneux France, 2019, 8 min Award-winning director Abel Ferrara talks about his never-completed film project from 1980, Birds of Prey. Like the VR user, he is surrounded by that film’s vision of a dystopian New York, where a revolutionary uprising leads to urban warfare. do {not} touch,
Digital Storytelling Competition
Under the Skin WP
João Inada Brazil, Luxembourg, China, Germany, 2020, 23 min. You find yourself ducking bullets in this immersive documentary about life in one of Rio de Janeiro’s most violent favelas. Although it’s a brutal place, the neighborhood also has resilient residents who keep working for a better life.
Immersive planetarium screenings do {not} touch: the Planetarium Experience a unique evening with spectacular 360-degree documentaries and groundbreaking immersive experiments under the enormous dome screen at the ARTISPlanetarium.
do {not} touch,
Digital Storytelling Competition
[The Black Man in the Cosmos] IP
Kitoko Diva France, United Kingdom, 2019, 18 min This installation connects jazz musician Sun Ra’s Afrofuturist visions and the 1974 film Space Is the Place to the 2016 protests in France prompted by the death of Adama Traoré, following his heavy-handed arrest. do {not} touch, Immersive
Immersive VR performance Explore the boundaries of physical connection and enter new virtual worlds in a variety of social VR experiments.
do {not} touch,
Non-Fiction Competition
Corona Voicemails
David OReilly United States, 2020, 12 min A series of short animations based on voicemail messages left during the first wave of coronavirus. The hypnotic, endlessly rotating visual layers were made using a specially developed ‘visual synthesizer’.
IDFA DocLab Spotlight
All Kinds of Limbo, XR Broadcast WP
Toby Coffey United Kingdom, 2020, 15 min An intimate musical journey using immersive techniques to celebrate live performance, drawing inspiration from the Caribbean influence on British music through genres such as reggae, grime, and calypso. do {not} touch, Immersive
Virtualis WP
Non-Fiction Competition
Matt Romein, Lydia Jessup United States, 2020, 60 min Choose a ‘tourist avatar’ and follow the tour guides to explore the highlights of the social VR platform VRChat. Along the way you’ll learn about the culture of virtual role-playing, digital identities, and the history of online social spaces. do {not} touch, Immersive
Non-Fiction Competition Camp Century WP
Anrick Bregman, Nicole Paglia United Kingdom, Denmark, United States, 2020, 15 min It sounds like science fiction: a military camp with its own nuclear power plant, deep under the ice of Greenland. But the U.S. underground army base Camp Century really did exist. In this VR game/ podcast you explore the camp and meet its people. do {not} touch, Immersive
Eclipse WP
Non-Fiction Competition
Ali Eslami Netherlands, 2020, 45 min Alless and Lena can’t see each other— only the trails they leave. But these two radically different entities get to know one another by following and analyzing these traces. A live VR performance that gives a radical new meaning to diversity. do {not} touch, Immersive
Symbiosis WP
Non-Fiction Competition
Polymorf Netherlands, 2020, 20 min This VR experience for multiple users and multiple senses transports you to a posthuman future in which Homo sapiens have been absorbed into a biotope teeming with mixed life-forms: human, animal, and technological hybrids.
Echoes of silence
do {not} touch,
do {not} touch, Immersive
Non-Fiction Competition
Echoes of Silence WP
Tamara Shogaolu Netherlands, 2020, 7 min Dome projections of starlit skies and animations complement this intense audio experience. A trip into space to explore the ways the emptiness of the universe manifests as sound at various places around the world. Winner of the 2020 Netherlands Film Fund DocLab Interactive Grant.
On stage physical events Experience physical documentary performances across various theaters and festival locations around Amsterdam.
IDFA on Stage, do {not} touch
Oxygen Debt
Bart van de Woestijne Netherlands, 2020, 60 min. Hit the gym for a philosophical spinning class that sets your heart racing, led by a tireless fitness instructor. Can you accept that we can never fully control our bodies? IDFA on Stage, do {not} touch The Channel WP
Eliane Esther Bots Netherlands, 2020, 30 min Interpreters at the Yugoslavia Tribunal lived through the war in the Balkans themselves, but to be able to do their work they had to shut out their own feelings. This voice-focused performance places their experiences center stage. IDFA on Stage, do {not} touch Farewell Tour IP
Afscheidstournee Vincent Rietveld Netherlands, Belgium, 2020, 90 min A radical attempt to make a climateneutral theater play. De Warme Winkel theater collective embarks on an ascetic tour of the Netherlands by bicycle. And of course the thermostat in the auditorium will be set to freezing, so keep your coat on. Winner of the 2020 Netherlands Film Fund DocLab Interactive Grant.
