The Durban FilmMart (DFM), the industry development program of the Durban Film Office and Durban International Film Festival ended on a high note with the awards ceremony at the Tsogo Maharani Hotel in Durban, South Africa on Monday, July 17.
“The DFM is one of the most important film finance platforms and industry events on the African continent, and this year’s eighth edition has certainly been our biggest.” said Toni Monty, Head of the Durban Film Office. “We hosted over 600 delegates with over 30 countries participating in this year’s market; 17 of which were from Africa. We are thrilled that we have had a record number of 70 projects presenting at this year’s finance forum.”
Central to the Durban FilmMart have been the networking sessions and meetings held over four days between delegates comprising filmmakers, producers, distributors, agents, broadcasters and film funders and government agencies.
This year 22 official DFM film projects in development were presented at the Finance Forum through the partnership with Cinemart and IDFA, Netherlands.
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)
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7 African Films Win Durban FilmMart Awards 2017
The Durban FilmMart (DFM), the industry development program of the Durban Film Office and Durban International Film Festival ended on a high note with the awards ceremony at the Tsogo Maharani Hotel in Durban, South Africa on Monday, July 17.
“The DFM is one of the most important film finance platforms and industry events on the African continent, and this year’s eighth edition has certainly been our biggest.” said Toni Monty, Head of the Durban Film Office. “We hosted over 600 delegates with over 30 countries participating in this year’s market; 17 of which were from Africa. We are thrilled that we have had a record number of 70 projects presenting at this year’s finance forum.”
Central to the Durban FilmMart have been the networking sessions and meetings held over four days between delegates comprising filmmakers, producers, distributors, agents, broadcasters and film funders and government agencies.
This year 22 official DFM film projects in development were presented at the Finance Forum through the partnership with Cinemart and IDFA, Netherlands.
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‘Sonita” “Boudewijn de Groot – Come Closer ” Win Audience Awards at IDFA
Sonita by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami is the winner of the IDFA Audience Award at the 2015 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. Sonita – which was made with support from the IDFA Bertha Fund – also won the IDFA DOC U Award. Boudewijn de Groot – Come Closer by Suzanne Raes took the IDFA Music Audience Award.
Sonita, tells the story of 18-year-old Afghan Sonita Alizadeh, who lives illegally in Iran and dreams of a career as a rapper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B47MbpPuz7A
Boudewijn de Groot – Come Closer by Suzanne Raes follows singer Boudewijn de Groot as he prepares for a concert in which bids farewell to his biggest hits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRuVvNZtIyU
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Don Juan Wins Best Feature-Length Documentary Award at 28th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Jerzy Sladkowski’s Don Juan won the VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary and Ukrainian Sheriffs by Roman Bondarchuk won the IDFA Special Jury Award for Feature-Length Documentary at the 28th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam IDFA award ceremony.
The prize for the best Dutch documentary went to Ester Gould for A Strange Love Affair with Ego. The festival’s opening film A Family Affair by Tom Fassaert was awarded the IDFA Special Jury Award for Dutch Documentary.
A total of 16 prizes were awarded and three of the winners: Ukrainian Sheriffs, Roundabout in My Head and Sonita were made with financial support from the IDFA Bertha Fund.
Jerzy Sladkowski won the VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary for Don Juan (Sweden/Finland). The film is a portrait of 22-year old Oleg, and his mother Marina’s attempts to cure him of his lethargy.
From the jury’s report: “This tender, bittersweet tragicomedy about role-playing within both therapeutic theatre games and family dramas, and the interplay between them, is both subtle and aggressive, speaking volumes about the definitions of normality, abnormality and the dynamics of power and love.”
