{"id":615522,"date":"2026-09-29T17:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T17:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/615522\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T17:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T17:00:11","slug":"leading-documentary-festival-idfa-adds-more-than-100-films-lineup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/615522\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading Documentary Festival IDFA Adds More Than 100 Films Lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tLeading documentary festival IDFA<\/a> has added more than 100 films to its 39th edition, which runs from Nov. 12 to 22 in Amsterdam.<\/p>\n

\n\tAmong the newly announced titles are those for the short documentary competition, and the sections titled Signed, Best of Fests and Paradocs.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe new media program, DocLab, has also unveiled the first projects from its 20th anniversary program, including the winners of the Film Fund DocLab Interactive Grant.<\/p>\n

\n\tIDFA Competition for Short Documentary
The IDFA Competition for Short Documentary has 15 films that \u201cuse creativity and imagination to push the boundaries of short documentary,\u201d the festival says.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe tragicomic portrait of humanity and its fallibility, \u201cThe Bus of Broken Hearts,\u201d by Bj\u00f6rn Carlberg and Johan Palmgren, follows the world\u2019s biggest cross-country ski race, where thousands of disheartened participants fail to make it to the finish line.<\/p>\n

\n\tSeveral titles turn their attention to the act of looking itself. Revealing a glimmer of hope in the aftermath of an earthquake in Southern Turkey, Perihan Inceg\u00f6z\u2019s \u201cOur Village From the Moon\u201d captures Kurdish children as they turn the ruins into a playground and \u201cdream of the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPicnic \u2013 In Light Invisible to the Human Eye,\u201d by Jan Ij\u00e4s, follows Israelis who travel to the border of Gaza to see the devastation of the region first-hand.<\/p>\n

\n\tIDFA DocLab 20th anniversary
For two decades, IDFA\u2019s new media program DocLab has explored how emerging technologies and new forms of interaction can expand what documentary can be and how audiences experience it.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor its 20th anniversary, IDFA DocLab unveils the first projects, including the two winners of the Film Fund DocLab Interactive Grant and new works developed through a two-year research program, Shared Realities.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Netherlands Film Fund and IDFA DocLab have selected two participatory works that turn systems that shape everyday life into audience experiences for the 2026 Film Fund DocLab Interactive Grant: \u201cThe Love Files,\u201d by Sanne De Wilde and Samir Veen, that invites audiences \u201cto step inside and critically review a \u2018love file\u2019 application for a residence permit,\u201d and \u201cAll the Downtime,\u201d by Ant Hampton, \u201cimmersing audiences in an algorithm-led distribution center, just as a power outage disrupts the order and gives way for creative disorder.\u201d Each receives \u20ac10,000 to finalize and present the work at IDFA DocLab.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 20th anniversary program additionally features new works developed through Shared Realities, including Tamara Shogaolu\u2019s \u201cThe Invisible Woman,\u201d a VR opera that recovers the story of Francisca de Angola, a 17th-century Black woman in Amsterdam, and Polymorf\u2019s \u201cMicrobiome Restaurant,\u201d with two sensory experiences exploring the human body as an ecosystem.<\/p>\n

\n\tOther projects include \u201cOrgasmagoria,\u201d by Dries Verhoeven, screened at sex theater Casa Rosso; and \u201cArchive Arcade,\u201d which restores landmark immersive works, including \u201cThanatorama\u201d by Ana Maria de J\u00e9sus, the first project ever selected for IDFA DocLab. The complete IDFA DocLab program will be announced on Oct. 13.<\/p>\n

\n\tSigned
Signed showcases the \u201clatest cinematic adventures of some of the most original filmmakers of our time.\u201d The selection of films celebrates those with \u201ca unique artistic signature, beyond the canon,\u201d IDFA says.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe selection \u201creflects on lives lost, those left behind, and what remains after upheaval.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMichal Marczak\u2019s \u201cClosure\u201d follows a father in search of his missing son along the Vistula River near Warsaw, in \u201ca meditation on grief suspended between hope and fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTurning to the systems that shape everyday lives, Ava DuVernay\u2019s \u201c14th\u201d traces the legacy of the U.S. Constitution\u2019s 14th Amendment from Reconstruction to the present. Guillaume Massart\u2019s \u201cDetention\u201d enters a French prison officers\u2019 training school, following recruits as they grapple with the gap between classroom ethics and the unpredictable realities of life behind bars.<\/p>\n

\n\tSeveral established filmmakers return to IDFA with short films born from the urgency of the present, responding directly to the times we live in. In \u201cThey\u2019re Here,\u201d IDFA\u2019s 2022 Guest of Honor Laura Poitras and Rachel Lauren Mueller offer a chilling account of the show of force by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis. In \u201cWild Asparagus,\u201d Avi Mograbi returns to his archives of a visit to Palestinian village Saffuriya with his friend Ali Al-Azhari, giving new meaning to decades-old footage.<\/p>\n

