Selections were unveiled October 14 for the main International and Envision competition sections of the upcoming IDFA, running November 13 to 23. The festival also announced selections for the entire IDFA DocLab program, as well as the Luminous and Frontlight sections, and the nominations for all cross-section awards. The festival will open Nov 13 with a selection of short films: As I Lay Dying by Mohammadreza Farzad & Pegah Ahangarani, Intersecting Memory by Shayma’ Awawdeh, and happiness by Firat Yücel.
“As filmmakers and artists from all over the world share their work, they remind us that there is a space for reflection and connection. They bring other perspectives. They open conversations about cinema—about what touches us, what feels urgent, what truly matters right now. Through them, we get to be part of the courage of filmmakers and artists who refuse to give up—who keep pursuing their creative vision, and their commitment to stories that they feel matter,” IDFA’s Artistic Director Isabel Arrate Fernandez said of the IDFA 2025 program during the October 14 press conference.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
The International Competition presents twelve films that “transform deeply personal histories into reflections on today’s most pressing issues,” the festival writes. The selection brings together established names next to first-time filmmakers, with “a diverse selection of films that champion the craft and innovation of filmmaking. Nine of the selected titles are world or international premieres.” Four are from EC countries (Austria, France, Netherlands, Belgium) while two are from Argentina. The US, UK, Ukraine, Iraq, Iran and Georgia account for the other six titles.
“Several works explore women’s lived experiences, tracing stories of oppression and violence met with resilience and solidarity. Other films turn to existential questions, probing our timeless search for meaning and belonging. Across the selection, stories of migration, war, and personal struggle emerge in singular, formally daring works that confront the realities shaping our world today,” the festival writes.
Selected films: International Competition
- All My Sisters, dir. Massoud Bakhshi (Austria/France/Germany/Iran), 78’ – World Premiere
- December, dir. Lucas Gallo (Argentina/Uruguay), 105’ – World Premiere
- Flana, dir. Zahraa Ghandour (Iraq/France/Qatar), 85’ – European Premiere
- Flood, dir. Katy Scoggin (United States), 75’ – International Premiere
- A Fox Under a Pink Moon, dir. Mehrdad Oskouei (Iran/France/United Kingdom/United States/Denmark), 76’ – World Premiere
- The Kartli Kingdom, dir. Tamar Kalandadze, Julien Pebrel (Georgia/France), 105’ – World Premiere
- Mailin, dir. María Silvia Esteve (Argentina/France/Romania), 89’ – World Premiere
- Palimpsest: The Story of a Name, dir. Mary Stephen (France/Hong Kong/Taiwan), 109’ – European Premiere
- The Shipwrecked, dir. Diego Gutiérrez (Netherlands), 115’ – World Premiere
- Silent Flood, dir. Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk (Ukraine/Germany), 90’ – World Premiere
- Synthetic Sincerity, dir. Marc Isaacs (United Kingdom), 72’ – World Premiere
- Those Who Watch Over, dir. Karima Saïdi (Belgium/France/Qatar), 88’ – European Premiere
ENVISION COMPETITION
The Envision Competition offers “twelve unparalleled films, each of them stylistically arresting, as visionary filmmakers forge new cinematic languages. Eleven of the selected titles are world or international premieres,” the festival writes. The breakdown of originating countries is as follows: Spain, Czech Republic, China, Portugal, Lithuania, Italy, Netherlands, Mexico, Iran, S and Lebanon. Nine of the 12 selections are world prems, two are international premieres, and one film takes its European bow.
“Several works in the selection stage scenes or construct settings to direct their realities, using these interventions to explore the language of cinema,” the festival writes. “Others reimagine the archive, breathe new life into collective memory, or co-create stories with their protagonists, shifting authorship and perspective. By a playful yet rigorous exploration of form, the films in the selection can be seen to challenge conventions, decolonize narratives, and open new ways of seeing the world.”
