Filmmaker support

With IDFA Project Space, IDFA offers training programs to the next generation of documentary talent. In 2022, IDFA Project Space selected sixteen filmmaking teams with a documentary project in progress—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 2022, 6 filmmakers followed a program of several months, during which they developed their film plan under the guidance of renowned professionals.

Following a number of hybrid editions, IDFAcademy took place in-person this year. No less than 100 participants attended the festival in person, hosted by our new venue Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA), where they could enjoy an extensive program; including sessions and talks with former Guest of Honor Gianfranco Rosi, and director of this year’s opening film Niki Padidar.

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.

In 2022, IBF received 727 applications from 76 different countries, of which 39 selected projects were selected from 19 different countries. Each year, an average of fifteen new IBF-films are premiered during IDFA. In 2022, eleven IBF-supported projects were screened during the festival. Manifesto by Angie Vinchito had its world premiere at the festival, screening as part of the Envision Competition, and won the IDFA Award for Best Film.

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 projects are selected for the grant.

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.

The IDFA Bertha Fund Classic supported 24 projects in 2022, with a total of €415,000. IBF received additional support from the Open Society Foundation to support filmmakers in Ukraine. Nine projects received a total of €168,000 of support. Six projects selected for IBF Europe received a total of €240,000 of support for co-production. This totals to 39 supported projects in 2022.

Launched in September 2020 at the Venice Film Festival, the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) aims to activate the film community’s collective response to filmmakers who face political persecution for their work. IDFA, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the European Film Academy are the founding partners of the ICFR, with activities that include advocacy, support, monitoring, and observation. Explore some recent efforts of the ICFR below.

Unfortunately, multiple filmmakers were arrested and experienced restrictions to their (artistic) freedom in 2022. By means of public appeals, ICFR generated attention for filmmakers at risk. ICFR launched an emergency fund for filmmakers in wake of Ukraine war and provided 406 filmmakers with financial support in 2022. This number will go up to 660 in 2023. ICFR also published an open letter expressing great concern regarding the recent repression and imprisonment of Iranian filmmakers.

The IDFA Bertha Fund is supported by Bertha Foundation, Creative Europe Media, JustFilms / Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Netherlands Film Fund, Stichting de Hoorn, ASN Foundation, Special Friends+ and Patronsof IDFA.

IDFA Talent Development Program is supported by Netherlands Film Fund, Creative Europe Media and NPO Fund.

IDFA Project Space NL is supported by the NPO Fund.