This year IDFA is no less vast in scope and reach than in past years. Perhaps it is even more so, given the number of far-flung countries represented in its competition programmes (Armenia, Paraguay, Thailand, Ukraine, Belgium to name a few), the thoroughness of its Industry programme (a whopping 64 Forum projects in 2023) and DocLab, the world’s leading festival platform for interactive media.
Add to that the likes of Peter Greenaway, Wang Bing, Claire Simon and Anand Patwardhan as special guests (and many more besides), as well as a smorgasbord of talks, debates, masterclasses, retrospectives and focusses, and the next 12 days promises again to entice, thrill and inform both public and professionals alike.
When one assesses the 2023 programme, there is no denying the serious nature of the films selected across all sections, which in turn reflect the seriousness of the world we inhabit. But what about aesthetics? Is there ever a danger that cinematic values can be sidelined in the pursuit telling an urgent story? Quite the contrary, Artistic Director Orwa Nyrabia tells Business Doc Europe.
“Cinematic language takes precedent. I do not believe in a separation between form and content, I tend to think that this is a critic’s external way of analyzing art, but not how the artistic process itself works,” he underlines. “Original cinematic language comes from a complex relationship with the world around, and by that, it is political by nature. Even when it is not tackling a political issue, that too is a political expression. We do not think of Kubrick or Tarkovsky as political filmmakers, although most of their work is deeply political. The danger, in my opinion, is when the artistic process is hijacked by a cause, by the need to change opinions and shape public positions. That is when a certain pragmatism overrides and obstructs an artist, unleashing an artisan at best, and a technician in most cases.”
“When artists work with freedom, they are almost always political, and they almost always tackle the world’s urgencies that shape their own fears and make up their dreams and/or nightmares,” Nyrabia adds. “We don’t need to guide the artist; the artistic process is smarter than our general assessments of what the priorities are today.”
When Nyrabia took over five years ago (this is his 6th IDFA at the helm) he promised (and subsequently delivered) root and branch re-appraisal of both gender and geo-diversity within the documentary and wider film industries, looking to lead his festival, and the sector it served, into a more enlightened era. How does he describe the rationale behind his film choices in 2023, and what does an IDFA under his charge mean to be and seek to achieve?
“If I am to summarize, what I seek is added value, films that add value to the life of the viewer and are additive to the art of filmmaking itself,” Nyrabia responds. “Originality, authenticity, imagination, innovation, artistic integrity, stylistic coherence…all lead to the hope that this adds value and meaning to the human condition. I believe it is arrogant to think that there are clear measures of what a film that “works” is like, that we have that figured out already. So, what I hope we accomplish is to offer the filmmakers the validation they need for all the risk they take to make their films, and on the other hand, to offer the market a space to doubt its certainty a little, to watch ambitious film with more humility, and maybe feel a bit more adventurous!”
“It is no secret that my opinion of the current reality of filmmaking is full of excitement and optimism, while I am quite negative and sad when it comes to the ecosystem, to the industry,” he reflects. “I do believe that all of today’s questions, including decolonization, fair production and distribution practices, and the serious critique of film schools, funds, and festivals, then of film criticism too, are all necessary steps towards a wishable reality. So, one small step in each of these directions would do for now.”
This year, the business of selecting documentaries for the Youth Competition was entrusted to filmmaker Niki Padidar, whose All You See opened IDFA in 2022. In 2015 her Ninnoc was winner of the IDFA Award for Best Children’s Documentary. Why did Nyrabia decide to go outside the festival structure to programme this way in 2023?
“Niki is a wonderful filmmaker [and] knows the terrain when it comes to making films for young audiences – she understands the systems overseeing it, and the limitations of such systems,” he answers. “IDFA has been working hard for years on young audience development. We have successful programs that bring more than fifty thousand school kids to the cinema every year, and adds documentary film to classrooms in many Dutch schools. But then also, through this dedicated competition and the dedicated project slate in the Forum, we hope that we are contributing to the growth and the progress of the field, internationally.”
“Bringing Niki in this role was a very successful experiment. She enjoyed the work and compiled a selection that is diverse and groundbreaking. I moved in this direction because I was hoping we’d challenge ourselves, and the industry, by giving the authority to a talented and critical filmmaker, and Niki made the experiment a great success by questioning what is “right” for youngsters, what is “wrong”, and what is good film at the same time.”
During lockdown, we were all forced to change our working habits. This in turn made many of us question whether wholesale reliance on plane travel was necessary. Nobody wants to live life in a bubble, but when were we going to start giving the planet a chance, we asked. Now, it seems as if plane travel to festivals is as widespread as it ever was. Yes, we all have a very human need for face to face dialogue, but shouldn’t the eco- and global-conscious documentary industry change its practices and lead the way on this? Does IDFA have a policy on limiting plane travel?
“For a while now, we’ve been highly encouraging train travel when the trip is possible in under 8 hours,” Nyrabia underlines. “Europe’s train services seem to be developing, and I hope that we will be able to use it more, and wider, over the coming few years. We’ve been trying various ways to minimize and offset the festival’s footprint. But this should never be an instrument of alienation, of disconnecting humans from each other, or of consolidating a regional bubble where the privileged meet up and the others can listen-in electronically. The aviation industry does not seem to promise a new approach soon enough, unfortunately. So, I have no complete answers, but I know that everybody at IDFA is invested in this, it is a commitment we are not skipping, we are cooperating with specialized initiatives and organizations, an active work group made up of engaged team members leads the effort, and we will keep on doing better and better.”
He adds that the festival has reduced paper print by more than 90% over the past six years, and has “maximized our use of sustainable material across our organization’s work.” What’s more, filmmakers will get a wooden tulip on the occasion of their world premieres. “No more natural flowers at IDFA,” says Nyrabia.
As ever, Nyrabia refuses to be drawn on isolating individual competition titles for comment, stressing instead how, “I know that I will be surprised, proven wrong, as some films I think now won’t be celebrated as they deserve, will be celebrated, and then the other way around. I can, however, confirm that this program is our most international to date, and is full of true cinematic gems, the entire complexity of the world today will be there.”
But he is particularly vocal on other aspects of his programme. “I am looking forward to the screening of Peter Greenaway’s unfinished new film, Walking to Paris, a fiction film with serious documentary elements, a Greenaway reimagining of reality, and to the conversation I will have with him after the screening.” He is also “excited” about the entire Corresponding Cinemas program, and advises that Wang Bing’s longest film, West of the Tracks (9h 11 mins) and his shortest Man in Black (a mere 60 mins), are “pearls, essential viewings for any film lover.” He also flags up the Industry Talks programme, which includes an interview he will conduct with veteran producer Ted Hope, and a debate on pay disparity within the doc sector.
Nyrabia reserves final comment for his colleagues in the programming department, who are rarely accorded (at least in print) the praise they deserve in helping to shape the festival offer to public and professionals alike. “I am proud of how we work as a team on programming IDFA. We are a very diverse group and we work through a democratic process. This also extends to other selective processes, such as selecting IBF grantees, Forum projects, and so on,” he says.
“The team is made up of some of the most talented film lovers I know. Staff programmers and program coordinators and producers, then our expanded team of international program advisors. Everybody adds their different viewpoint. I am not for the rule of majority. Sometimes a film is selected, although only one programmer believes it should be, but with passion! Our programming team comes from 18 countries, has one third from the Netherlands, and two thirds identifying as women. It is a great dynamic, a continuous training for me, for all of us, to listen to each other and set aside our prejudices, to appreciate the different take of a different colleague.”