Selected films: Envision Competition
- Amílcar, dir. Miguel Eek (Spain/Portugal/France/Sweden/Cape Verde), 87’ – World Premiere
- Blood Red, dir. Martin Imrich (Czech Republic), 75’ – World Premiere
- Confessions of a Mole, dir. Mo Tan (China/Poland), 92’ – World Premiere
- Fordlândia Panacea, dir. Susana de Sousa Dias (Portugal/Brazil), 62’ – World Premiere
- Holy Destructors, dir. Aiste Žegulytė (Lithuania/France/Latvia), 85’ – World Premiere
- I Want Her Dead, dir. Gianluca Matarrese (Italy), 86’ – International Premiere
- Love-22-Love, dir. Jeroen Kooijmans (Netherlands), 84’ – World Premiere
- Our Body Is an Expanding Star, dir. Semillites Hernández Velasco, Tania Hernández Velasco (Mexico), 84’ – World Premiere
- Past Future Continuous, dir. Morteza Ahmadvand, Firouzeh Khosrovani (Iran/Norway/Italy), 76’ – International Premiere
- Powwow People, dir. Sky Hopinka (United States), 88’ – European Premiere
- Treat Me Like Your Mother, dir. Mohamad Abdouni (Lebanon), 76’ – WorldPremiere
- Trillion, dir. Victor Kossakovsky (Norway/United States), 80’ – World Premiere
LUMINOUS
The premiere-only section Luminous presents “a wide range of styles and formalist approaches, from observational to personal to experimental”— among them both feature-length and short films. “The twenty-seven titles move between intimate meditations on the filmmakers’ inner worlds and explorations of lives far beyond their own,” the festival writes. All twenty-seven films in the selection are world or international premieres,”
“Co-directed by filmmaker Toia Bonino and incarcerated Marcos Joubert, Do or Die is a rare, intimate portrait of prison life and a meditation on cinema itself—filmed entirely on a phone behind bars,” IDFA highlights . “In House of Hope, Marjolein Busstra follows a Palestinian woman running a Waldorf school on the West Bank with her husband, capturing their struggle to create a safe haven for children amid escalating violence and uncertainty. In Paikar, Dawood Hilmandi returns to Iran to confront his authoritarian father, crafting a poignant family portrait that wrestles with exile, reconciliation, and the meaning of home. Full details of Luminous section to follow.
Selected films: Luminous
- 32 Meters by Morteza Atabak, Turkey/Iran, World Premiere
- 9,192,631,770 Hz by Todd Chandler, United States, International Premiere
- Abel by Fabian Volti, Italy, International Premiere
- And She Didn’t Die by Kethiwe Ngcobo, United Kingdom/South Africa, International Premiere
- As the Crow Flies by Clara Lacombe, France, International Premiere
- Blackout Dreams by Gabriele Licchelli, Francesco Lorusso, Andrea Settembrini, Cuba/Italy, World Premiere (short)
- Do or Die by Toia Bonino, Marcos Joubert, Argentina, Colombia, World Premiere (short)
- The Flight of the Stork by Soumaya Hidalgo Djahdou, Berta Vicente Salas, Spain/Qatar, World Premiere
- Grounded by Simón Uribe Martínez, Colombia/France, World Premiere
- House of Hope by Marjolein Busstra, Netherlands/Palestine, World Premiere
- If You Don’t Like It, Look Away by Margaux Fournier, France, International Premiere (short)
- The In-the-Head Film by Konstantin von Sichart, Germany, International Premiere (short)
- Mohammed & Paul – Once Upon a Time in Tangier by Nordin Lasfar, Netherlands, World Premiere (short)
- Murmurations by Xavier Marrades, Spain, World Premiere (short)
- My Word Against Mine by Maasja Ooms, Netherlands, World Premiere
- Nomad Spirit by Raúl Soto Rodríguez , Colombia International Premiere
- Outliving Shakespeare by Inna Sahakyan, Armenia/Netherlands, World Premiere
- Paikar by Dawood Hilmandi, Netherlands/Afghanistan, World Premiere
- Passion According to Agnieszka by Wojciech Staroń, Poland, International Premiere (short)
- Pedro Tomás Explains the World by Kornelijus Stučkus, Spain, International Premiere (short)
- The Sessions by Sien Versteyhe, Belgium, World Premiere
- Stories of a Lie by Olia Verriopoulou, Greece/France, World Premiere
- Truck Mama by Zippy Nyaruri , Kenya/South Africa/Saudi Arabia, World Premiere
- We Were Left Alone by Adrián Canoura, Spain, World Premiere
- Weeping Rocks by Karlis Bergs, United States/Latvia, World Premiere
- The Wind and All Times by Carla Valencia Dávila, Ecuador, International Premiere
- The Wind Blows Wherever It Wants by Ivan Boiko, Georgia/United Kingdom. World Premiere
FRONTLIGHT
The premiere-only section Frontlight showcases fifteen films that critically examine the truth and artistically explore the urgent issues of our time. Eleven of the selected titles are world or international premieres.
“Several films offer immediate responses to critical current events, while others take time to reflect, examining the social realities and challenges shaping people’s lives today,” the festival highlights. “Reporting directly from Gaza, Gaza’s Twins, Come Back to Me by Mohammed Sawwaf follows a mother desperate to reach her two newborn babies in urgent care, evacuated amid bombings and prevented from seeing them by travel restrictions and checkpoints. Steal This Story, Please! by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin profiles independent journalist Amy Goodman, highlighting the vital role of fearless reporting in upholding democracy and a free press.” Full details of Frontlight section to follow.