Furthermore, the jury awarded the IDFA Special Jury Award for Feature-Length Documentary to Ukrainian Sheriffs (Ukraine/Latvia/Germany) by Roman Bondarchuk. The documentary, which was made with support from the IDFA Bertha Fund and was a 2014 IDFAcademy Summer School project, is a tragicomic portrait of two sheriffs in a remote Ukrainian village where, alongside all manner of commonplace situations, political developments also threaten to disturb the peace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29qoEzqw5Mk
The IDFA Award for First Appearance was awarded to Salome Machaidze, Tamuna Karumidze and David Meskhi for When the Earth Seems to Be Light (Georgia/Germany).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSQix_-g0fI
The Special Jury Award for First Appearance – in memory of Peter Wintonick – went to Hassen Ferhani’s Roundabout in My Head (Algeria/France/Lebanon/Qatar).
Roundabout in My Head was financially supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund.
Andreas Koefoed won the IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary for At Home in the World (Denmark).
Samir Mehanovic won the IDFA Special Jury Award for Mid-Length Documentary for The Fog of Srebrenica (Scotland/Bosnia and Herzegovina).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCHdvD7zD4A
The IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling was presented to Jan Rothuizen and Sara Kolster for Drawing Room (the Netherlands).
Ant Hampton received the IDFA DocLab Immersive Non-Fiction Award for Someone Else (Belgium).
The Beeld en Geluid IDFA Award for Dutch Documentary was awarded to A Strange Love Affair with Ego made by Ester Gould.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDeqrlVLLrE
Tom Fassaert received the IDFA Special Jury Award for Dutch Documentary for A Family Affair.
The ARRI IDFA Award for Best Student Documentary went to My Aleppo (USA) by Melissa Langer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4lXDzur4Ts
The Mute’s House (Israel) by Tamar Kay won the IDFA Special Jury Award for Student Documentary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01CtMn48dgE
This year, the IDFA Award for Best Children’s Documentary was awarded for the first time and went to Ninnoc by Niki Padidar (the Netherlands).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hn3GFvFWsM
The jury decided to also award an honorable mention to Victor Kossakovsky’s Varicella (Norway/Denmark/Sweden/Russia).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOeKWKC2w5o
IDFA DOC U Award for the youth jury’s favorite film was awarded to Sonita by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami (Iran). Sonita was made thanks to a financial contribution from the IDFA Bertha Fund.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B47MbpPuz7A
The Oxfam Global Justice Award went to Pablo Iraburu and Migueltxo Molina for Walls (Spain).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl_kUNh9TpI
Finally, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists’ EDA Award for Best Female-Directed Documentary was awarded to Motley’s Law by Nicole Nielsen Horanyi (Denmark). Motley’s Law was an IDFA Forum project in 2013.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_hfsq5gL-o
IDFA continues until Sunday November 29, 2015, when the winners of the BankGiro Loterij IDFA Audience Award and the IDFA Music Audience Award, for the music documentary will be announced.
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Filmmakers Thomas Vroege and Tom Fassaert Win Awards at 2015 IDFA
The 2015 IDFA International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam just officially opened with the screening of A Family Affair directed by Tom Fassaert (pictured above) and presented awards to filmmakers Thomas Vroege and Tom Fassaert. The 2015 Dutch Cultural Media Fund Documentary Award of €125,000 went to Thomas Vroege to fund his film plan for Theater of the Crowd, and Tom Fassaert, director of A Family Affair, received The Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Documentary Award of €50,000.
Theater of the Crowd is film essay on the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe; a documentary about freedom that follows the narrative principles of Greek tragedy. The refugee crisis is a threat to the fractured foundations of a continent undergoing an identity crisis. How should we go about defending the ideal of freedom? The jury had this to say about the winning film plan: ‘Making artistic choices demands faith in your abilities, sense of conviction and, above all, ambition. The winning plan is brimming with ambition. It is experimental and courageous and it dares to go way off the beaten track. Taking an essayistic approach to questioning and investigating this pressing social issue, it is both topical and timeless.’
