The Peabody Awards are looking to (finally) host their first in-person Los Angeles awards ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on June 9.
The organization announced a planned move to Los Angeles (from New York) for its annual awards in early 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic and last year’s writers strike have prevented the organization from holding these events in person.
Peabody also announced that it has appointed seven new members to its board of jurors, including Doug Herzog (formerly the president of Viacom’s Music Entertainment Group), Cynthia López (CEO of New York Women in Film & Television), Orwa Nyrabia (artistic director of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), Russ Schriefer (founding partner of Strategic Partners & Media), Cynthia Tucker (Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist), Mark Whitaker (former managing editor of CNN Worldwide, Washington bureau chief for NBC News and editor of Newsweek) and Andrea Wishom (president of Skywalker Holdings, LLC) to its board of jurors.
The organization announced a planned move to Los Angeles (from New York) for its annual awards in early 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic and last year’s writers strike have prevented the organization from holding these events in person.
Peabody also announced that it has appointed seven new members to its board of jurors, including Doug Herzog (formerly the president of Viacom’s Music Entertainment Group), Cynthia López (CEO of New York Women in Film & Television), Orwa Nyrabia (artistic director of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), Russ Schriefer (founding partner of Strategic Partners & Media), Cynthia Tucker (Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist), Mark Whitaker (former managing editor of CNN Worldwide, Washington bureau chief for NBC News and editor of Newsweek) and Andrea Wishom (president of Skywalker Holdings, LLC) to its board of jurors.
- 1/18/2024
- by Tyler Coates
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Peabody Awards are trying again for Los Angeles. The Peabody org announced Thursday that it will hold its 84th annual ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Sunday, June 9. This reps the Peabody Award’s return to an in-person event for the first time since 2019, and also its first time in L.A. — having previously been held in New York (and virtually over the past four years during the pandemic and Hollywood strikes).
Last year was actually supposed to be the Peabody Awards’ move out west and return to an in-person gathering after Covid-19 forced the show to go virtual in 2020, 2021 and 2022. But the Hollywood strikes then forced the group to do another virtual ceremony in 2023.
Also, as part of the announcement, Peabody revealed that Wonya Lucas has been named as the next chair of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors. And added to its board of jurors are...
Last year was actually supposed to be the Peabody Awards’ move out west and return to an in-person gathering after Covid-19 forced the show to go virtual in 2020, 2021 and 2022. But the Hollywood strikes then forced the group to do another virtual ceremony in 2023.
Also, as part of the announcement, Peabody revealed that Wonya Lucas has been named as the next chair of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors. And added to its board of jurors are...
- 1/18/2024
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Update: Following an investigation, the person reported to have made antisemitic statements to a number of individuals at the U.K.’s Grierson Documentary Awards earlier this month has been banned from attending the ceremony again for the next decade.
“Following our investigation into reports of anti-Jewish racism and antisocial behaviour by one individual at the reception after this year’s British Documentary Awards ceremony, The Grierson Trust is imposing a ban on the individual concerned attending the awards, and other events organised by us in any capacity for the next 10 years,” a spokesperson for the trust said.
“The Grierson Trust is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the documentary industry, and to providing a safe space for everyone at our events and programmes. We have a zero tolerance approach to racism of all kinds.”
Previously: The organizers behind the prestigious U.K. documentary prize the Grierson Awards have...
“Following our investigation into reports of anti-Jewish racism and antisocial behaviour by one individual at the reception after this year’s British Documentary Awards ceremony, The Grierson Trust is imposing a ban on the individual concerned attending the awards, and other events organised by us in any capacity for the next 10 years,” a spokesperson for the trust said.
“The Grierson Trust is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the documentary industry, and to providing a safe space for everyone at our events and programmes. We have a zero tolerance approach to racism of all kinds.”
Previously: The organizers behind the prestigious U.K. documentary prize the Grierson Awards have...
- 11/30/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
The documentary festival has experienced protests, open letters and film withdrawals this week.
After an eventful week at International Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), festival director Orwa Nyrabia is hoping to organise a symposium at which the film community can discuss how best to address the various issues facing festivals as they steer through the choppy waters of geo-political events.
IDFA is one of the first major festivals to have taken place since the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza. IDFA’s various programmes and sidebars included films and projects from both Israel and Palestine.
After an eventful week at International Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), festival director Orwa Nyrabia is hoping to organise a symposium at which the film community can discuss how best to address the various issues facing festivals as they steer through the choppy waters of geo-political events.
IDFA is one of the first major festivals to have taken place since the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza. IDFA’s various programmes and sidebars included films and projects from both Israel and Palestine.
- 11/17/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
At documentary festival IDFA this week, National Geographic’s exec VP of marketing and communications Chris Albert – whose slate includes IDFA entry “The Mission,” about the death of American evangelical missionary John Chau on the remote Indian island of North Sentinel – was asked during an onstage interview with the festival’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia: “How would you market a film with a budget of $20,000?”
The executive, who has worked at National Geographic for over 20 years, was quick to respond: “Whether you’ve got $20,000 or $2 million, marketing can’t make a bad movie good. You can throw as much money as you want into a bad movie and it’s not going to make it better.”
Albert said he could spend his entire marketing budget for a low-budget film by placing it on the viewing portal for Oscar voters, but that is not the way he would proceed. “I...
The executive, who has worked at National Geographic for over 20 years, was quick to respond: “Whether you’ve got $20,000 or $2 million, marketing can’t make a bad movie good. You can throw as much money as you want into a bad movie and it’s not going to make it better.”
Albert said he could spend his entire marketing budget for a low-budget film by placing it on the viewing portal for Oscar voters, but that is not the way he would proceed. “I...
- 11/17/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
As part of this year’s industry program at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), producer Ted Hope sat down with the festival’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia for an in-depth conversation about his career in U.S. independent film, the future of the industry, and the ways in which filmmakers and audiences are “trained by major players to adapt and conform to a creative process that colors only between the lines.”
Hope, who is at IDFA to support Vanessa Hope’s “Invisible Nation,” has navigated the independent filmmaking scene since the late 80s. The executive has produced over 70 films including Todd Solondz’s “Happiness” and, most recently, Roger Ross William’s fiction debut, “Cassandro.” From 2014 to 2020, Hope headed Amazon’s Original Movies.
“I spent most of my life looking for a mentor or father figure and found virtually none, and as a result wanted to give people what I longed for,...
Hope, who is at IDFA to support Vanessa Hope’s “Invisible Nation,” has navigated the independent filmmaking scene since the late 80s. The executive has produced over 70 films including Todd Solondz’s “Happiness” and, most recently, Roger Ross William’s fiction debut, “Cassandro.” From 2014 to 2020, Hope headed Amazon’s Original Movies.
“I spent most of my life looking for a mentor or father figure and found virtually none, and as a result wanted to give people what I longed for,...
- 11/15/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam has long enjoyed a reputation as a politically engaged festival – standing up for artists and speaking out for freedom of expression. For instance, IDFA forcefully advocated for Ukrainian filmmakers at last year’s event, making no secret of its position on Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
But that reputation for taking bold stances on geopolitical issues has put the world’s largest documentary gathering in a very tenuous position in the starkly polarized context of the Israel-Hamas war and the relentless bombing of Gaza. For IDFA to say nothing about the violence is unthinkable. To say anything at all almost guarantees backlash.
