Filmmaker support
IDFA offers filmmakers from across the world the opportunity to gain knowledge, expand their network, and receive financial support. IDFA is also committed, as one of the founders of ICFR, to supporting filmmakers at risk.
IDFAcademy and IDFA Project Space
IDFAcademy Opening Talk: Anand Pathwardan (Picture: Coen Dijkstra)
With IDFA Project Space, IDFA offers training programs to the next generation of documentary talent. In 2023, IDFA Project Space selected sixteen international projects in different stages of production—either in the development and production or editing phase. From June to September, participants follow workshops and matched with tutors, to receive guidance from experienced film professionals. The sixteen international filmmaking teams also spend an intensive week of workshops together in Amsterdam. The teams are invited to elevate their projects alongside high-profile filmmakers and film professionals, and offered tutoring, plenary sessions, and Filmmaker Talks. Especially for Dutch-speaking filmmakers, there is Project Space NL i.c.w. the NPO Fund. Starting from the summer of 2023, six filmmakers followed a program of several months, during which they developed their film plan under the guidance of renowned professionals.
IDFAcademy took place in Felix Meritis for the first time this year. No less 100 than international participants attended extensive program during the festival; including sessions and talks with directors and film professionals, such as IDFA Award-winners Anand Patwardhan and Lea Glob.
Director Tatiana Huezo during the screening of her film The Echo + Talk (Picture: Angeniet Berkers)
IDFA Bertha Fund
The IDFA Bertha Fund (IBF) offers support to independent documentary filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania (IBF regions). IBF brings the love for documentary film together with the important mission of sharing urgent stories as widely as possible.
Applications and selections
In 2023, IBF received 646 applications from 85 different countries, of which 32 projects were selected. This year, twelve IBF-supported projects were screened during the festival; including the world premiere of A Picture to Remember, the edition’s opening film, screened as part of the Envision Competition.
IBF-supported films have increasingly been screened at other renowned international film festivals. Television broadcasters across the globe regularly screen IBF-supported documentary films. Once completed, the films are frequently successfully distributed in their own countries. Four IBF selection rounds take place annually. Filmmakers from the IBF-regions can receive support from two divergent grant programs.
- Projects can apply to IBF Classic for project development (€7,500) and production and post-production (€25,000). Each year, approximately twenty-five projects are selected for the grant. In 2023, IBF Classic supported 25 projects with a total of €425,500.
- European and Dutch producers can apply for the IBF Europe grant, when working on a co-production with a filmmaker from the IBF Country List. The maximum contribution per project is €40,000. In 2023, seven projects received an IBF Europe grant: a total support of €280,000.
- In 2023, new grants were available for projects previously supported by IBF: four projects received IBF Classic Distribution Support (a total of €20,000) and four projects received an IBF Europe Promotion Grant (a total of €27.500).
A conversation between director Agniia Galdanova and protagonist Gena about their film Queendom during the Oxfam Novib Special (Picture: Melle Meivogel)
ICFR
The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) was established in September 2020 at the Venice Film Festival to enable the film community to collectively address the global political persecution of filmmakers. IDFA, the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the European Film Academy serve as the founding entities of ICFR, driving continuous advocacy, support, oversight, and monitoring efforts.
Regrettably, in 2023, numerous filmmakers were once again arrested and had their (artistic) freedoms curtailed. Through various media appeals, ICFR brought attention to these suppressed creators. A special emergency fund was established in 2022 for filmmakers at risk due to the conflict in Ukraine, with 406 filmmakers receiving financial assistance that year. This figure increased to 660 in 2023.
The IDFA Bertha Fund is supported by Bertha Foundation, Creative Europe Media, JustFilms / Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Netherlands Film Fund, Stichting de Hoorn, Special Friends+ and Patrons of IDFA.
IDFA Talent Development Program is supported by Netherlands Film Fund, Creative Europe Media and NPO Fund.