Filmmaker and video artist Thomas Vroege was born in 1988 and graduated in 2012 from the St. Joost Art Academy in Breda. His graduation film The Son & The Stranger won him the Dutch Film Fund’s Wild Card Award for that year’s most promising graduation documentary. His short film So Help Me God, which premiered at the 2015 Netherlands Film Festival, focuses on the financial world and the seemingly unassailable position of bankers. Vroege is currently making 9 Days, an installation on the Syrian civil war. In preparation for this piece, he recently filmed 9 DAYS – From My Window in Aleppo. He is also working with Mark Jan van Tellingen on the development of PARANOIA.WATCH, an app that aims to make measurable the effect of terrorism on society.
The Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Documentary Award was presented to filmmaker Tom Fassaert for the production of a new documentary.
Tom Fassaert was born in Naarden in 1979 and graduated in 2006 from the Netherlands Film Academy with the short documentary Doel. This film led a year later to the release of his much-praised debut De Engel van Doel. Filmed in black-and-white, it tracks the decline of Doel, a Belgian village threatened by the expansion of the port of Antwerp. Fassaert has been working for the past few years on A Family Affair, in which he visits his grandmother Marianne in South Africa, hoping to discover more about his family’s history and his grandmother’s problematic relationship with her children. This honest and personal family drama has established Fassaert’s reputation as one of the Netherlands’ most talented filmmakers. A second, keenly anticipated, film is a confident and stylish tour de force, again with an excellent storyline. Fassaert knows what he wants to say, and he knows how to say it.
The Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Documentary Award rewards talented filmmakers with a sum of €50,000, enabling the recipient to make a documentary film of his or her own choice. The award is granted to documentary filmmakers who have already demonstrated their qualities in practice and gained some recognition for their work. The previous recipients of the award are Klaartje Quirijns (2011), Renzo Martens (2012), Boris Gerrets (2013) and Jessica Gorter (2014).
Lastly, IDFA director Ally Derks was made a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres, and the French ambassador to the Netherlands Laurent Pic presented her with the Ordre des Arts et Lettres.
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Benjamin Barber to Present Film Program at 2015 IDFA Reflecting on Jihad vs. McWorld
The 1995 book Jihad vs. McWorld by American political theorist Benjamin Barber forms the starting point for the special program Benjamin Barber: Jihad vs. McWorld 2015 at the upcoming 2015 IDFA International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. This year a new 20th anniversary edition of the book will be published with the subtitle ‘ISIS on the Internet’.
At IDFA, Benjamin Barber, an internationally renowned political theorist and the author of eighteen books, will present his own selection of documentaries from the IDFA program that engage with many contemporary themes, including global capitalism, terrorism, the politics of fear, refugees, populism and economic inequality.
3 ½ Minutes, Ten Bullets (USA) by Marc Silver
A Syrian Love Story (UK) by Sean McAllister
Among the Believers (Pakistan/USA/India) by Mohammed Ali Naqvi & Hemal Trivedi
At Home in the World (Denmark) by Andreas Koefoed
Cartel Land (USA/Mexico) by Matthew Heineman
Checks and Balances (France/Algeria) by Malek Bensmaïl
The Chinese Mayor (China) by Hao Zhou
The Dybbuk: A Tale of Wandering Souls (Poland/Ukraine/Sweden) by Krzysztof Kopczynski
For Kibera! (Finland) by Kati Juurus
Land Grabbing (Austria) by Kurt Langbein
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (USA) by Alex Gibney
This Is Exile: Diaries of Child Refugees (England) by Mani Y. Benchelah (pictured above)
Ukrainian Sheriffs (Ukraine/Latvia/Germany) by Roman Bondarchuk
We Are Not Alone (Spain) by Pere Joan Ventura
Welcome to Leith (USA) by Christopher K. Walker & Michael Nichols
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15 Documentary Films to Compete at 28th IDFA; Fest to Open with A FAMILY AFFAIR
15 films will compete in the feature-length documentary competition of the upcoming 28th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), which takes place in Amsterdam from November 18 to 29, 2015. The 28th IDFA opens on 18 November with A Family Affair by Dutch director Tom Fassaert. In A Family Affair, Fassaert explores the delicate history of his own family, which is marked by conflict. This personal journey takes him through four generations, and becomes complicated when his grandmother makes an unexpected confession. A Family Affair competes in both IDFA’s feature-length documentary and Dutch documentary competitions.