IDFA’s attempt to walk a fine line – publicly acknowledging the trauma experienced by Palestinians and Israelis, while trying to avoid injuring feelings with its statements on the issue – has proven virtually impossible to achieve. It has found itself the target of vociferous...
But that reputation for taking bold stances on geopolitical issues has put the world’s largest documentary gathering in a very tenuous position in the starkly polarized context of the Israel-Hamas war and the relentless bombing of Gaza. For IDFA to say nothing about the violence is unthinkable. To say anything at all almost guarantees backlash.
IDFA’s attempt to walk a fine line – publicly acknowledging the trauma experienced by Palestinians and Israelis, while trying to avoid injuring feelings with its statements on the issue – has proven virtually impossible to achieve. It has found itself the target of vociferous...
- 11/15/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The intense reaction to the Israel-Hamas war has spilled over into the International Documentary Film Festival, which has now seen several directors pull their films from the lineup after the IDFA released a statement condemning the slogan “From the river to the sea.”
IDFA told TheWrap that “around 10” directors have pulled their films from the lineup, while the Palestinian Film Institute has also pulled out of activities at the IDFA film market.
Artistic director Orwa Nyrabia told THR he harbored no ill will towards those who chose to pull their movies.
“We respect the choices and the decisions of all filmmakers, whether that is to speak their minds on stage or online or to withdraw their films, all forms of peaceful protest, including criticism of our work, we honor and respect,” Nyrabia said in a statement to the outlet.
Protestors gathered outside the festival last week, where a banner read,...
IDFA told TheWrap that “around 10” directors have pulled their films from the lineup, while the Palestinian Film Institute has also pulled out of activities at the IDFA film market.
Artistic director Orwa Nyrabia told THR he harbored no ill will towards those who chose to pull their movies.
“We respect the choices and the decisions of all filmmakers, whether that is to speak their minds on stage or online or to withdraw their films, all forms of peaceful protest, including criticism of our work, we honor and respect,” Nyrabia said in a statement to the outlet.
Protestors gathered outside the festival last week, where a banner read,...
- 11/14/2023
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has become a site for heated debate over the Israel-Hamas war, with the festival drawing protests from both sides.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, IDFA artistic director Orwa Nyrabia confirms that “around 10” directors have pulled their films from the festival lineup in protest over comments made by the IDFA. The Palestinian Film Institute (Pfi) over the weekend also announced it was pulling out from all organized activities at the IDFA film market.
“We respect the choices and the decisions of all filmmakers, whether that is to speak their minds on stage or online or to withdraw their films, all forms of peaceful protest, including criticism of our work, we honor and respect,” Nyrabia tells THR.
On Monday, the Pfi staged a demonstration outside the main IDFA headquarters to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, and to criticize the IDFA for its response...
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, IDFA artistic director Orwa Nyrabia confirms that “around 10” directors have pulled their films from the festival lineup in protest over comments made by the IDFA. The Palestinian Film Institute (Pfi) over the weekend also announced it was pulling out from all organized activities at the IDFA film market.
“We respect the choices and the decisions of all filmmakers, whether that is to speak their minds on stage or online or to withdraw their films, all forms of peaceful protest, including criticism of our work, we honor and respect,” Nyrabia tells THR.
On Monday, the Pfi staged a demonstration outside the main IDFA headquarters to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, and to criticize the IDFA for its response...
- 11/14/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Greenaway is being honoured at this week’s IDFA festival in Amsterdam.
Peter Greenaway is not a face to normally be found at a creative documentary festival like International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
However, the director of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover (1989) and A Zed And Two Noughts (1985), both screening at the festival as part of a Greenaway retrospective, has always blurred genre boundaries.
His work combines elements of art history, anthropology and magical realism - and he has made both documentaries and mockumentaries. Greenaway lives in the Netherlands and has strong Dutch connections. Perhaps, then,...
Peter Greenaway is not a face to normally be found at a creative documentary festival like International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
However, the director of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover (1989) and A Zed And Two Noughts (1985), both screening at the festival as part of a Greenaway retrospective, has always blurred genre boundaries.
His work combines elements of art history, anthropology and magical realism - and he has made both documentaries and mockumentaries. Greenaway lives in the Netherlands and has strong Dutch connections. Perhaps, then,...
- 11/14/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Rise and Shine World Sales has acquired In-Soo Radstake’s Selling a Colonial War, an investigative documentary that just premiered in International Competition at IDFA.
The latest acquisition by Berlin-based Rise and Shine adds to an IDFA slate that includes the international premieres of In Wolf Country and Son of the Mullah, both playing in the festival’s Frontlight section, which “showcases films that critically examine the truth and artistically explore the urgent issues of our time.”
In Selling a Colonial War, Radstake, a Korean-Dutch filmmaker, examines the Netherlands’ deeply problematic colonial history in Indonesia. It premiered on Saturday at the festival’s 1,400 seat cinema Royal Theatre Carré. Multiple follow up screenings have all sold out.
‘Selling a Colonial War’
The documentary “exposes the Dutch government’s narrative during the Indonesian War of Independence,” according to a description of the film. “Using propaganda and collaborating with media and historians,...
The latest acquisition by Berlin-based Rise and Shine adds to an IDFA slate that includes the international premieres of In Wolf Country and Son of the Mullah, both playing in the festival’s Frontlight section, which “showcases films that critically examine the truth and artistically explore the urgent issues of our time.”
In Selling a Colonial War, Radstake, a Korean-Dutch filmmaker, examines the Netherlands’ deeply problematic colonial history in Indonesia. It premiered on Saturday at the festival’s 1,400 seat cinema Royal Theatre Carré. Multiple follow up screenings have all sold out.
‘Selling a Colonial War’
The documentary “exposes the Dutch government’s narrative during the Indonesian War of Independence,” according to a description of the film. “Using propaganda and collaborating with media and historians,...
- 11/14/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The Grierson Trust is “urgently investigating” reports of an antisemitic incident during last week’s documentary awards ceremony in London.
“We are appalled to have received several reports of anti-Jewish racism by an individual at the reception after the Grierson Awards last Thursday night,” said the Trust, which organizes the annual British Documentary Awards.
“We are urgently investigating these reports to decide as soon as possible on a course of action.
“The Grierson Trust wants to make it clear to our Jewish colleagues in the media and the creative arts that we stand with them to condemn antisemitism and, of course to stamp it out in our industry and beyond. We are very concerned with the rise in divisive and hateful behaviours of all kinds. We are deeply committed to an inclusive, diverse industry and environment for everyone and we will not tolerate any form of racism.”
One individual is...
“We are appalled to have received several reports of anti-Jewish racism by an individual at the reception after the Grierson Awards last Thursday night,” said the Trust, which organizes the annual British Documentary Awards.
“We are urgently investigating these reports to decide as soon as possible on a course of action.
“The Grierson Trust wants to make it clear to our Jewish colleagues in the media and the creative arts that we stand with them to condemn antisemitism and, of course to stamp it out in our industry and beyond. We are very concerned with the rise in divisive and hateful behaviours of all kinds. We are deeply committed to an inclusive, diverse industry and environment for everyone and we will not tolerate any form of racism.”
One individual is...