\n\tBest of Fests
The Best of Fests section presents \u201cthe year\u2019s most eye-catching and celebrated films from various festivals from around the world.\u201d The selection of 59 titles \u201cspans diverse styles and genres, engaging with some of the world\u2019s most pressing topics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSeveral films \u201cengage directly with the state of crisis in the world, tracing how the histories of countries continue to shape the present,\u201d IDFA says.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a \u201cpoignant chronicle of decades of resistance to the regime in Iran,\u201d Pegah Ahangarani\u2019s \u201cRehearsals for a Revolution\u201d finds a glimmer of hope in those who continue to resist. Amid daily bombardments in Gaza, Ahmed Hassouna\u2019s \u201cCitizen Osama\u201d follows journalist and father Osama as he balances the demands of reporting with the responsibilities and fears of caring for his newborn son. Lukas Marxt\u2019s \u201c>1.5\u00b0C: Pyropolitics and the New World\u201d observes the devastating wildfires that swept through Los Angeles County in January 2025, confronting the consequences of increasingly extreme weather.<\/p>\n

\n\tOther films begin from deeply personal perspectives. In \u201cThe Illusion of an Everlasting Summer,\u201d Alessandra Sanguinetti follows cousins Belinda and Guillermina in rural Argentina over 25 years, creating a tender portrait on friendship and the passing of time. IDFA Bertha Fund-supported titles in the selection include \u201cBaby Jackfruit Baby Guava\u201d by Nong Nhat Quang, \u201cConcrete Land\u201d by Asmahan Bkerat, and \u201cTruck Driver\u201d by Francisco Marise.<\/p>\n

\n\tParadocs
Paradocs showcases \u201cthe year\u2019s non-fiction film art, in which visual artists and filmmakers present their explorations into non-fiction filmmaking,\u201d IDFA says.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe selection of 16 titles \u201cexplores the world through bold formal experimentation, genre-bending, and unexpected perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tA \u201chedonistic escape to a melting glacier is interrupted by apocalyptic climate change and existential anxiety\u201d in Susanne Regina Meures\u2019 \u201cEternity\u201d\u2014 adapting Florentina Holzinger\u2019s performance art to the screen. In \u201cThe Case Against Space,\u201d Graeme Arnfield offers a reconstruction of the first \u201cstrike\u201d in space, \u201creframing the astronaut hero through a critical lens on capitalism and surveillance.\u201d Johann Lurf\u2019s \u201cForever\u2026Forever\u201d presents an \u201coverwhelming vision of the cosmos in motion, with an ever-accelerating timelapse of the sun\u2019s path filmed over 22 months\u201d\u2014to be shown on 70mm in Eye Filmmuseum.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe selection also includes works by several collectives. \u201c\u00c3sheghetam,\u201d by Filmsaaz, blends computer animation, fiction and documentary in a \u201ckaleidoscopic portrait of queer love in Tehran.\u201d In \u201cTogether,\u201d ecofeminist art collective Neozoon uses archival and social media footage to explore the tension between communal life and the desire for private property.<\/p>\n

\n\tSelected films: The IDFA Competition for Short Documentary
\u201cAll That Appears Solid Is Built on Blood,\u201d dir. Izdihar Afyouni, Gelare Khoshgozaran (Palestine\/United Kingdom\/United States), 11\u2019 \u2013 International Premiere
\u201cAll the Hands I\u2019ve Let Go,\u201d Laura Char\u00e1 (Colombia\/France), 23\u2019 \u2013 International Premiere
\u201cAnother Sky, Evi Cats\u201d (Belgium), 15\u2019 \u2013 World Premiere
\u201cThe Bus of Broken Hearts,\u201d Bj\u00f6rn Carlberg, Johan Palmgren (Sweden\/Finland), 34\u2019 \u2013 International Premiere
\u201cCanina,\u201d N\u00e9stor L\u00f3pez (Spain), 17\u2019 \u2013 World Premiere
\u201cCertainties,\u201d Calum Walter (United States), 14\u2019 \u2013 International Premiere
\u201cEye Sun,\u201d Maric\u00e9 Casta\u00f1eda (Peru), 19\u2019 \u2013 World Premiere
\u201cFrom a Vertebral Collapse Mountains Arose,\u201d Giovanni Benini (Italy\/Belgium), 11\u2019 \u2013 World Premiere
\u201cMan of Seed,\u201d Mar\u00eda Abenia (Spain), 33\u2019 \u2013 World Premiere
\u201cOne Early Morning, the Alligator Swallowed Me,\u201d Nicol\u00e1s Palacio (Colombia), 16\u2019 \u2013 World Premiere
\u201cOur Village From the Moon,\u201d Perihan Inceg\u00f6z (Switzerland\/Turkey), 14\u2019 \u2013 World Premiere
\u201cPicnic \u2013 In Light Invisible to the Human Eye,\u201d Jan Ij\u00e4s (Finland), 26\u2019 \u2013 International Premiere
\u201cSix Weeks, 3 Days, and All the Years Before,\u201d Ankita Gusain (India), 15\u2019 \u2013 World Premiere
\u201cSpectators,\u201d Stanislavs Tokalovs, Betija Zvejniece (Latvia), 18\u2019 \u2013 World Premiere
\u201cThe Unabsorbed Past, Yietnu\u201d (Yi Zhang, Nu Ha) (France\/China), 26\u2019 \u2013 World Premiere<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leading documentary festival IDFA has added more than 100 films to its 39th edition, which runs from Nov.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[6332,156,88709,409,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-615522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-documentaries-to-watch","tag-entertainment","tag-idfa","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}