The 2024 IDFA Forum Awards were announced November 20 with Ibrahim Omar’s project Dry Sky winning the IDFA Forum Award for Best Pitch. Lana Y. Daher’s Do You Love Me picked up the Forum Award for Best Rough Cut, while the DocLab Forum Award went to Amorphous by May Abdalla. The new Producers Connection Award was won by Yara Costa for Looking for the Mermaid. Each award includes a cash prize of €1,500.
Forum Pitch Presentation Award: Dry Sky by Ibrahim Omar
“For an articulation of a subtle cinematic language and a courageous proposal of healing. Told through a unique and critical inside perspective we look forward to a collective endeavour to imagine new futures. It takes a village,” said jury members Dorota Lech and Malin Huber about Dry Sky by Ibrahim Omar.
The jury additionally recognized Concrete Land by Asmahan Bkerat and The Beauty of Errors by Jukka Kärkkäinen with Special Mentions “for their respective heartfelt films and pitches” within the IDFA Forum Award category.
Forum Rough Cut Award: Do You Love Me by Lana Y. Daher
Jury members Burcu Melekoglu and Mandisa Zitha commented of the winning film: “We are delighted to present the Jury Award for the most outstanding film about to be released to the filmmaking team of Do You Love Me. Lana Y. Daher masterfully weaves a delicate and poignant story of a city and its heartbreaking yet resilient history. Through the evocative use of archival materials from Lebanese cinema, she appropriates the visuals of the city from films as a representation of the cyclical history and nature of memories, bringing to life a narrative that is both deeply personal and profoundly universal. The work stands as a testament to the power of memory and art in navigating collective grief and renewal.”
Producers Connection Award: Looking for the Mermaid by Yara Costa
Jury members Bianca Oana and Daan Vermeulen commented: “The world is disappearing before our eyes. That is a strong statement in itself. But the winning project also brings forth the idea that cinema can help preserve dying worlds while at the same time enriching our imagination with new possibilities of being together and of making films. The presentation we witnessed here at Producers Connection has inspired us to award the Producers Connection Award for most creative project with exciting collaborative potential to Looking for the Mermaid by Yara Costa. We hope this incentive will spark interest for the creative collaborations the filmmaker is looking for.”
DocLab Forum Award: Amorphous by May Abdalla
The IDFA DocLab Forum jury, consisting of Jazia Hammoudi and Liz Rosenthal, said about Amorphous by May Abdalla: “Amorphous is this year’s winner because of its ingenious use of play for a transformational purpose in relation to the crisis in self-image and body dysmorphia. Its messaging is experiential rather than didactic, making it appropriate for all kinds of audiences and demographics. Its design and format present a viable path forward for the immersive field and will appeal to diverse immersive media spaces.”
The Four Floors of Faneuil Hall by Simon Wood and Meghna Singh was recognized with an Honorable Mention for the DocLab Forum Award. The jury commented: “The use of space and architecture to ground their story imbues the project with narrative clarity that makes their point crystal clear about the contradiction of democratic society built on legacies of slavery, genocide and colonialism. The project’s installation format makes it adaptable to many contexts, which opens up the possibility of future iterations beyond Faneuil Hall itself.”