Selected films: Frontlight
- Asparagus Bear by Ivan Grgur , Croatia, European Premiere (short)
- The Clown of Gaza by Abdulrahman Sabbah, Palestine/France/Qatar, European Premiere
- The Desert of the Real by Luuk Bouwman, Netherlands, World Premiere
- Elon Musk Unveiled – The Tesla Experiment by Andreas Pichler, Germany, World Premiere
- Eyes of the Machine by Daya Cahen, Netherlands, World Premiere
- Gaza’s Twins, Come Back to Me by Mohammed Sawwaf, Palestine, World Premiere
- My Foreign Land by Coletivo Lakapoy, Louise Botkay, João Moreira Salles, Brazil, European Premiere
- The New Policy Regarding Homeless Asylum Seekers by Dennis Harvey, Sweden/Ireland, International Premiere (short)
- No Sunshine in Here by Karol Maia, Brazil, International Premiere
- Palestine Comedy Club by Alaa Aaliabdallah, United Kingdom/Palestine, European Premiere
- Steal This Story, Please! by Carl Deal, Tia Lessin, United States, International Premiere
- True North by Michèle Stephenson, Canada/United States, International Premiere
- We Are Pat by Rowan Haber, United States, European Premiere
- When I Get Jailed by Anastasiia Vedenskaia, France, World Premiere
- The Woman Who Poked the Leopard by Patience Nitumwesiga, Uganda/South Africa/Germany/United States, International Premiere
IDFA DOCLAB COMPETITION FOR IMMERSIVE NON-FICTION
With a majority of world premieres, the ten-title Immersive Non-Fiction Competition “boldly expands the horizons of the documentary genre.” The selection showcases multisensory experiences, artistic VR creations, interactive installations, and live performances that push immersive media beyond conventional boundaries—to foster critical reflection and meaningful connection.
Several artists explore the potential of immersive media in innovative and far-reaching ways, from frontline citizen journalism to provocative explorations of gender identity. Others invite audiences into embodied experiences without headsets, creating physical environments that challenge perceptions of reality, and confront the impact of technology on society and the human condition. Full details of IDFA DOCLAB Competition for Immersive Non-fiction section to follow.
IDFA DOCLAB COMPETITION FOR DIGITAL STORYTELLING
With nine premiere titles in the selection, the Digital Storytelling Competition “continues to expand the possibilities of digital art and interactive storytelling, featuring works by both emerging talent and established creators,” the festival writes.
“Using the expansive capacity of interactive media and artificial intelligence, several projects explore our physical realities and social and technological changes shaping our world—through parallel universes, bots, and immersive archives, revealing truths about deep-rooted gender binaries, gentrification, and the enduring legacies of colonialism and racism,” the festival continues. “Multiple projects invite audiences as co-creators, from participatory explorations to decade-long digital archives, tracing how the internet evolved from a space of eager creativity and connection to one where humans have become commodified as product. Full details of IDFA DOCLAB Competition for Digital Storytelling section to follow.
IDFA DOCLAB SPOTLIGHT
With seven selected titles, the non-competitive DocLab Spotlight section showcases critically acclaimed VR- and full-dome projects next to live performance.
“In a time defined by human-machine entanglement, several works reimagine our relationships with artificial intelligence, exposing its quiet manipulations, its quickness to radicalize, and its capacity for introspection,” IDFA writes. “Other projects turn to the fragile terrain of memory and care—using VR and immersive technologies to explore the visceral, the haunting, and the tender experiences that mark a lifetime. These works showcase an evolving landscape of documentary art, where digital systems and human stories collide to reveal new ways of seeing, feeling, and being. Full details of IDFA DOCLAB Spotlight to follow.
CROSS-SECTION AWARDS
IDFA has also announced the nominations for the cross-section awards—distinct awards that transcend the sections to recognize outstanding artistic achievement across the overall festival program.
The IDFA Award for Best First Feature celebrates the most remarkable debut feature-length films, recognizing works that reveal a distinctive creative voice and the promise of an evolving signature. Drawn from the International Competition, Envision Competition, Luminous, and Frontlight, the award is accompanied by a €5,000 prize, awarded by an international jury. The films nominated for the IDFA Award for Best First Feature are also eligible for the FIPRESCI Award, chosen by an international jury of film critics.
The IDFA Award for Best Dutch Film highlights exceptional Dutch filmmaking talent across the International Competition, Envision Competition, Luminous, and Frontlight selections. The winning filmmaker with receive €5,000, awarded by an international jury.
The Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award for Best Creative Use of Archive honours outstanding archival film, selected from across the film program. The winning film with receive a €5,000 prize, awarded by an international jury. The winners will be announced during the IDFA 2025 Awards Ceremony on Thursday November 20.
OPENING NIGHT IDFA 2025
Showcasing the creativity and artistic range of short documentary film, IDFA 2025 will open with a selection of “boundary-pushing” short films: As I Lay Dying by Mohammadreza Farzad, Pegah Ahangarani; Intersecting Memory by Shayma’ Awawdeh, and happiness by Firat Yücel.
Of the Opening Night program, Artistic Director Isabel Arrate Fernandez comments: “We believe the selection of films set the tone for a festival that explores major issues of the present, that makes room for new voices, fresh forms, and unexpected perspectives.”
As I Lay Dying and Intersecting Memory have also been selected for the Short Competition. happiness has been selected for Best of Fests.