Bolshoi Babylon by Nick Read (Russia / UK)
A revealing look behind the scenes of the world-famous Russian Bolshoi Theatre, where a constant struggle between ambition, love of art and nepotism is played out.
Carolina’s World by Mariana Viñoles (Uruguay)
An affectionate portrait of 20-year-old Caro, who has Down’s syndrome. Sitting at her mother’s kitchen table, she talks openly about her life.
Clear Years by Frédéric Guillaume (Belgium)
An intimate, candid account of a man watching through his camera lens as his family falls apart.
Don Juan by Jerzy Sladkowski (Sweden / Finland)
A funny, painful portrait of 22-year-old Oleg, whose mother Marina is trying to free him from his lethargic state.
A Family Affair by Tom Fassaert (the Netherlands)
Hoping to gain insight into his family history, Tom Fassaert heads to South Africa to visit his grandmother Marianne. But Marianne has something else in mind.
Natural Disorder by Christian Sønderby Jepsen (Denmark)
Jacob, who has cerebral palsy, will never lead a normal life. But who defines what is normal? In a play, he defends his right to exist as an abnormal person.
Next Stop: Utopia by Apostolos Karakasis (Greece / Germany / France)
Greek workers take over their abandoned workplace. Their movement becomes a beacon of solidarity – but how long can they keep going?
Patient by Jorge Caballero (Colombia)
While Nubia fights and fears for the life of her terminally ill daughter, we are given a bewildering insight into the absurd bureaucracy of the health system in Colombia.
The Road by Zanbo Zhang (China)
The construction of a gigantic motorway in China brings three parties into opposition with one another: the local population, the construction company and the labourers.
Snow Monkey by George Gittoes (Australia)
A collage of joy and brutality in Afghanistan. Local gang members take acting roles in a Pashtun film directed by an open-minded Australian.
Sonita by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami (Iran / Germany)
Illegally living in Tehran, 18-year old Afghani refugee Sonita dreams of being a rapper in this exciting document of her search for her own life path through life.
A Strange Love Affair with Ego by Ester Gould (the Netherlands)
Her admiration for the self-assurance of her sister Rowan prompts the filmmaker to explore our narcissistic society – with shocking results.
Thru You Princess by Ido Haar (Israel)
A virtual musical encounter between a cappella singer Princess Shaw from New Orleans and Israeli composer-producer Kutiman leads to an internet hit.
Thy Father’s Chair by Antonio Tibaldi and Alex Lora (Italy / USA)
Ageing Orthodox Jewish twins Abraham and Shraga have to look on as a clean-up team gets to grips with their polluted home in Brooklyn.
Ukrainian Sheriffs by Roman Bondarchuk (Ukraine / Latvia / Germany)
Tragi-comic portrait of a pair of sheriffs in a remote Ukrainian village where – alongside various simmering situations – political developments are also a threat to order.
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Documentary About American Iraq Veterans with PTSD Wins 2014 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Of Men and War by Laurent Bécue-RenardLaurent Bécue-Renard won the VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary at the 2014 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), for Of Men and War (France / Switzerland). The film is about a group of American Iraq veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Director Bécue-Renard follows the group for many years during therapy sessions in a clinic for veterans. The jury presented the Special Jury Award to Something Better to Come (Denmark / Poland) by Hanna Polak, who for fourteen years followed young girl Yula and those who share her fate, living in the biggest waste tip in Europe, just outside Moscow.
Julia Mironova won the NTR IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary for Kamchatka – The Cure for Hatred (Russia), a (self-) portrait of the former television reporter Vijatsjeslav Nemishev who in 2001 covered the war in Chechnya and now lives a withdrawn life on an island.