On stage digital events Artists from across disciplines go online to reinvent what documentary theater and live performance can be
IDFA on Stage, do {not} touch 7 Sounds IP
Sam Green United States, 2020, 21 min Filmmaker Sam Green and musician JD Samson create a live audio performance based on seven specific sounds, producing an intimate listening experience and a mini-masterclass on the meaning of sound. IDFA on Stage, do {not} touch
Cooking Workshops to Prepare for the End of the World #6: Tea WP Kookworkshops ter voorbereiding op het einde van de wereld #6: Thee Sien Vanmaele Belgium, 2020, 30 min In this small-scale workshop, Sien Vanmaele will take you in search of tranquility and solutions for troubling times, starting from your own kitchen. Can tea help to ease our apocalyptic thoughts? do {not} touch:
do {not} touch: Opening Night feat. 7 Sounds
Join IDFA DocLab & IDFA on Stage for the festive online opening of do {not} touch, including live audio performance 7 Sounds, by filmmaker Sam Green in collaboration with musician JD Samson. For 7 Sounds you will need a smartphone and headphones.
IDFA on Stage, do {not} touch
Little Ethiopia: Chez nous EP
Joe Bini, Maya Daisy Hawke United Kingdom, United States, 2020, 90 min Two film editors in a long-term romantic relationship engage in a filmic dialogue to unravel a mystery from their past. Life and art commingle into a form-defying performance. IDFA on Stage, do {not} touch
Motto Live
Vincent Morisset Canada, 2020, 100 min. A performance inspired by the interactive experience Motto, intertwining ancient storytelling traditions with the contemporary language of the internet. This unique live experience will be broadcast from Vincent Morisset’s studio. do {not} touch, Immersive
Visitors IP
Non-Fiction Competition
David Rosenberg, Glen Neath United Kingdom, 2020, 20 min No news, no music, and no opinions, that’s what Darkfield Radio promises. Instead it provides an immersive twoperson audio experience that takes you into a fantastic imaginary world where hearing is the nerve center of feeling and imagination. IDFA on Stage, do {not} touch
Where There’s Smoke WP
Lance Weiler United States, 2020, 85 min An intimate story unfolds during a Zoom group chat and on the online notebook Miro, about two fires that took place during artist Lance Weiler’s childhood, and how they are connected with the recent death of his father.
do {not} touch:
do {not} touch: Confined Infinity
As our physical travels have become constrained, join us online for a live streamed event in search of human presence in computational reality.
IDFA DocLab is supported by
do {not} touch:
do {not} touch: Home is where the art is
Let’s reclaim our digital devices and turn our living rooms into a museum for interactive art and online performance. Just for one night.
DocLab research collaboration partners are
do {not} touch:
do {not} touch: Symbiotic Bodies
How can human beings better relate to each other, to nature, to machines–and everything in between? Join us for a live streamed event with digital artists imagining new and radical ways forward. do {not} touch,
ARTIS-Planetarium, CreativeXR, Diversion cinema, Het Nieuwe Instituut, POPKRAFT, The Immersive Storytelling Studio (National Theatre) and the Tolhuistuin.
IDFA DocLab Spotlight
The Leaked Recipes Cookbook WP
IDFA on Stage is supported by
Demetria Glace France, 2020, 45 min Author Demetria Glace presents a series of intimate events based on The Leaked Recipes Cookbook, a cookbook of recipes she fished out from the massive data leaks in recent years.
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ADDITIONAL AWARDS NPO Fund – Karen de Bok Talent Award
IDFA Forum Awards
This prize is awarded to one of the projects in the IDFAcademy & NPO Fund Workshop, and consists of a grant of € 25,000 for the development of the project and € 5,000 for the production of a teaser.
Three newly established awards recognizing project teams with strong and promising projects presented at IDFA Forum in a convincing way.
The Forum DocLab Award for the best project
Find the IDFA 2020 program for professionals on
idfa.nl
The Forum Award for the best project in the new media category, with a prize of € 2,500.
Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Documentary Stipend With this stipend, the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds awards a documentary talent with a grant of € 50,000 that allows the recipient to make a documentary about a subject of their choice. The award is intended for a documentary filmmaker with a proven track record who has already earned modest recognition in the documentary field.
The IDFA Forum Award for the best project The Forum Award for the best project in the Pitch category, with a prize of €2,500.
The IDFA Forum Award for the best Rough Cut project The Forum Award for the best within the Rough Cut category, with a prize of €1,000.
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Real emotions. Real film.