The 39th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), set to take place in Amsterdam from November 12 to 22, 2026, has announced the main International and Envision competition lineups.
IDFA opens with the world premiere of White Tiger Column by Robert Mentov, Dwight Jantzi, and Bryan Dickie, closely following a group of recruits through 45 days of training with Myanmar’s resistance movement. In a training camp deep in the jungle, the filmmakers capture the daily lives of young volunteers as they prepare to fight for their freedom. A striking example of documentary cinema, the film offers a moving portrait of a courageous generation.
White Tiger Column has been selected for the International Competition and nominated for the IDFA Award for Best First Feature.
International Competition
Bardi, dir. Tala Hadid (Morocco), 108’ – European Premiere
Crack in the Head, Crack in the Sky, dir. Mehran Tamadon (France), 120’ – World Premiere
Down the River, dir. Ruslan Fedotov (Germany), 79’ – World Premiere
Hazara Town, dir. Khadim Dai (Belgium/Australia/Germany), 103’ – World Premiere
Here Where the Fire Burns, dir. Juan Manuel Sepúlveda (Mexico), 97’ – World Premiere
An Incomplete Day in the History of Georgia 10.06.93, dir. Salomé Jashi (Georgia), 100’ – World Premiere
Lonan Tché, dir. Joël Richmond Mathieu Akafou (France/Italy/Ivory Coast/Senegal), 95’ – World Premiere
Mangabangabaka, dir. Michaël Andrianaly (France/Madagascar/Burkina Faso), 92’ – World Premiere
Morro Grande, dir. Isabel Joffily, Rita Toledo (Brazil/Netherlands), 88’ – World Premiere
Still Night, Burning House, dir. Carol Nguyen (Canada), 76’ – International Premiere
White Tiger Column, dir. Robert Mentov, Dwight Jantzi, Bryan Dickie (Canada), 95’ – World Premiere
Women and War, dir. Elwira Niewiera (Germany/Poland/Ukraine), 103’ – World Premiere
The Year of the Ghost, dir. Louis Hothothot (Netherlands/China), 95’ – World Premiere
Envision Competition
The Envision Competition offers 13 unparalleled films, each of them stylistically arresting, as visionary filmmakers forge new cinematic languages. The selection brings together titles in which form drives the narrative. Through distinctive visual approaches and formal choices, the filmmakers deconstruct and reframe the complexities of our world, offering new ways of seeing and understanding the subjects they explore.
Envision Competition
Bahía Honda, dir. Alejandro Alonso Estrella (Cuba/France/Norway), 85’ – World Premiere
Between Revolutions, dir. Ruben Desiere (Belgium/Netherlands), 78’ – World Premiere
The Black Box Is Orange, dir. Yuula Benivolski (Canada), 89’ – International Premiere
Drop! Cover! Hold On!, dir. Stéphanie Roland (Belgium/France), 77’ – World Premiere
Lyrical Vengeance, dir. wendelien van oldenborgh (Netherlands), 111’ – World Premiere
Memories, dir. Anna Falguères (Belgium/France), 78’ – World Premiere
Memories of Lightning, dir. Riccardo Giacconi (France/Italy), 73’ – International Premiere
My Own Personal Gulag, dir. Lina Gorbaneva (Spain), 84’ – World Premiere
Radiant Mountain, dir. Miguel Moraes Cabral (Belgium/Portugal/France), 75’ – World Premiere
Ragazzi al fiume, dir. Pablo Briones (Switzerland), 75’ – World Premiere
Rivers of Memory, dir. Shishir Jha (India), 72’ – World Premiere
Vertigo Garden, dir. Lei Lei (Hong Kong SAR, China), 73’ – World Premiere
You Don’t Die Two Times, dir. Ager Oueslati (Algeria/Germany/Netherlands), 90’ – World Premiere
Newly unveiled selections include the International and Envision Competitions, Luminous, Frontlight, the IDFA DocLab competition selections, and the nominations for all cross-section awards. As of today, the IDFA 2026 official selection is complete, with 253 titles from 80 countries.
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