- 11/13/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
U.S-Israeli director and actress Aleeza Chanowitz has abandoned plans to attend the Stockholm Film Festival with her TV show Chanshi following a series of email exchanges in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict in which the event attempted to rescind an invite it made earlier this fall.
Recounting the episode to Deadline, a visibly hurt Chanowitz said she had been planning to travel to Stockholm for the Chanshi screening this Thursday (November 16) and that in the days immediately after the Hamas terror attacks of October 7 the invite still appeared to be open.
Chanowitz stars as a young Jewish Orthodox woman from Brooklyn who escapes an impending arranged marriage and moves to Israel in search of sexual adventure only to discover that her vision of the country is wrong. Henry Winkler plays the protagonist’s father.
Produced by Tel Aviv-based Kastina Communications, the show first aired on Israeli network Hot...
Recounting the episode to Deadline, a visibly hurt Chanowitz said she had been planning to travel to Stockholm for the Chanshi screening this Thursday (November 16) and that in the days immediately after the Hamas terror attacks of October 7 the invite still appeared to be open.
Chanowitz stars as a young Jewish Orthodox woman from Brooklyn who escapes an impending arranged marriage and moves to Israel in search of sexual adventure only to discover that her vision of the country is wrong. Henry Winkler plays the protagonist’s father.
Produced by Tel Aviv-based Kastina Communications, the show first aired on Israeli network Hot...
- 11/13/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Documentary’s gatekeepers are playing it awfully safe lately, in the estimation of Orwa Nyrabia, artistic director of the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, the world’s largest documentary film festival.
In conversation with Deadline before the start of the 36th edition of the festival, Nyrabia assessed the landscape of nonfiction film, finding streaming platforms and other distributors inordinately risk averse.
“I think post pandemic especially, it seems like everybody in the distribution space is really striving to make up lost money,” he told Deadline. “And this is translating into really only betting on very, very clearly winning horses. So, everybody is looking for films with preexisting IP. I mean, they don’t say so. But when I look at what it is that is really working [for them], it is all about celebrities who have their audience predefined, and when that’s not possible, then relying on preset formats such as serial killers and crime.
In conversation with Deadline before the start of the 36th edition of the festival, Nyrabia assessed the landscape of nonfiction film, finding streaming platforms and other distributors inordinately risk averse.
“I think post pandemic especially, it seems like everybody in the distribution space is really striving to make up lost money,” he told Deadline. “And this is translating into really only betting on very, very clearly winning horses. So, everybody is looking for films with preexisting IP. I mean, they don’t say so. But when I look at what it is that is really working [for them], it is all about celebrities who have their audience predefined, and when that’s not possible, then relying on preset formats such as serial killers and crime.
- 11/13/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The Pfi has issued a petition demanding IDFA acknowledge the festival’s earlier statement ”unjustly criminalises Palestinian voices and narratives”.
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has again found itself caught in the middle as the fall-out from the war between Israel and Hamas spills out to Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers and into the festival space.
The Palestine Film Institute (Pfi) has today issued a strongly-worded statement in which it has demanded IDFA acknowledge that the festival’s earlier statement ”unjustly criminalises Palestinian voices and narratives” and has withdrawn from all IDFA market participation.
The Pfi statement is in reference to...
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has again found itself caught in the middle as the fall-out from the war between Israel and Hamas spills out to Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers and into the festival space.
The Palestine Film Institute (Pfi) has today issued a strongly-worded statement in which it has demanded IDFA acknowledge that the festival’s earlier statement ”unjustly criminalises Palestinian voices and narratives” and has withdrawn from all IDFA market participation.
The Pfi statement is in reference to...
- 11/12/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Selected as this year’s Guest of Honor at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), Chinese director Wang Bing sat down with the festival’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia for an in-depth talk on his career on Friday at the imposing Tuschinski Theatre in the Dutch capital.
Bing commented on not wanting his films to be “political” while reflecting on the entirety of his career, from his nine-hour-long debut “West of the Tracks” to the recent Cannes competition title “Youth (Spring)” — “I’m not particularly interested in politics (…) I don’t want my films to become a political tool. The movies I watched in my childhood were full of politics, ideology and an agenda. I don’t want people to find these elements in the movies I make.”
When prodded by Nyrabia on the subject, the director stated: “I live in a politically sensitive society. All the people involved...
Bing commented on not wanting his films to be “political” while reflecting on the entirety of his career, from his nine-hour-long debut “West of the Tracks” to the recent Cannes competition title “Youth (Spring)” — “I’m not particularly interested in politics (…) I don’t want my films to become a political tool. The movies I watched in my childhood were full of politics, ideology and an agenda. I don’t want people to find these elements in the movies I make.”
When prodded by Nyrabia on the subject, the director stated: “I live in a politically sensitive society. All the people involved...
- 11/11/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
IDFA Artistic Director Under Fire After Applauding “From the River to the Sea” Opening Night Protest
Orwa Nyrabia, the award-winning documentarian who has served as artistic director of the International Documentary Film Festival since 2018, is facing blistering criticism and calls for his resignation after being captured on video applauding as protesters interrupted the Amsterdam-based fest’s opening night ceremony on Wednesday while holding a banner proclaiming, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free,” a phrase widely understood to be a call for the elimination of the state of Israel.
Sixteen high-profile members of the Israeli film community on Thursday signed a letter addressed to IDFA and the international film industry in which they expressed “uttermost dismay, disappointment and concern” at Nyrabia’s conduct on the biggest night of arguably the largest documentary film festival in the world. “We see this as a personal attack against us,” they declared. “We call on the director of IDFA, and on its board of directors, to clearly and resoundingly distance themselves,...
Sixteen high-profile members of the Israeli film community on Thursday signed a letter addressed to IDFA and the international film industry in which they expressed “uttermost dismay, disappointment and concern” at Nyrabia’s conduct on the biggest night of arguably the largest documentary film festival in the world. “We see this as a personal attack against us,” they declared. “We call on the director of IDFA, and on its board of directors, to clearly and resoundingly distance themselves,...
- 11/10/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has issued an apology after three activists burst on stage during the opening ceremony on Nov. 8 with a banner that read “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free.”
The slogan, which calls for the destruction of Israel, has been used by Hamas, the terrorist group behind the Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,400 civilians in Israel and took more than 140 hostages. As such, the slogan is banned in several countries, such as Germany.
After sparking uproar on social media and receiving an open letter from the Israeli film community. IDFA’s artistic director, Orwa Nyrabia, issued an apology saying the “slogan does not represent us, and we do not endorse it in any way. We are truly sorry that it was hurtful to many.”
Nyrabia also said IDFA aimed at creating “a safe and open space for civic debate, to exercise freedom and democracy,...
The slogan, which calls for the destruction of Israel, has been used by Hamas, the terrorist group behind the Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,400 civilians in Israel and took more than 140 hostages. As such, the slogan is banned in several countries, such as Germany.
After sparking uproar on social media and receiving an open letter from the Israeli film community. IDFA’s artistic director, Orwa Nyrabia, issued an apology saying the “slogan does not represent us, and we do not endorse it in any way. We are truly sorry that it was hurtful to many.”
Nyrabia also said IDFA aimed at creating “a safe and open space for civic debate, to exercise freedom and democracy,...
