Under the title Doc Next, IDFA and the European Cultural Foundation (ECF) are to screen documentaries by a new generation of European filmmakers at IDFA 2011. These DIY media makers have had no traditional schooling and use new, cheap media, online distribution, and innovative forms of storytelling to create an alternative vision of Europe's local heroes.
IDFA and the ECF believe it is important to give young media talent a voice. Many young filmmakers know how to find IDFA under their own steam, and IDFA itself is engaged in an ongoing search for new documentary talent. The ECF’s Doc Next Network contributes to this process by scouting for young DIY media makers and by getting their stories out to a wider audience.
Doc Next Films
Doc Next films are personal reflections on everyday life in Europe: the crisis as seen through the eyes of Greek youth; nocturnal life in a London laundromat; and the neighbour keeping an eye on everyone and everything from his Warsaw kitchen window.
All ten Doc Next documentaries will be screened at IDFA 2011 (16 to 27 November), before the main films. This year also sees the debut appearance of the Doc Next Mini Cinema on the Rembrandtplein, featuring continual screenings of a selection from the Doc Next Network Media Collection. Also, ten young media makers will be taking part in the IDFAcademy , which will include a special Doc Next workshop. And on 20 November there’s the Doc Next industry panel debate on the question, 'Has the documentary industry passed its peak?'