The IDFA Award for First Appearance was presented to Gábor Hörcher for Drifter (Hungary / Germany), an up-close-and-personal portrait of a rebellious Hungarian racing talent who dramatically often veers of the socially accepted course. In addition, the jury presented the Peter Wintonick Special Jury Award for First Appearance, an incentive award in memory of Canadian filmmaker Peter Wintonick who passed away last year. The award went to Nadine Salib for Mother of the Unborn (Egypt / United Arab Emirates), about an Egyptian woman’s desire to become pregnant and thereby gain acceptance as a woman.
The Beeld en Geluid IDFA Award for Dutch Documentary, went to The New Rijksmuseum – The Film by Oeke Hoogendijk. The film is a fascinating behind-the-scenes report on the large-scale renovation of the Netherlands’ most well-known museum, which took a total of ten years.
The BankGiro Loterij IDFA Audience Award went to Naziha’s Spring (the Netherlands) by Gülsah Dogan, a candid portrait of single mother Naziha, a number of whose children were the focus of negative media attention in 2007.
The IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling went to Serial (USA) by Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder. Serial is an audio-visual whodunit who keeps the followers of the podcast on permanent tenterhooks: who killed American schoolgirl Hae Min Lee?
The IDFA Award for Student Competition went to No Lullaby (Germany) by Helen Simon. The film is a reconstruction of a horrific family history across three generations.
Alan Hicks received the IDFA Melkweg Music Documentary Audience Award for Keep on Keepin’ on (USA), about jazz legend Clark Terry (1920) and his young protégé Justin Kauflin, a blind jazz pianist.
The IDFA DOC U Award, presented by a youth jury, went to Sophie Robinson and Lotje Sodderland for My Beautiful Broken Brain (UK). Following a serious stroke, resilient, intelligent Lotje Sodderland tries to recapture her previously glorious life.
Finally, the Mediafondsprijs Kids & Docs 2014 was presented to Giovanni and the Water Ballet by Astrid Bussink. A special children’s jury chose Giovanni and the Water Ballet as the best Dutch youth documentary of the past year. Astrid Bussink received with which to make a new youth documentary.
The next IDFA will take place from 18 through 29 November 2015.
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15 Films in 2014 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam Feature-Length Documentary Competition
Those Who Feel the Fire Burning by Morgan Knibbe15 films have been selected for the competition program for feature-length documentary in the upcoming IDFA, the 27th edition of which takes place from November 19 to 30, in Amsterdam. Two of these competitors are local Dutch productions: Around The World in 50 Concerts by Heddy Honigmann and Those Who Feel the Fire Burning by Morgan Knibbe. The jury, made up of Anne Aghion (USA), Talal Derki (Syria), Sandra den Hamer (the Netherlands), Joshua Oppenheimer (Denmark) and Alina Rudnitskaya (Russia) will present the VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary, with a cash prize of € 12,500.
35 Cows and a Kalashnikov by Oswald Richthofen (Germany)
Beautifully made triptych about warrior-farmers, colourful dandies and voodoo wrestlers in Ethiopia, Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa.Around The World in 50 Concerts by Heddy Honigmann (the Netherlands)
Honigmann toured the world with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, speaking to music lovers about the role of music in their lives.Chameleon by Ryan Mullins (Canada)
Ghanaian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ appearance and unorthodox methods of bringing crimes to light are simultaneously famous and infamous.Democrats by Camilla Nielsson (Denmark)
Intriguing look at an authoritarian state on the verge of democratization: how Zimbabwe got a new constitution.The Forecaster by Marcus Vetter (Germany)
The extraordinary story of Martin Armstrong, who amazed friend and foe alike with highly accurate forecasts of the global economy based on a model he designed.Franco’s Promise by Marc Weymuller (France/Spain)
The ruins of Belchite are a symbol of the collective amnesia that gripped Spain after the Civil War (1936-1939). Can you simply turn your back on the past?Of Men and War by Laurent Bécue-Renard (France/Switzerland)