- 11/10/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Leading members of the Israeli film community are accusing the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam of “allowing and applauding” a pro-Palestinian protest that interrupted IDFA’s opening night ceremony, which saw three activists take the stage with a banner emblazoned with the slogan, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free.”
IDFA’s artistic director, Orwa Nyrabia, was in the middle of welcoming remarks Wednesday night when the demonstrators took the stage. Protesters shouted, “We stand up for Palestine! It’s a genocide! Ceasefire now, ceasefire now!” in reference to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza following the devastating October 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens. Some audience members initially hooted, but then many applauded. Nyrabia clapped after the protesters finished their chants and he also applauded as they left the stage.
Meanwhile at @idfa pic.twitter.com/r5SLQExBXC
— Festivalists (@Festivalists) November 9, 2023
In a statement today, Nyrabia said he...
IDFA’s artistic director, Orwa Nyrabia, was in the middle of welcoming remarks Wednesday night when the demonstrators took the stage. Protesters shouted, “We stand up for Palestine! It’s a genocide! Ceasefire now, ceasefire now!” in reference to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza following the devastating October 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens. Some audience members initially hooted, but then many applauded. Nyrabia clapped after the protesters finished their chants and he also applauded as they left the stage.
Meanwhile at @idfa pic.twitter.com/r5SLQExBXC
— Festivalists (@Festivalists) November 9, 2023
In a statement today, Nyrabia said he...
- 11/10/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
”That slogan does not represent us, and we do not endorse it in any way.”
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has apologised for the “hurtful slogan” displayed by activists in a surprise protest during its opening night ceremony last night.
During a speech by IDFA artistic director Orwa Nyrabia, three activists took to the stage holding a sign with the words ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’.
Israeli news website Haaretz has reported that members of the audience applauded the action, with Nyrabia joining that applause. However, as part of a festival statement today, Nyrabia has...
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has apologised for the “hurtful slogan” displayed by activists in a surprise protest during its opening night ceremony last night.
During a speech by IDFA artistic director Orwa Nyrabia, three activists took to the stage holding a sign with the words ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’.
Israeli news website Haaretz has reported that members of the audience applauded the action, with Nyrabia joining that applause. However, as part of a festival statement today, Nyrabia has...
- 11/10/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Directed by D.W.Young, ’Uncropped’ rediscovers the work of a New York photographer billed as one of the great chroniclers of the cultural history of America
Vienna-based Autlook Filmsales has acquired world rights, excluding the US and Canada, for the feature-length documentary Uncropped, exec produced by Wes Anderson, in advance of the film receiving its world premiere as the Centerpiece presentation of the Doc NYC festival on November 11.
Directed by D.W. Young, whose credits includeThe Booksellers, the film rediscovers the work of James Hamilton, one of the great chroniclers of the cultural history of the US. Working as a...
Vienna-based Autlook Filmsales has acquired world rights, excluding the US and Canada, for the feature-length documentary Uncropped, exec produced by Wes Anderson, in advance of the film receiving its world premiere as the Centerpiece presentation of the Doc NYC festival on November 11.
Directed by D.W. Young, whose credits includeThe Booksellers, the film rediscovers the work of James Hamilton, one of the great chroniclers of the cultural history of the US. Working as a...
- 11/9/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Kyiv-based Kovalenko already has two films playing at IDFA film, ’Girl Away From Home’ and ’We Will Not Fade Away’
Ukrainian filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko, whose new film Girl Away From Home (co-directed with Oscar nominated Simon Lereng Wilmont) world premieres at IDFA this week, has revealed further details of her two new projects.
Kovalenko is already at work on what promises to be a harrowing film about Ukrainian women who survived captivity, torture and sexual violence at the hands of Russians from 2014 onward.
“It is a very heavy topic. There are six women…it’s a psychological multi-portrait. All the...
Ukrainian filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko, whose new film Girl Away From Home (co-directed with Oscar nominated Simon Lereng Wilmont) world premieres at IDFA this week, has revealed further details of her two new projects.
Kovalenko is already at work on what promises to be a harrowing film about Ukrainian women who survived captivity, torture and sexual violence at the hands of Russians from 2014 onward.
“It is a very heavy topic. There are six women…it’s a psychological multi-portrait. All the...
- 11/8/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The selected participants have all recently graduated from film school and are hoping to develop their feature debut.
The Munich Film Up! mentoring and residency scheme for emerging filmmakers has unveiled the six participants for its third edition.
An initiative from Munich Film School in partnership with Pop Up Film Residency, the ninth-month programme is organised in association with the Munich Film Festival and Munich’s International Festival of Film Schools with support from the Kirch Foundation.
The selected participants have all recently graduated from film school and are developing their feature debut.
They include Leonardo Martinelli, winner of Locarno...
The Munich Film Up! mentoring and residency scheme for emerging filmmakers has unveiled the six participants for its third edition.
An initiative from Munich Film School in partnership with Pop Up Film Residency, the ninth-month programme is organised in association with the Munich Film Festival and Munich’s International Festival of Film Schools with support from the Kirch Foundation.
The selected participants have all recently graduated from film school and are developing their feature debut.
They include Leonardo Martinelli, winner of Locarno...
- 11/8/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
For the second year in a row, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) launches against the backdrop of a major war. Last year, the festival took place at the height of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, this year it runs as the Israel-Hamas War rages. Asked about the significance of IDFA being an openly political festival, artistic director Orwa Nyrabia says it is “very important to our filmmaking community, to our audiences and to our festival team and staff.”
Speaking to Variety just before the opening of the festival’s 36th edition, which runs Nov. 8-19, Nyrabia highlights how people are currently trying “not to take sides in a cheap way, to understand more and to discuss better.” The artistic director opened the festival’s press conference by acknowledging the fighting in Israel and Gaza, and emphasizing how he believed “this would have been much better” if we “all...
Speaking to Variety just before the opening of the festival’s 36th edition, which runs Nov. 8-19, Nyrabia highlights how people are currently trying “not to take sides in a cheap way, to understand more and to discuss better.” The artistic director opened the festival’s press conference by acknowledging the fighting in Israel and Gaza, and emphasizing how he believed “this would have been much better” if we “all...
- 11/8/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
Director tells Screen about the deeply personal approach she has taken with her first documentary
Ukrainian director Olga Chernykh’s debut feature A Picture To Remember, which opens this year’s IDFA in Amsterdam, was supported by the festival’s IDFA Bertha Fund and the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Film.
One of many recent documentaries chronicling the war in Ukraine after the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, it is a deeply personal, essay-style documentary that looks at war and displacement from the perspectives of three generations of women — the director, her mother (a pathologist working in the city morgue) and her grandmother,...
Ukrainian director Olga Chernykh’s debut feature A Picture To Remember, which opens this year’s IDFA in Amsterdam, was supported by the festival’s IDFA Bertha Fund and the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Film.
One of many recent documentaries chronicling the war in Ukraine after the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, it is a deeply personal, essay-style documentary that looks at war and displacement from the perspectives of three generations of women — the director, her mother (a pathologist working in the city morgue) and her grandmother,...
- 11/8/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Documentary festival opens with Olga Chernykh’s personal portrait of the Ukraine-Russia conflict ’A Picture To Remember’
Opening with Olga Chernykh’s personal portrait of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, A Picture To Remember, IDFA will showcase many features from the world’s political hotspots.
