The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
IDFA was founded by Ally Derks, who remained at the helm from 1988 until 2017, when she stepped down. Barbara Visser oversaw the 2017 edition as interim director. In January 2018, Syrian film producer Orwa Nyrabia was appointed[1] as the new artistic director of IDFA.
Over a period of twelve days in 2018, it screened more than 300 films and sold more than 250,000 tickets. Visitors to the festival increased from 65,000 in 2000 to 285,000 in 2018.[2]
The festival is an independent, international meeting place for audiences and professionals to see a diverse (in form, content, and cultural background) program of high-quality documentaries. IDFA selects creative and accessible documentaries, which offer new insights into society.[3]
The festival was initially held at the Leidseplein area in the centre of Amsterdam. It has since spread to a number of other locations, including Tuschinski Cinema and EYE Filmmuseum. Apart from its international film program, the variety of genres, and the many European and world premieres featured each year, the festival also hosts debates, forums, and workshops. Since 2007, the festival's New Media program IDFA DocLab showcases the best interactive non-fiction storytelling and explores how the digital revolution is reshaping documentary art.[citation needed]
In addition to the festival, IDFA has developed several professional activities, contributing to the development of filmmakers and their films at all stages. At the co-financing and co-production market IDFA Forum filmmakers and producers pitch their plans to financiers; at Docs for Sale new documentaries are on offer to programmers and distributors; the IDFA Bertha Fund supports filmmakers and documentary projects in developing countries, and the IDFAcademy offers international training programs for up-and-coming doc talents.[4]
At the opening ceremony of the festival in 2023 held on 8 November in the shadow of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, three activists burst onto the stage and waved a sign bearing the inscription "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free". This was to show solidarity with the people of Gaza,[5] who have been exposed to bombardment by the Israeli army in retaliation to the terror attack on Israeli citizens by the terror organization Hamas.[6][7] The activists received applause from the audience, which included the festival director Orwa Nyrabia. On 10 November members of Israel’s film community condemned the activists' use of the slogan and the fact that it was applauded by Nyrabia.[8] Following the IDFA's official apology,[9] the Palestinian Film Institute withdrew its three documentaries from the festival and started a petition protesting what it perceives as "institutional vilification and censorship in the filmmaking industry".[10]
The best new documentaries of the year compete in IDFA's main competition programs:
Prize: €15,000 (The jury also presents a Special Jury Award)
Prize: €10,000 (The jury also presents a Special Jury Award)
Prize: €5,000 (The jury also presents a Special Jury Award)
Prize: €10,000 (The jury also presents a Special Jury Award)
Prize: €5,000 (The jury also presents a Special Jury Award)
Prize: €7,500 (The jury also presents a Special Jury Award)
Alongside the competition programs, five awards are awarded during IDFA:
Prize: €5,000
Prize: €25,000
In addition to the competitions, IDFA presents several non-competitive film programs:
In this program section, the festival presents the latest documentaries by renowned documentary auteurs.
In Best of Fests, the festival presents films that have made an impact on the international festival circuit this year.
In this section, the festival presents films from all over the world, which are thought-provoking in their form and choice of theme.
The films in this section showcase what is going on beyond the frame of traditional documentary filmmaking, on the borders between film and art, truth and fiction, and narrative and design.
Screenings of many films from this program are accompanied by live performances connected to the films.
In addition to the regular programs, each year the festival presents programs like Queer Day, featuring new documentaries about LGBTQ-related topics; Focus programs which zoom in on aspects like sound design, editing, and cinematography or a topical theme; a themed program by DocLab, featuring live events and an interactive exhibition; and a retrospective of a filmmaker who also chooses a personal documentary Top 10.
The IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction rewards the best immersive non-fiction of the festival.
The IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling rewards the best Digital Storytelling.
Zapper Award (1994–1996)