IDFA 26

Ava DuVernay’s new feature documentary explores how the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects birthright citizenship, has been under savage attack by President Trump and his acolytes. One point that the film underlines is how Confederate iconography remains embedded in US popular culture. “It’s our swastika,” she tells BDE. “In the American South, Black people really know what that means. It really is a silent warning of the hierarchy of this country.”

The Dutch-based Chinese filmmaker discusses his latest feature documentary, The Year of the Ghost, the second film within his very personal trilogy telling of life in his family. It is a film in which animation is used very effectively. “Ghost stories are not just products of our imagination. They can also express a tender wish to soothe our wounds,” expresses HotHotHot. “Animation is one of the best ways to tell ghost stories, allowing me to explore my deepest fears and desires.”

Artist Dragana Jurišić’s debut feature doc premiered at the Sarajevo Film Festival, and is produced by Ireland's Invisible Thread Films in co-production with Croatia's Restart, whose documentary Fiume o morte! by Igor Bezinović won the European Film Award for Best European Documentary in 2026. The Taskovski Films slate also includes IDFA 2025 winner Past Future Continuous and The Netherlands' official Oscar submission Paikar, among others.

Mexican-Salvadoran filmmaker Tatiana Huezo will be the Guest of Honour at IDFA 2026, which takes place from November 12 to 22. IDFA will present a Retrospective of Huezo’s work, alongside a personal Top 10 film selection. "Huezo's cinema is rooted in close observation and shaped by a highly attentive visual and sonic language—allowing memories and experience to surface through atmosphere and deeply personal stories,” the festival writes.

The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) announced October 13 the main competition line-ups for its 39th edition, running November 12 to 22. Newly unveiled selections include the International and Envision Competitions, Luminous, Frontlight, the IDFA DocLab competition selections, and the nominations for all cross-section awards. The IDFA 2026 official selection includes 253 titles from 80 countries and opens with the world premiere of White Tiger Column by Robert Mentov, Dwight Jantzi and Bryan Dickie.

IDFA 2026 has unveiled a slate of 47 “outstanding” projects, culled from 859 submissions, for the 34th edition of IDFA Forum (November 15–18). Following an assessment involving 42 external experts, the final line-up brings together projects in development, production and near-completion, showcased across the Forum Pitches, Roundtable Presentations, Rough Cut Presentations and IDFA DocLab Forum.

IDFA 2026 has announced the titles selected for its Short Documentary Competition, alongside new selections for Signed, Best of Fests, and Paradocs. IDFA DocLab has also unveiled first projects for its 20th anniversary, as well as the winners of the Film Fund DocLab Interactive Grant 2026. The final competition titles and full selection will be announced on October 13. The 39th edition of IDFA runs from November 12 to 22 in Amsterdam.