IDFA also begins its 36th edition (8-19 November) from a brand new year-round home in the Vondelpark Pavilion. The venue will open its doors officially next March but is already a festival location and has begun pilot programming including a collaboration with the Stedelijk Museum and a screening of Laura Poitras’s Golden Lion winner All The Beauty And The Bloodshed.
Opening with Olga Chernykh’s personal portrait of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, A Picture To Remember, IDFA will showcase many features from the world’s political hotspots.
IDFA also begins its 36th edition (8-19 November) from a brand new year-round home in the Vondelpark Pavilion. The venue will open its doors officially next March but is already a festival location and has begun pilot programming including a collaboration with the Stedelijk Museum and a screening of Laura Poitras’s Golden Lion winner All The Beauty And The Bloodshed.
- 11/7/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The Ukraine war documentary A Picture to Remember by director Olga Chernykh will open the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, it was announced Wednesday.
As IDFA unveiled its full lineup, artistic director Orwa Nyrabia chose Chernykh’s film about three generations of women — the director, her mother and grandmother — confronting Ukraine’s current war and violent history to reflect the role of nonfiction film in responding to devastating global affairs.
“The director does not shy away from trying to build a cinematic world with fragile elements. The courage and originality of the film’s approach opens up to a much larger world view. That’s what places films like A Picture to Remember at the heart of IDFA,” Nyrabia said in a statement about the first night world premiere.
IDFA also unveiled its main competition lineups for its 36th edition in Amsterdam from Nov. 8-19, which includes the Envision and International Competitions,...
As IDFA unveiled its full lineup, artistic director Orwa Nyrabia chose Chernykh’s film about three generations of women — the director, her mother and grandmother — confronting Ukraine’s current war and violent history to reflect the role of nonfiction film in responding to devastating global affairs.
“The director does not shy away from trying to build a cinematic world with fragile elements. The courage and originality of the film’s approach opens up to a much larger world view. That’s what places films like A Picture to Remember at the heart of IDFA,” Nyrabia said in a statement about the first night world premiere.
IDFA also unveiled its main competition lineups for its 36th edition in Amsterdam from Nov. 8-19, which includes the Envision and International Competitions,...
- 10/18/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This year’s edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) will open with the world premiere of “A Picture to Remember” by Olga Chernykh. The film, which received the support of the IDFA Bertha Fund in 2022, is a deeply personal account of the ongoing war in Ukraine and its violent history, seen through the prism of three generations of women.
The full program for the festival’s 36th edition was announced earlier today by IDFA’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia, who stated the festival’s opening film is “both personal and political,” adding that “the director does not shy away from trying to build a cinematic world with fragile elements. The courage and originality of the film’s approach opens up to a much larger worldview.”
Before announcing this year’s full lineup, Nyrabia took a moment to acknowledge the current Israel-Hamas war: “To us, respecting the human...
The full program for the festival’s 36th edition was announced earlier today by IDFA’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia, who stated the festival’s opening film is “both personal and political,” adding that “the director does not shy away from trying to build a cinematic world with fragile elements. The courage and originality of the film’s approach opens up to a much larger worldview.”
Before announcing this year’s full lineup, Nyrabia took a moment to acknowledge the current Israel-Hamas war: “To us, respecting the human...
- 10/18/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam has revealed its lineups for the competitions for short documentary and youth documentary, as well as the rosters for its Best of Fests section and its newly minted Signed section. In total, 100 films have been included in the IDFA program to date.
In addition, IDFA Forum, the festival’s co-production and co-financing market, has expanded to a total of 64 projects, including seven by Ukrainian filmmakers.
The 36th edition of IDFA runs from Nov. 8 to 19 in Amsterdam.
The competition for short documentary showcases a healthy boom for the short film form. A mosaic of styles and themes defines this selection of 15 films, exploring everything a short documentary can be. An international jury of three jurors will award the best film.
Pegah Ahangarani returns to IDFA with a personal telling of family history and their experience of the Iranian revolution in “My Father,” and Nastia Korkia...
In addition, IDFA Forum, the festival’s co-production and co-financing market, has expanded to a total of 64 projects, including seven by Ukrainian filmmakers.
The 36th edition of IDFA runs from Nov. 8 to 19 in Amsterdam.
The competition for short documentary showcases a healthy boom for the short film form. A mosaic of styles and themes defines this selection of 15 films, exploring everything a short documentary can be. An international jury of three jurors will award the best film.
Pegah Ahangarani returns to IDFA with a personal telling of family history and their experience of the Iranian revolution in “My Father,” and Nastia Korkia...
- 10/5/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam is beginning to fill out its lineup leading up to IDFA’s 36th edition next month. The largest all-documentary festival in the world today announced selections for the Competition for Short Documentary and the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary, along with the films selected for the Best of Fests section and the “Signed” section, a new addition to the IDFA program.
One hundred films so far have now announced as part of the 2023 festival, which runs from Nov. 8-19 in the Dutch capital. “In addition, IDFA Forum, the festival’s iconic co-production and co-financing market has expanded to a total of 64 projects, including seven by Ukrainian filmmakers,” the festival announced. Full details on all the announced films are below.
The newly created “Signed” section is described as inviting audiences “to discover the new cinematic adventures of the most interesting contemporary filmmakers. The first selection...
One hundred films so far have now announced as part of the 2023 festival, which runs from Nov. 8-19 in the Dutch capital. “In addition, IDFA Forum, the festival’s iconic co-production and co-financing market has expanded to a total of 64 projects, including seven by Ukrainian filmmakers,” the festival announced. Full details on all the announced films are below.
The newly created “Signed” section is described as inviting audiences “to discover the new cinematic adventures of the most interesting contemporary filmmakers. The first selection...
- 10/5/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Programme includes ‘top 10’ films selected by director Wang Bing and selection of Peter Greenaway films.
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has revealed the first 50 titles for this year’s edition, running Nov 8 to Nov 19.
As part of a previously announced Wang Bing retrospective, the director has been invited to programme his “top 10”. The films he has selected are all Chinese and all date from 1999 or later.
They are: Before the Flood (2005) directed by Yifan Li, Yu YanBing’ai (2007) by Yan Feng; Born in Beijing (2011) by Li Ma; Last Train Home (2009) by Lixin Fan; The Next Life (2011) by Jian Fan...
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has revealed the first 50 titles for this year’s edition, running Nov 8 to Nov 19.
As part of a previously announced Wang Bing retrospective, the director has been invited to programme his “top 10”. The films he has selected are all Chinese and all date from 1999 or later.
They are: Before the Flood (2005) directed by Yifan Li, Yu YanBing’ai (2007) by Yan Feng; Born in Beijing (2011) by Li Ma; Last Train Home (2009) by Lixin Fan; The Next Life (2011) by Jian Fan...
- 9/20/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: On the eve of Sheffield DocFest, Raul Niño Zambrano has been appointed creative director of the U.K.’s leading all-documentary festival, a position he held for the past year on an interim basis.
Sheffield DocFest’s board of trustees confirmed the appointment Tuesday, as the 30th edition of the festival prepares to open in the historic city in South Yorkshire, England. As creative director, Zambrano sets the program agenda across the festival’s Film Programs, Alternate Realities exhibition, Marketplace & Talent activities, and Talks & Sessions. The role is a joint leadership position, working collaboratively with Annabel Grundy, Sheffield DocFest’s managing director.