The stories of a group of American Iraq veterans with PTSS grow into a powerful anti-war protest.The Queen of Silence by Agnieszka Zwiefka (Germany/Poland)
As a deaf mute Roma unwelcome in Poland, ten-year-old Denisa is excluded everywhere. She expresses her feelings by dancing like a Bollywood princess.Somboon by Krisda Tipchaimeta (Thailand)
Love is not expressed through big words, but in the day-to-day care – shown in minute detail – of grandpa Somboon for his beloved, ailing wife.Something Better to Come by Hanna Polak (Denmark/Poland)
For ten years, award-winning documentary maker Hanna Polak followed teenage girl Yula and her companions, who live on the biggest refuse tip in Europe.That Sugar Film by Damon Gameau (UK/Australia)
Damon Gameau wants to experience first-hand the effects of sugar, so for sixty days he takes the amount consumed daily by the average Australian: forty teaspoons.Those Who Feel the Fire Burning by Morgan Knibbe (the Netherlands)
Experimental, poetic documentary about a serious social problem: the many refugees who reach the borders of Europe in a hopeless situation.Those Who Said No by Nima Sarvestani (Sweden)
From Sweden, a survivor of Iranian state terror follows the Iran Tribunal. He dreams of confronting the perpetrators with their crimes.Uyghurs, Prisoners of the Absurd by Patricio Henriquez (Canada)
The shocking story of a group of Uyghurs, who spent years in Guantánamo Bay despite being innocent. How could this happen?Wind on the Moon by Seung-Jun Yi (South Korea)
Yeji (19) was born deaf and blind. She has a deep bond with her mother, who helps her make the most of life.
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SONG FROM THE FOREST Wins Best Documentary at 2013 IDFA
SONG FROM THE FOREST by Michael Obert SONG FROM THE FOREST by Michael Obert won the top prize, VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary at the 26th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam which took place November 29 to December 1, 2013. The film focuses on American Louis Sarno, who has lived for 25 years with a tribe of Pygmies in the jungle of Central Africa and decides to take his son to America for the first time. Other top winners include TWIN SISTERS by Mona Friis Bertheussen snagging the BankGiro Loterij IDFA Audience Award. Twin Sisters is the remarkable story of Chinese twins adopted in two completely different parts of world, but who are united by fate. The next IDFA will take place November 19 to 30, 2014.
VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary
In addition, to Michael Obert winning the VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary for SONG FROM THE FOREST, the jury presented a Special Jury Award to A LETTER TO NELSON MANDELA by Khalo Matabane (South Africa / Germany), in which the filmmaker takes a critical look at Nelson Mandela, his status and role in the reforms that took place in South Africa in the 1990s.
NTR IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary
The Russian collective Gogol’s Wives Productions won the NTR IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary for PUSSY VERSUS PUTIN (Russia) – a grim record of the struggle by the wild, anarchistic female band Pussy Riot against president Putin, from their first disruptive performances to images shot in police cells.
IDFA Award for First Appearance
The IDFA Award for First Appearance was presented to Farida Pacha for MY NAME IS SALT (Switzerland / India), a painstaking observation of the labour-intensive process of salt extraction in an Indian desert, where the repetitive actions and events take on a ritual character.
The jury also presented an extra award in memory of Peter Wintonick: the Peter Wintonick Special Jury Award for First Appearance to Linda Västrik for FOREST OF THE DANCING SPIRITS, a portrait of a tribe of pygmies in Central Africa.
Dioraphte IDFA Award for Dutch Documentary
The Dioraphte IDFA Award for Dutch Documentary, went to AWAKE IN A BAD DREAM by Petra Lataster-Czisch and Peter Lataster. The film revolves around three women dealing with the physical and emotional suffering caused by breast cancer.
BankGiro Loterij IDFA Audience Award
The BankGiro Loterij IDFA Audience Award went to TWIN SISTERS by Mona Friis Bertheussen (Norway). Twin Sisters is the remarkable story of Chinese twins adopted in two completely different parts of world, but who are united by fate.
