Festival program

Each year, IDFA presents a number of focus programs that take on urgent themes and pressing film-related subjects. IDFA 2023 featured Fabrications and 16 Worlds on 16. Fabrications explored the unique relationship of trust between documentary film and audiences, and presented ten films that test the limits of the format’s promise of truth. 16 Worlds on 16 reflected on 100 years of 16mm and explored how the history of documentary film has been influenced as a result. The unique program Corresponding Cinemas examined connections and creative influences among the work of various exceptional filmmakers.

Renowned documentary filmmaker and artist Wang Bing was Guest of Honor for IDFA 2023, accompanied by an extended Guest of Honor Talk in the Royal Theater Tuschinski. The program presented a Retrospective of his work, alongside a Top 10 program, in which Wang Bing invites us on a contemplative journey into contemporary Chinese cinema.

IDFA additionally celebrated acclaimed filmmaker and artist Peter Greenaway with a Lifetime Achievement Award, a carefully curated Retrospective, and an extensive Talk.

The interdisciplinary program Contagious & Queer, curated by Simon(e) van Saarloos, unfolded over the course of six days in Het Documentaire Paviljoen.

DocLab is IDFA’s interdisciplinary program for interactive and immersive non-fiction. The new media program and exhibition invites audiences and professionals to explore the intersections of documentary film, art, digital media, and new technologies. With the theme Phenomenal Friction, the 17th edition of DocLab explored friction in all its forms—inviting audiences to look beyond technological efficiency and convenience, to explore the resistance that can propel creativity forward and the conflict that reveals life's complexities.

DocLab Exhibition
The programming of the 10-day, freely accessible exhibition in De Brakke Grond was more diverse than ever, with projects by makers from divergent countries and with different backgrounds. This diversity extended to a wide range of media and formats, including innovations in digital storytelling in book form, indie games, virtual and augmented reality experiences, live performance, installations, film, and various projects that experimented with the latest developments in the field of generative AI.

VR experiences
Interactive and immersive digital artworks offer opportunities to experiment with new ways to exhibit works and engage audiences. This year, the opportunity to experience VR was expanded by increasing the number of freely accessible VR stations and expanding the VR Gallery, for which visitors purchase a ticket. Both were used and visited extensively throughout the festival—suggesting a growing interest and promising outlook for the field of immersive art.

DocLab for professionals
Next to a festival program for audiences and live performances in de Brakke Grond and the ARTIS Planetarium, DocLab additionally presented activities for documentary and new media industry professionals. This included the sixth edition of the international Research & Development program in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

IDFA’s great added value compared to regular cinema screenings, is that the festival provides context for films and projects—by means of conversations with filmmakers and audiences, and reflections by experts, events, and publications.

Filmmaker Talks and Film Talks are available for audiences and industry professionals, offering interviews and conversations with filmmakers, experts, and moderators. Steve McQueen and Bianca Stigter were present at IDFA 2023 to discuss their film Occupied City, together with film journalist Dana Linssen. Maite Alberdi provided an inspirational hour-long Filmmaker Talk, alongside her film The Eternal Memory.

Industry Talks dive into the key trends and urgent discussions defining the industry, exclusively for industry guests.

The winners of IDFA's 36th edition competition programs were announced during the Awards Ceremony, which took place at ITA (Internationaal Theater Amsterdam) on Thursday, November 16. 1489 by Shoghakat Vardanyan won the IDFA Award for Best Film. Ariel Kuaray Ortega and Ernesto de Carvalho won the IDFA Award for Best Film in the Envision Competition for Canuto's Transformation.

IDFA's audience program is made possible by VriendenLoterij, Deloitte, VPRO, Fonds 21, de Volkskrant, WePresent by WeTransfer, Ammodo, NPO, Oxfam Novib, Saeco, Beeld & Geluid, De Groene Amsterdammer, Mama Cash, National Geographic Documentary Films, Cortazu, OneWorld, NTR, Creative Europe Media, Nederlands Filmfonds, European Cultural Foundation, VSBfonds, vfonds and IDFA’s Friends, Special Friends, and Special Friends+.

IDFA’s Envision Competition is made possible by Ammodo.

IDFA DocLab is supported by the Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat, CLICKNL, Nederlands Filmfonds and IDFA’s Special Friends+.

DocLab research partners are MIT Open Documentary Lab, Beeld & Geluid, ARTIS-Planetarium, Bombina Bombast, Cepir, Diversion cinema, East City Films, Eye Filmmuseum, The Immersive Storytelling Studio (National Theatre), Kaspar AI, Mathilde Renault, National Film Board of Canada, Nu:Reality, ONX Studio, Polymorf, POPKRAFT, Sandman Studio, ScanLAB and Vlaams Cultuurhuis de Brakke Grond.