“We congratulate Raul on his creative leadership and for such a strong line up for our 30th edition,” said Alex Cooke, chair of the board of trustees of Sheffield DocFest. “Raul and Annabel make a great team. We look forward to their continued collaboration and vision for the future of DocFest.
Sheffield DocFest’s board of trustees confirmed the appointment Tuesday, as the 30th edition of the festival prepares to open in the historic city in South Yorkshire, England. As creative director, Zambrano sets the program agenda across the festival’s Film Programs, Alternate Realities exhibition, Marketplace & Talent activities, and Talks & Sessions. The role is a joint leadership position, working collaboratively with Annabel Grundy, Sheffield DocFest’s managing director.
“We congratulate Raul on his creative leadership and for such a strong line up for our 30th edition,” said Alex Cooke, chair of the board of trustees of Sheffield DocFest. “Raul and Annabel make a great team. We look forward to their continued collaboration and vision for the future of DocFest.
- 6/13/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Mina Keshavarz and Firouzeh Khosrovani were arrested in May last year.
Iranian documentary filmmakers Mina Keshavarz and Firouzeh Khosrovani, who were arrested last year in Iran and released on bail, have had their cases officially closed by the country’s authorities.
On May 10 2022, the filmmakers were arrested in Tehran after their homes were searched and their personal and professional belongings such as mobile phones, hard drives and laptops were confiscated. On May 17, they were released on bail and banned from leaving the country.
Almost a year later with no official charges brought against them, Keshavarz and Khosrovani have had their passports returned to them.
Iranian documentary filmmakers Mina Keshavarz and Firouzeh Khosrovani, who were arrested last year in Iran and released on bail, have had their cases officially closed by the country’s authorities.
On May 10 2022, the filmmakers were arrested in Tehran after their homes were searched and their personal and professional belongings such as mobile phones, hard drives and laptops were confiscated. On May 17, they were released on bail and banned from leaving the country.
Almost a year later with no official charges brought against them, Keshavarz and Khosrovani have had their passports returned to them.
- 4/13/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
In her debut film, exec produced by Oscar winner Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour”), Syrian activist-journalist Lina chronicles the real-time transition from peaceful revolution, ushered in by the Arab Spring more than a decade ago, to civil war in Syria. The film plays in the Newcomers Competition at the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival.
At first, Lina thought she would document the women’s involvement in the Syrian uprising. “I was thinking that despite how much women are involved in every aspect of what is happening, once everything is over, somehow, we’re going to slip through the cracks and disappear from the story. So, I decided it was best to start documenting what we do as we do it, to make sure that memories were not erased. But as things progressed, and took unexpected turns, I had more and more reasons to keep making the film. And, some of the reasons changed because,...
At first, Lina thought she would document the women’s involvement in the Syrian uprising. “I was thinking that despite how much women are involved in every aspect of what is happening, once everything is over, somehow, we’re going to slip through the cracks and disappear from the story. So, I decided it was best to start documenting what we do as we do it, to make sure that memories were not erased. But as things progressed, and took unexpected turns, I had more and more reasons to keep making the film. And, some of the reasons changed because,...
- 3/7/2023
- by Tara Karajica
- Variety Film + TV
In theory, international films can earn an Oscar nomination for Best Picture in any given year. But in reality, only a handful have ever attained that distinction, and a single one — Parasite — has claimed the prize.
For a truly global competition — international and American films contending in the same category — turn to the Best Documentary Feature race. This year alone, shortlisted documentaries vying for a nomination originate from China, Vietnam, India, Ukraine, Canada and the U.S.
Vietnamese director Ha Le Diem shot her shortlisted film Children of the Mist in a Hmong community in Northern Vietnam, where teenage girls are routinely kidnapped by male suitors and coerced into marriages. Di, the 14-year-old heroine of the documentary, flirts with a boy who soon abducts her and with help from his family tries to force her to accept him as her husband.
“New Year is the season of bride kidnapping, and it is allowed,...
For a truly global competition — international and American films contending in the same category — turn to the Best Documentary Feature race. This year alone, shortlisted documentaries vying for a nomination originate from China, Vietnam, India, Ukraine, Canada and the U.S.
Vietnamese director Ha Le Diem shot her shortlisted film Children of the Mist in a Hmong community in Northern Vietnam, where teenage girls are routinely kidnapped by male suitors and coerced into marriages. Di, the 14-year-old heroine of the documentary, flirts with a boy who soon abducts her and with help from his family tries to force her to accept him as her husband.
“New Year is the season of bride kidnapping, and it is allowed,...
- 1/12/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Ambitious documentary pieces together snatches of public and private history since the uprising against Assad
Diana El Jeiroudi’s film is a complex and sprawling curation of images, sequences and ideas orbiting the central subject of Syria and its anti-Assad uprising: this ambitious work is something between a conventional contemporary documentary (and by that token without a voiceover that would introduce or explain things), a video diary, an installation piece where clips filmed years apart are presented randomly or free-associatively. It perhaps has the procedural aesthetic of YouTube (where many people under siege in Homs uploaded their own searing footage of lives under attack), with videos queued up to be played by the user.
One of the many questions the viewer might have is about the meaning of the title: is the Syrian republic silent in that its tyrannical government shuts down dissenting voices? Or is it that the silence...
Diana El Jeiroudi’s film is a complex and sprawling curation of images, sequences and ideas orbiting the central subject of Syria and its anti-Assad uprising: this ambitious work is something between a conventional contemporary documentary (and by that token without a voiceover that would introduce or explain things), a video diary, an installation piece where clips filmed years apart are presented randomly or free-associatively. It perhaps has the procedural aesthetic of YouTube (where many people under siege in Homs uploaded their own searing footage of lives under attack), with videos queued up to be played by the user.
One of the many questions the viewer might have is about the meaning of the title: is the Syrian republic silent in that its tyrannical government shuts down dissenting voices? Or is it that the silence...
- 12/19/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
“When you use the word ‘Europe,’ you use the word ‘bureaucracy.’ They go together like carrots and peas.”
Film funding biases and blind spots came under fire at the main session of the Europe Conference, part of the industry talks programme at IDFA (November 9-20).
One issue highlighted by speakers at the panel, titled ‘Being Europe, seeing Europe’ and hosted by Arte yesterday, was the current red tape requirements surrounding European film funding applications, something leading Serbian director Mila Turajlic referred to as the “European maladie of bureaucracy.”
“I don’t know if you’ve seen the latest Media applications but they are atrocious,...
Film funding biases and blind spots came under fire at the main session of the Europe Conference, part of the industry talks programme at IDFA (November 9-20).
One issue highlighted by speakers at the panel, titled ‘Being Europe, seeing Europe’ and hosted by Arte yesterday, was the current red tape requirements surrounding European film funding applications, something leading Serbian director Mila Turajlic referred to as the “European maladie of bureaucracy.”
“I don’t know if you’ve seen the latest Media applications but they are atrocious,...
- 11/17/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
For several years, Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams hosted an intimate IDFA paella party at his apartment in Amsterdam for attending directors, producers and editors. But in 2018, Williams and his co-host, documentary producer, and the founder of Motto Pictures, Julie Goldman (“The Velvet Underground”), realized that the annual event had transformed into an award season stop.
