Last year’s industry program at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) focused heavily on the livelihoods of documentary filmmakers as the industry sees shrinking budgets and less investment from European funding bodies such as public broadcasters. Have things changed in the past year as the festival prepares for another edition? Unfortunately not, says Adric van Nieuwenhuizen, head of IDFA’s industry office.
“Looking at what’s happening in the documentary scene in Europe and beyond, I don’t think things have gotten much better,” she says. diverse. “There is also the fact that there are countries with a political climate that makes it difficult for documentary filmmakers to make the films they want to make. It is very difficult for filmmakers to make money to stay in the industry. Livelihoods have not improved at the same time as the work of these filmmakers has become more importance.
The Forum falls within the IDFA dates of November 14-24, and the festival’s co-production and co-financing market takes place from November 17-20. The forum includes forum ideas, initial presentations, producer communication, and IDFA DocLab forum threads.
When asked about some of the overarching themes of the projects at the forum this year, van Nieuwenhuizen said there is no single dominant theme per se, but she sees a lot of filmmakers bringing up social justice issues. “There are also smaller stories about LGBTQ+ communities who can’t speak up, and the impact of the past on the present… It’s a very diverse mix of projects.”
Among the highlights of this year’s forum, Van Nieuwenhuizen mentions “Transparency Kiosk: Echoes of the Future” by Anna Kapustina and Alexander Mihalkovich, a Ukrainian project that looks at Soviet history and perestroika in order to further understand today’s political landscape, and “Dry Skies” by Ibrahim Omar. “A personal project that takes place in a small village in Sudan.
Although there are many projects coming from across the Middle East within the Forum – including ones that directly address current tensions such as “The West Bank Project” by Kamal Azraq and Francesca Tosarelli and “The House of Issa” by Tomer Heymann (selected for the overall Forum Pitch Past and back in 2024 as part of the Rough Cut) – Van Nieuwenhuizen is reluctant to identify the region’s struggles as the dominant presence in this year’s market.
“Creative documentaries often go beyond everyday news,” she says. “It’s not like yesterday’s events immediately play out in the projects we have tomorrow. It takes a long time to really think as a filmmaker about what’s going on in the world.
After breaking a record of 800 applications last year, the IDFA team did not expect the numbers to rise this year, but they did. The industry boss says 820 applications were submitted in 2024, an “overwhelming” number. “Last year we thought it was an after-effect of the pandemic. This year’s numbers are rich and huge but also very painful because we had to reject so many wonderful projects.
“This doesn’t just happen to us at IDFA,” she adds. “You see it on other platforms similar to ours across Europe. People can look for explanations in different ways, you can say that people are keen to explore collaboration at an international level, for example. We see a great appetite for collaboration, which I find beautiful. We are even seeing Unusual cooperation such as New Zealand and Nigeria.
This spirit of collaboration and finding parallel sources of support – whether through development programs or financing avenues – is one of the biggest changes in the industry that Van Nieuwenhuizen has witnessed in recent years. “Four or five years ago, a lot of filmmakers were very focused on the big streaming companies, and now you see that people are open to all of that,” she highlights.
“There is not just one way to get funding, and people have realized that taking different approaches such as connecting with many smaller players and building a collaborative business is also something worth exploring.”
In terms of industry-related talks and sessions, this year’s festival features two separate discussions on AI titled ‘AI and Documentary Filmmaking’ and ‘Humans Have Entered the Chat’. This follows the festival’s opening film, ‘About the Hero’ by Piotr Vinjevic, which examines the creative possibilities of artificial intelligence through a documentary based on an artificial intelligence program developed in imitation of German director Werner Herzog.
When asked about the focus on conversations about artificial intelligence and new technologies at this year’s festival, van Nieuwenhuizen said she’s not as interested in answers as she is in posing questions to the filmmaking community. “We want people to ask themselves questions. ‘What’s available?’ What does it mean for us as filmmakers? What are the ethical and aesthetic questions?
Speaking of questions, there is a big question mark hanging over IDFA this year, as the upcoming edition represents the last with Oroa Nerabia as Artistic Director and Isabel Arate Fernandez as President of the festival’s funding body, Bertha Fund. “I am sad because I love working with Isabelle Arua,” says the industry leader. On the other hand, change will also bring us something. I’m sure of it. Right now, I feel a sense of loss even though they are still with us, but you can also see that it is a great honor to have them with the festival for such a long time. “We are lucky.”