Industry
In 2024, over 3000 accredited guests attended the festival, with many actively participating in the international industry program at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam. IDFA Forum and Docs for Sale—both key components of IDFA Industry—were hosted at Felix Meritis. The four-day talent development program IDFAcademy took place at De Balie.
Industry Program
Industry Talk: Lessons of Indigenous and anti-colonial practices (Photo: Bernard Kalu)
IDFA’s industry program offered professionals a rich lineup of discussions, knowledge-sharing sessions, and advisory meetings focused on the evolving documentary landscape. The 2024 festival explored key topics such as narrative sovereignty (the right to tell one’s own story), a European conference on independently produced documentaries in times of democratic uncertainty, and the ethical implications of AI in documentary filmmaking.
As in previous years, IDFA partnered with national and international organizations, including the French authors’ rights organization LeScam and Dutch industry associations such as NAPA and the Netherlands Society of Cinematographers. The program also featured over fifty Industry Consultancies, where small groups engaged in in-depth discussions with seasoned experts.
Next to debate and knowledge transfer, IDFA provides professionals with important networking opportunities. Social events took place daily, where guests came together to meet each other and spark new collaborations.
Forum
In 2024, IDFA’s international co-financing and co-production market, IDFA Forum, selected 56 projects from 820 entries. Originally launched as a European platform for financing television documentaries, the Forum has since evolved into a global event presenting a diverse selection of high-quality documentary projects. In addition to financing, the Forum now places significant emphasis on distribution, connecting both film and new media projects with co-producers and a range of financiers, including studios, film funds, public and commercial broadcasters, and streaming platforms.
Pitch voor 'Dry Sky', during IDFA Forum (Photo: Pier van den Elsen)
IDFA Forum Rough-Cut (Photo: Coen Dijkstra)
During this year’s Forum Awards, Dry Sky by Sudanese filmmaker Ibrahim Omar won the IDFA Forum Award for Best Pitch. Do You Love Me by Lana Daher (Lebanon) received the Best Rough Cut Awards, while DocLab Forum Award went to Amorphous by May Abdalla. Looking for the Mermaid by Yara Costa (Mozambique) was named Most Promising Project in the Producers Connection category.
Docs for Sale
Docs for Sale, IDFA’s marketplace for artistic documentary films from around the world, facilitates networking, knowledge exchange, and distribution. In 2024, Docs for Sale once again took place in Felix Meritis. Alongside the five-day marketplace, its online catalogue provides year-round on-demand access to a curated selection of documentary films for members. In 2024, the catalogue featured 322 films.
During the festival, independent producers and sales agents had the opportunity to showcase their films, connect with industry professionals, and negotiate deals with buyers, festival programmers, and distributors.
IDFA Forum is supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands and Creative Europe Media.