“At one point, we looked around, and the whole party was filled with the international AMPAS (Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences) members,” says Goldman. “Then, the last year we had the party, someone rang the buzzer an hour before it was supposed to start. We buzzed him up, and it was this guy named Alex, and he said, ‘I was told that I have to come to this party.’”
It turned out that Alex was Alex Honnold, the subject of “Free Solo” – a film that would later win the Oscar for best feature documentary.
“At one point, we looked around, and the whole party was filled with the international AMPAS (Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences) members,” says Goldman. “Then, the last year we had the party, someone rang the buzzer an hour before it was supposed to start. We buzzed him up, and it was this guy named Alex, and he said, ‘I was told that I have to come to this party.’”
It turned out that Alex was Alex Honnold, the subject of “Free Solo” – a film that would later win the Oscar for best feature documentary.
- 11/14/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Things got heady during a Saturday IDFA Dialogue talk featuring the fest’s artistic director, Orwa Nyrabia, and IDFA Queer Day guest curator, philosopher-writer Simon(e) van Saarloos. Titled “What Gender Are Film Festivals,” the one hour discussion touched on topics including the moral force that drives and funds documentary film festivals, the people who have the power to visualize justice, and the idea that visualizing suffering will lead to betterment.
In 2013, Raul Niño Zambrano created IDFA’s Queer Day – a program of screenings, panel discussions, and performances that showcased queer documentary stories from around the world. When Zambrano left IDFA in January to serve as head of film programs at Sheffield DocFest, Nyrabia decided to bring in guest curators each year going forward to organize Queer Day. Not a fan of the program’s title, this year’s IDFA’s Queer Day is called Not Yet Yes: Queer Day by Simon(e) van Saarloos.
In 2013, Raul Niño Zambrano created IDFA’s Queer Day – a program of screenings, panel discussions, and performances that showcased queer documentary stories from around the world. When Zambrano left IDFA in January to serve as head of film programs at Sheffield DocFest, Nyrabia decided to bring in guest curators each year going forward to organize Queer Day. Not a fan of the program’s title, this year’s IDFA’s Queer Day is called Not Yet Yes: Queer Day by Simon(e) van Saarloos.
- 11/12/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
“One of my main jobs is to expose the myth of American exceptionalism,” said Oscar-winning director Laura Poitras at Amsterdam’s historic Royal Theatre Carré, where she sat for an extended Master Talk with IDFA’s artistic director, Orwa Nyrabia.
The American filmmaker, who is also this year’s Guest of Honor at IDFA, started the event by telling the audience she first met Nyrabia in Berlin soon after his first arrest in 2012. “I just think it’s important to know that the person who’s organizing this festival is a filmmaker, and a filmmaker who has put his life on the line many times,” she said.
The sentiment of camaraderie and mutual admiration between the friends permeated the in-depth conversation, which touched on Poitras’ entire filmography and its unifying threads.
“With every new film, you are proposing a new hope, tackling a new disaster,” commented Nyrabia, when speaking about...
The American filmmaker, who is also this year’s Guest of Honor at IDFA, started the event by telling the audience she first met Nyrabia in Berlin soon after his first arrest in 2012. “I just think it’s important to know that the person who’s organizing this festival is a filmmaker, and a filmmaker who has put his life on the line many times,” she said.
The sentiment of camaraderie and mutual admiration between the friends permeated the in-depth conversation, which touched on Poitras’ entire filmography and its unifying threads.
“With every new film, you are proposing a new hope, tackling a new disaster,” commented Nyrabia, when speaking about...
- 11/12/2022
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
The Iranian co-directors of “Silent House” have been banned from leaving their country, according to a spokesman for the film, and so will be unable to travel to the Netherlands, where the film will have its world premiere at IDFA, one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals.
Farnaz Jurabchian and Mohammadreza Jurabchian were due to talk about the film, which runs in the main competition category, after the screening on Saturday in Amsterdam, where the 35th edition of the festival unspools Nov. 9-20. The film is also nominated for the IDFA Award for Best First Feature.
Set against the turbulent backdrop of Iranian history over the last 40 years, “Silent House” tracks the fortunes of three generations of an upper-middle-class Iranian family. At the center of the story stands the century-old house in Tehran in which the family lived through both happy and tragic times.
“Silent House”
The filmmakers,...
Farnaz Jurabchian and Mohammadreza Jurabchian were due to talk about the film, which runs in the main competition category, after the screening on Saturday in Amsterdam, where the 35th edition of the festival unspools Nov. 9-20. The film is also nominated for the IDFA Award for Best First Feature.
Set against the turbulent backdrop of Iranian history over the last 40 years, “Silent House” tracks the fortunes of three generations of an upper-middle-class Iranian family. At the center of the story stands the century-old house in Tehran in which the family lived through both happy and tragic times.
“Silent House”
The filmmakers,...
- 11/11/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Dutch-Iranian director’s documentary is the opening film of IDFA.
“What do you like in Amsterdam?,” a little girl called Sophia recently arrived in the Netherlands, is asked at the start of Niki Padidar’s All You See. “Nothing,” she replies.
A Somalian woman who has been in the Netherlands for “25 ‘frickin’ years” (as she puts it) talks about the questions she is always asked. “Where is she from?” is one. The locals struggle to accept her as Dutch. “Are you used to the cold?” is another
“I recognise things in what they say or who they are,” says Padidar,...
“What do you like in Amsterdam?,” a little girl called Sophia recently arrived in the Netherlands, is asked at the start of Niki Padidar’s All You See. “Nothing,” she replies.
A Somalian woman who has been in the Netherlands for “25 ‘frickin’ years” (as she puts it) talks about the questions she is always asked. “Where is she from?” is one. The locals struggle to accept her as Dutch. “Are you used to the cold?” is another
“I recognise things in what they say or who they are,” says Padidar,...
- 11/9/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The doc fest s hosting a debate to ask: ’What gender is a festival?
The 35th edition of International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is opening today (November 9) with the world premiere of Niki Padidar’s All You See.
Laura Poitras is the 2022 guest of honour and the subject of the 2022 retrospective in which all seven of her films will be shown. She has also curated 10 films and will be in conversation with selected filmmakers in the festival’s public programme. Poitras will also give a masterclass and discuss her Golden Lion-winning awards contender All The Beauty And The Bloodshed,...
The 35th edition of International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is opening today (November 9) with the world premiere of Niki Padidar’s All You See.
Laura Poitras is the 2022 guest of honour and the subject of the 2022 retrospective in which all seven of her films will be shown. She has also curated 10 films and will be in conversation with selected filmmakers in the festival’s public programme. Poitras will also give a masterclass and discuss her Golden Lion-winning awards contender All The Beauty And The Bloodshed,...
- 11/9/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The doc fest s hosting a debate to ask: ’What gender is a festival?
The 35th edition of International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is opening today (November 9) with the world premiere of Niki Padidar’s All You See.
Laura Poitras is the 2022 guest of honour and the subject of the 2022 retrospective in which all seven of her films will be shown. She has also curated 10 films and will be in conversation with selected filmmakers in the festival’s public programme. Poitras will also give a masterclass and discuss her Golden Lion-winning awards contender All The Beauty And The Bloodshed,...