IDFA Award for Student Competition
The IDFA Award for Student Competition went to Ricardas Marcinkus for FINAL DESTINATION (Lithuania). The film deals with a Lithuanian prisoner released after 28 years. Unfortunately, the man rapidly sinks back into a life of drug abuse on the streets.
IDFA Melkweg Music Documentary Audience Award
Morgan Neville received the IDFA Melkweg Music Documentary Audience Award for TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM (USA, 2013), in which the backing singers of superstars reveal what it is like to live in the shadow of fame, and talk about their love of music.
IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling
The firestarters IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling went to I LOVE YOUR WORK (USA) by Jonathan Harris. In this web documentary, nine women in the lesbian porn industry reveal not only their bodies, but their thoughts to the camera.
IDFA DOC U Award
The IDFA DOC U Award presented by a jury of young people, went to Joe Piscatella for #chicagoGirl – THE SOCIAL NETWORK TAKES ON A DICTATOR (USA / Syria). From a suburb of Chicago, a nineteen-year-old American female student has been coordinating the Syrian revolution since 2011, armed with every imaginable social network.
Mediafonds Kids & Docs Award 2013
Finally, the Mediafonds Kids & Docs Award 2013 was presented to A HOME FOR LYDIA by Eline Helena Schellekens. The film tells the story of Lydia, who was born in the Netherlands but has no residence permit. A special children’s jury voted A Home for Lydia the best Dutch youth documentary of the past year. Eline Helena Schellekens received €15,000 towards making a new youth documentary.
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International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam Unveils 2013 Official Selections
AI WEIWEI: THE FAKE CASE by Andreas JohnsenThe 26th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam taking place from November 20 toDecember 1, 2013 , in Amsterdam, unveiled the 2013 official film selections. The program consists of 288 titles (selected from more than 3,000 submissions), of which 100 will have their world première during the festival. 15 films will compete this year in IDFA’s competition for feature-length documentaries.
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
AI WEIWEI: THE FAKE CASE by Andreas Johnsen (Denmark)
Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei wonders, after three months of lonely confinement, what the price of his struggle is.ALPHABET by Erwin Wagenhofer (Austria/Germany)
Arm-in-arm in the classroom or painting whatever you want? An indictment of competitive education and a plea for the imagination of the individual.BIRTH OF A TIGER by Sam Benstead (England)
The newly formed nation of South Sudan employs a Serbian coach to get its national football team up and running.DISPLACED PERSONS by Åsa Blanck & Johan Palmgren (Sweden)
Forty years ago, Pelle Persson left Sweden and settled in Pakistan. Now he returns to his motherland with the family he started far from home.FAREWELL TO HOLLYWOOD by Henry Corra & Regina Nicholson (USA)
A heartwarming yet heartbreaking and controversial ode to 17-year-old Reggie, who is struggling with cancer, her family and the realization of her cinematic dream.AN INCONSOLABLE MEMORY by Aryan Kaganof (South Africa)
A reconstruction of the history of South Africa’s first opera company, Eoan, and an exercise in getting at the truth of what it was to be “a colored.”LIFE ALMOST WONDERFUL by Svetoslav Draganov (Bulgaria/Belgium)
An observational documentary about three brothers and their granny. Despite their hardships, they still believe happiness is just a hope away.NE ME QUITTE PAS by Niels van Koevorden & Sabine Lubbe Bakker (the Netherlands)
A Direct Cinema portrait of the Flemish Bob and the Walloon Marcel, two Belgian friends who share loneliness, humor, alcoholism and suicide plans with great élan.PUTIN’S GAMES by Alexander Gentelev (Russia/Austria)
The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia are breaking all records when it comes to corruption and megalomania. This investigative documentary uncovers the hidden story behind Putin’s Games.RETURN TO HOMS by Talal Derki (Syria/Germany)
A remarkably intimate portrait of the unequal struggle of a group of young revolutionaries in Homs, Syria, against the national army destroying their city.SEPIDEH by Berit Madsen (Denmark)
A portrait of a courageous young Iranian woman who refuses to conform to expectations and dreams of a future as an astronaut.SHADO’MAN by Boris Gerrets (the Netherlands)
A cinematic portrait of the nocturnal street life of the disabled in Sierra Leone, in which a group of friends reflects on their complex existences.SONG FROM THE FOREST by Michael Obert (Germany)
American Louis Sarno has been living for 25 years in the jungle, among the pygmies of central Africa. Now he’s taking his pygmy son to see America for the first time.STREAM OF LOVE by Agnes Sós (Hungary)
Love and desire still fill the hearts and thoughts of elderly villagers in Transylvania, Hungary. Their spirits are young, despite their years.THE WILD YEARS by Ventura Durall (Spain)
Living without money or adult involvement, three street children struggle to survive in the capital of Ethiopia.
