IDFA Forum (November 12-15), the co-production and co-financing market of International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), has selected its 2023 edition titles, with the likes of Aboozar Amini, Asmae El Moudir and Michael Madsen returning with their latest projects to Forum Pitch, while the Rough Cut Presentations section has expanded.
Afghanistan-born, Netherlands-based filmmaker Amini’s Kabul, City In The Wind screened at IDFA in 2018, and is now pitching Kabul, Year Zero, which threads together four vivid coming-of-age stories against the backdrop of war.
After presenting The Postcard at IDFA 2020 and receiving IDFA Bertha Fund support for The Mother of All Lies, Moroccan El Moudir is back with Don’t Let the Sun Go Up On Me, about a relationship between a father and daughter. The Visit’s Danish director Madsen returns with Architecture As Invention, which captures Polish-US architect Daniel Libeskind’s journey into imagining his final masterpiece.
Rough Cut Presentations, which caters specifically to film projects in editing or in rough cut stage that are looking for sales, distribution, or other exhibition opportunities, will now take place over two days, as opposed to one, on November 13 to 14. It has expanded from showcasing six projects, to 11, featuring five Ukrainian projects, four of which have previously received support by IDFA Bertha Fund, such as Flowers Of Ukraine by Adelina Borets and To Use A Mountain by Casey Carter.
“We received a record number of Rough Cut submissions this year, over a third more than in previous years, which we took as a clear sign that filmmakers and producers are in need of support in their process. That is why this edition of forum has extended its Rough Cut Presentations to show crucial projects from Ukraine that need to be seen and deserve the widest possible audience,” said Adriek van Nieuwenhuijzen, head of IDFA industry.
The programme also includes Producers Connection, a producer-to-producer showcase of projects looking for international co-production opportunities; and the IDFA DocLab Forum, for interactive and XR projects.
IDFA Forum 2023 line-up
IDFA Forum Pitch
All Rivers Spill Their Secrets (To The Sea) (UK) dir. Jeanie Finlay, prods. I Am Charlie, Glimmer Films
The Amazing Tale Of The Peace River Meteorite (Can-Isr) dir. Yoav Shamir, prods. Yoav Shamir Films, Intuitive Pictures
Architecture As Invention (Den) dir. Michael Madsen, prod. Paloma Productions
Ashes Settling In Layers On The Surface (Ukr) dir. Zoya Laktionova, prod. 2Brave Productions
Casting My Mom (China) dir. Rongfei Guo, prod. CKF Pictures
The Death Of Death (NZ) dir. Justin Pemberton, prod. The Docufactory
Don’t Let The Sun Go Up On Me (Mor) dir. Asmae El Moudir, prod. InsightFILMS
EatenFish (Nor) dir. Daniel Nils Roberts, prod. Final Cut for Real Norway
Fire, Water, Earth, Air (Den) dirs. Phie Ambo, Ewa Cederstam, Rógvi Rasmusen, Janne Lindgren, prod. Tambo Film
A Hole In The Wall (Pol) dir. Arjun Talwar, prod. Uni-Solo Studio
Issa’s House (Isr-Palestine) dir. Tomer Heymann, prod. Heymann Brothers Films
Kabul, Year Zero (Neth-Afg) dir. Aboozar Amini, prod. Silk Road Film Salon
Lights (working title) (Ger-Ukr) dirs. Mila Teshaieva, Marcus Lenz, prod. Wildfilms
The Long Cuban Night (Col) dir. Sergio Fernández Borrás, prod. Casatarantula
Our Seeds (working title) (Turkey) dir. Erhan Arık, prod. Horovel Films
The Photographer (Fr-US) dir. Francisco Bello, prods. What’s up Films,
Katherine Harper
La Pietà (Sp-Ice- Lithuania) dir. SUICAfilms, Axfilms, Pepe Andreu
Shadows Of The Forest (India) dirs. Akash Basumatari, Shrutiman Deori, prod. Raintree Films
Son Of The Street (Palestine) dir. Mohammed Almughanni, prod. Gaza Films
Undisclosed Project (Nor-Italy) dir. TBC, prod. Zalab Film
Producers Connection
Babchenko Time (Fr) dir. Denis Sneguirev
Before The Fire (Col) dir. Angel Giovanni Hoyos
Compadre Fannie (Ecu) dir. Ivan Mora Manzano
El Dorado (Geo) dir. Rati Oneli
A Girl And A Gun (S. Afr) dir. Ayra Amber Lallo
Hope Against Hope (Iran) dir. Mina Keshavarz
Kongo Is Burning (Con) dir. Arnold Aganze
Manifested Belonging (Tan-Can) dirs. Darragh Amelia and Jesse Gerard Mpango
Mrs. Escobar (US-Arg) dir. Nicolas Entel
Queens Ballroom (US) dirs. Siyi Chen and Hansen Lin
Red Zone (Ukr) dir. Iryna Tsilyk
Untitled Mary Kathryn Nagle Project (US) dir. Sky Hopinka
Velvet Generation (Slo) dir. Ivana Hucikova
Rough Cut Presentations
Coexistence, My Ass! (US) dir. Amber Fares
Company Of Steel (Ukr) dir. Yuliia Hontaruk
Displaced (Ukr) dir. Olha Zhurba
Flowers Of Ukraine (Pol-Ukr) dir. Adelina Borets
Hakuchu Munayta (Per) dir. Augusto Zegarra
Land Of Sar (Slo) dir. Petra Seliskar
Militantropos (Ukr) dirs. Maksym Nakonechnyi, Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, Simon Mozgovyi
Pax Neerlandica (Neth) dir. Daan Veldhuizen
There Was, There Was Not (US-Arm) dir. Emily Mkrtichian
To Use A Mountain (US) dir. Casey Carter
Up In The Air (Ukr) dir. Oksana Syhareva
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