The 35th edition of International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is opening today (November 9) with the world premiere of Niki Padidar’s All You See.
Laura Poitras is the 2022 guest of honour and the subject of the 2022 retrospective in which all seven of her films will be shown. She has also curated 10 films and will be in conversation with selected filmmakers in the festival’s public programme. Poitras will also give a masterclass and discuss her Golden Lion-winning awards contender All The Beauty And The Bloodshed,...
- 11/9/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The 35th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam launches on Nov. 9. In all, 277 titles will be screened at the in-person festival. Variety spoke to IDFA’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia about this year’s edition and the future of documentary filmmaking.
IDFA is opening with the world premiere of Iranian-Dutch filmmaker Niki Padidar’s “All You See.” What made it the right docu to open the festival with?
It’s extremely relevant and timely. (The film) puts a mirror to Western societies mainly, but maybe on others too, in terms of how people see people who look different, or who come from a different background, or have a mixed background. It’s one of those very rare examples where we are not talking about the racism of the extreme right wing. Instead, it’s a doc talking about the day to day microaggressions that come from all the...
IDFA is opening with the world premiere of Iranian-Dutch filmmaker Niki Padidar’s “All You See.” What made it the right docu to open the festival with?
It’s extremely relevant and timely. (The film) puts a mirror to Western societies mainly, but maybe on others too, in terms of how people see people who look different, or who come from a different background, or have a mixed background. It’s one of those very rare examples where we are not talking about the racism of the extreme right wing. Instead, it’s a doc talking about the day to day microaggressions that come from all the...
- 11/9/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The 35th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, will open with the world premiere of Iranian-Dutch filmmaker Niki Padidar’s “All You See.”
The festival has also revealed the titles in its competition lineups. In all, 277 titles will be screened at the in-person festival.
Artistic director Orwa Nyrabia said: “Here’s an eclectic lineup that is united only by originality. Through the subjectivities of these filmmakers, an image of a world in pain emerges – a humanity that is trying hard, that is vulnerable and sincere, that is complex and persistent. The diversity of artistic forms is astonishing, and there are no boundaries when it comes to tackling the biggest powers or inventing new grammar.”
“The Envision Competition introduces artistically and politically courageous films, memorable journeys, and new questions. The International Competition brings together profound films that will tour the world and inspire audiences for years to come. IDFA...
The festival has also revealed the titles in its competition lineups. In all, 277 titles will be screened at the in-person festival.
Artistic director Orwa Nyrabia said: “Here’s an eclectic lineup that is united only by originality. Through the subjectivities of these filmmakers, an image of a world in pain emerges – a humanity that is trying hard, that is vulnerable and sincere, that is complex and persistent. The diversity of artistic forms is astonishing, and there are no boundaries when it comes to tackling the biggest powers or inventing new grammar.”
“The Envision Competition introduces artistically and politically courageous films, memorable journeys, and new questions. The International Competition brings together profound films that will tour the world and inspire audiences for years to come. IDFA...
- 10/20/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Dutch / Iranian director Niki Padidar’s ’All You See’ to open documentary festival.
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has announced Dutch/Iranian director Niki Padidar’s All You See as its opening film and has unveiled the main competition titles for this year’s event, which runs from November 9-20.
Newly unveiled selections include the Envision and International Competitions and the entire IDFA DocLab program. The festival’s official selection comprises 277 titles in total.
Opening film All You See is billed as a multi-layered feature that includes honest, painful, and even humorous encounters with three other immigrants to the Netherlands,...
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has announced Dutch/Iranian director Niki Padidar’s All You See as its opening film and has unveiled the main competition titles for this year’s event, which runs from November 9-20.
Newly unveiled selections include the Envision and International Competitions and the entire IDFA DocLab program. The festival’s official selection comprises 277 titles in total.
Opening film All You See is billed as a multi-layered feature that includes honest, painful, and even humorous encounters with three other immigrants to the Netherlands,...
- 10/20/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Dutch / Iranian director Niki Padidar’s ’All You See’ to open documentary festival.
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has announced Dutch/Iranian director Niki Padidar’s All You See as its opening film and has unveiled the main competition titles for this year’s event, which runs from November 9-20.
Newly unveiled selections include the Envision and International Competitions and the entire IDFA DocLab program. The festival’s official selection comprises 277 titles in total.
Opening film All You See is billed as a multi-layered feature that includes honest, painful, and even humorous encounters with three other immigrants to the Netherlands,...
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has announced Dutch/Iranian director Niki Padidar’s All You See as its opening film and has unveiled the main competition titles for this year’s event, which runs from November 9-20.
Newly unveiled selections include the Envision and International Competitions and the entire IDFA DocLab program. The festival’s official selection comprises 277 titles in total.
Opening film All You See is billed as a multi-layered feature that includes honest, painful, and even humorous encounters with three other immigrants to the Netherlands,...
- 10/20/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
The 35th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) will open with Iranian-Dutch filmmaker Niki Padidar’s All You See.
The feature explores themes of exclusion and being an outsider through Padidar’s own experiences in the Netherlands, which are interwoven with the stories of three other immigrants who have made a life in the country.
The festival, which will showcase 277 titles this year, has also unveiled the selections for its main Envision and International Competitions.
A total of 13 titles will play in the International Competition line-up.
Highlights include Mila Turajlić’s Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels, which will be presented as a diptych and performance and explores the never-before-seen footage of Tito’s cameraman documenting his trips to Africa and Asia to promote a third way amidst the Cold War.
Further competition titles include Paradise by Alexander Abaturov, which enters the heart of a raging forest fire in northeastern Siberia,...
The feature explores themes of exclusion and being an outsider through Padidar’s own experiences in the Netherlands, which are interwoven with the stories of three other immigrants who have made a life in the country.
The festival, which will showcase 277 titles this year, has also unveiled the selections for its main Envision and International Competitions.
A total of 13 titles will play in the International Competition line-up.
Highlights include Mila Turajlić’s Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels, which will be presented as a diptych and performance and explores the never-before-seen footage of Tito’s cameraman documenting his trips to Africa and Asia to promote a third way amidst the Cold War.
Further competition titles include Paradise by Alexander Abaturov, which enters the heart of a raging forest fire in northeastern Siberia,...
- 10/20/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
As protests continue to erupt in Iran and around the world because of the death of Mahsa Amini – the 22-year-old Iranian woman who died last week while being held in custody by the morality police for allegedly wearing a loose headscarf – the country’s film community is intensely engaged and keenly aware that their voices are now even more at risk of being quashed, reports ‘Variety’.
Two-time Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who is presiding over the Zurich Film Festival jury, has issued a statement and a video appeal urging artistes around the world to proclaim their solidarity with the Iranian people who are protesting against the death of Amini.
In an unprecedented wave of street protests in Iran, women have torn off their hijabs, twirled them in the air and thrown them into bonfires, online videos show.
“I saw them closely these nights,” Farhadi said in his appeal quoted...
Two-time Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who is presiding over the Zurich Film Festival jury, has issued a statement and a video appeal urging artistes around the world to proclaim their solidarity with the Iranian people who are protesting against the death of Amini.
In an unprecedented wave of street protests in Iran, women have torn off their hijabs, twirled them in the air and thrown them into bonfires, online videos show.
“I saw them closely these nights,” Farhadi said in his appeal quoted...
- 9/25/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
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