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South Korean Film Planet of Snail Wins 2011 International Documentary Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_1874" align="alignnone"]
VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary, Planet of Snail[/caption]The winners of the 2011 International Documentary Film Festival were just announced and Seung-Jun Yi’s Planet of Snail (South Korea) won the VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary. The Special Jury Award went to 5 Broken Cameras (Palestine/Israel) by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi, who also won the Publieke Omroep IDFA Audience Award.
VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary
The VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary went to Seung-Jun Yi for Planet of Snail (South Korea), which depicts the everyday life of deaf & blind Young-Chan and the love of his life, Soon-Ho.
Planet of Snail was pitched at the FORUM 2010.
Special Jury Award
The jury also awarded a Special Jury Award to directors Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi for 5 Broken Cameras (Palestine/Israel/Netherlands/France). The film is a personal portrait of a Palestinian village resisting encroaching Jewish settlements, as recorded by an inhabitant of the village over a number of years.
NTR IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary
Jorge Gaggero received the NTR IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary for Montenegro (Argentina), about an old man living with his dogs on a quiet island in a river delta, in a seemingly harmonious symbiosis with a hermit who lives a little way away.
IDFA Award for First Appearance
The IDFA Award for First Appearance was presented to Xun Yu for The Vanishing Spring Light (China/Canada), which documents the life of the residents of West Street in Dujiangyan City.
Dioraphte IDFA Award for Dutch Documentary
The Dioraphte IDFA Award for Dutch Documentary went to Jessica Gorter for 900 Days, in which survivors of the siege of Leningrad soberly separate propagandist myth from their horrific personal memories.
Publieke Omroep IDFA Audience Award
De Publieke Omroep IDFA Audience Award went to 5 Broken Cameras (Palestine/Israel/Netherlands/France) by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi.
IDFA Award for Student Documentary
Karen Winther received the IDFA Award for Student Documentary for The Betrayal (UK/Norway). The film is about Karen, who as a teenager made a crucial mistake as part of the Norwegian squatting scene, and is hoping for forgiveness.
BlackBerry IDFA DOC U Award
The BlackBerry IDFA DOC U Award went to The Last Days of Winter (Iran) by Mehrdad Oskouei. The film is a portrait of seven Iranian boys in a youth detention centre, who talk candidly about their lives.
IDFA Award for Best Green Screen Documentary
The IDFA Award for Best Green Screen Documentary (€ 2,500) went to Bitter Seeds (USA/India) by Micha X. Peled. Filmmaker Peled investigates why every thirty minutes an Indian cotton farmer commits suicide, and follows one such farmer on his journey to the edge of the abyss.
IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling
This year saw the presentation for the second time of the IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling. This went to Insitu (France) by Antoine Viviani. Insitu is a search for creative, artistic ways to intervene in the public space.
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23rd International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam Winners
Leonard Retel Helmrich – Position Among the Stars Leonard Retel Helmrich’s Position Among the Stars, the film that opened the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, won both the VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary and the Dioraphte IDFA Award for Dutch Documentary. This is the first time ever at IDFA that a director has won the award for feature-length documentary twice: Retel Helmrich also won in 2004 with The Shape of the Moon.