The opening film of IDFA 2020 is Nothing but the Sun by Paraguayan-Swiss Arami Ullón. IDFA also announced October 28 Feature-Length, First Appearance, Mid-Length and DocLab competitions titles, the non-competitive DocLab Spotlight section and Creative Use of Archive competition. Within the festival’s competition sections 57% of the films are by women.
IDFA’s festival selection of 258 titles are sourced from 72 different countries, including co-production countries. 48% are by women filmmakers. Within the competition sections with 57% of the films are by women filmmakers.
The opening film of IDFA 2020 is Nothing but the Sun by Paraguayan-Swiss director Arami Ullón. In the film, is described as “quietly earth-shattering”, for years Mateo Sobode Chiqueno has been visiting Ayoreo communities in Paraguay with an antique cassette recorder to register conversations, stories, and songs of his people. This heritage contains the poignant testimonies of a disappearing culture.
The films in Feature-length Competition are:
Gorbachev. Heaven by Vitaly Mansky, 2020
A fascinating interview with former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev, one of the most influential figures of the last century, whose rule heralded the end of the Soviet Union. In an intimate setting, he gives his view of Russia then and now.
The Grocer’s Son, the Mayor, the Village and the World… by Claire Simon, 2020
In a one-street village in southern France, while some are harvesting or struggling with hail, others are creating an international streaming platform for independent documentaries. An inspiring tale of tenacity and idealism and their salutary effects.
Inside the Red Brick Wall by Hong Kong Documentary Filmmakers, 2020
A candid account of the student protests that took place at HongKong Polytechnic University in 2019, culminating in a violent police crackdown. The journalistic reporting makes this feel like a compelling action movie.
Morning Star by Nantenaina Lova, 2020
Fishermen in Madagascar are alarmed when an Australian company threatens to turn their sacred beach into a harbor. Filmmaker Nantenaina Lova follows the passionate activists and paints an engaging portrait of the villagers who refuse to give in.
Nemesis by Thomas Imbach, 2020
Zurich’s old railway station is making way for a giant prison, soon to be filled with rejected refugees. Their testimonies urn the spectacle of transformation, shot entirely from the filmmaker’s window, into a vision for our times.
The New Gospel by Milo Rau, 2020
The story of the crucifixion of Jesus gains topical relevance in this docufictional film about alarming conditions for illegal farm workers in southern Italy. A convincing passion play, making-of film, and powerful statement against exploitation.
Nothing but the Sun by Arami Ullón, 2020
For years, Mateo Sobode Chiqueno has been visiting Ayoreo communities in Paraguay with an antique cassette recorder to register conversations, stories, and songs of his people. This heritage contains the poignant testimonies of a disappearing culture.
Odoriko by Yoichiro Okutani, 2020
Odoriko are the dancers of the dying Japanese striptease theater. An intimate observation of the moments backstage when, stripped of their costumes, they chat, eat, and philosophize—until it’s time to get ready for the next act.
Radiograph of a Family by Firouzeh Khosrovani, 2020
Director Firouzeh Khosrovani is the daughter of a secular father and a devout Muslim mother, co-existing under one roof in Tehran. The Islamic Revolution took place in their home, affecting every corner of their family life.
Le temps perdu by Maria Alvarez, 2020
At a cafe in Buenos Aires, a group of aging Marcel Proust fans have been getting together for years to read In Search of Lost Time, the author’s seven-part classic novel. This black-and-white film celebrates writing, reading, and bygone times.
War and Peace by Massimo D’Anolfi, Martina Parenti, 2020
Every day we can witness scenes from countless violent conflicts all over the world, through television, news sites, social media and newspaper images. This exciting, dreamlike film explores the intimate relationship between war and cinema.
White Cube by Renzo Martens, 2020
Congolese plantation workers set a new precedent: they successfully co-opt the concept of the “white cube” gallery space as a means to stop the commercial exploitation of their land by multinationals such as Unilever.
Festival notes on the other competition sections reads as follows (plus links to selections):
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
A cinema of feelings, a cinema of facts: the IDFA Competition for First Appearance explores both. The 12-title selection includes 10 world premieres and a notable presence of female filmmakers from lower-volume production countries, heralding a promising future for documentary film. Collectively, the selection invites audiences to enter an honest, genuine world as the filmmakers really see it. Exploring the creative documentary through different lenses, these up-and-coming directors offer the tools to cherish it, and the tools to rethink it. Still, they keep us guessing—as it turns out, sometimes reality is stranger than fiction.
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Presenting a wide spectrum of documentary film, the 12 titles in the IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary look to the fringes of society, where people live, work, play, and struggle to make ends meet outside the status quo. Always self-reflexive, never passing any judgment, these filmmakers find new, creative ways of connecting with their subjects. Looking outward and looking inward; shooting for two decades or atop a deadly mountain range, the selected titles put the “person” back in “personal” whether behind the camera or in front of it.
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling*
With 10 selected titles, the IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling celebrates how digital art is exploring the liminal space between tangibility and tactility. Selected projects include documentary stories in virtual spaces, augmented reality in public space, algorithmically-driven identity games, and an aging artificial life. Together, the selection invites users to travel from their homes to other virtual places in the space-time continuum.
IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction*
Comprised of 9 titles, the IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction opens up new possibilities for live performance in digital art, as artists increasingly experiment with different platforms in response to the challenges of 2020. Selected formats include online immersive theater, full-dome experiences, and multi-sensory experiments. All submerge audiences in completely new realities.
The non-competitive new media section includes 10 titles with themes such as galactic justice, (post)human grief, and caretaking of artificial beings. Highlights include Vincent Morisset’s Motto, an interactive novella made up of a thousand tiny videos co-created with readers all over the world. Ainslee Robson’s point-cloud dreamscape Ferenj: A Graphic Memoir in VR immerses the user in an afrosurrealist world of nostalgia and in-between identities. Other highlights include the online multi-user version of the National Theatre’s All Kinds of Limbo, XR Broadcast, an Extended Reality performance and musical journey inspired by the influence of West Indian culture on the UK’s music scene.
The IDFA DocLab competitions & Spotlight are part of the do {not} touch program, a collaboration between IDFA on Stage and IDFA DocLab to explore how artists reshape the art of reality as it moves between online and physical worlds.
IDFA Competition for Creative Use of Archive
Now in its second year, the IDFA Competition for Creative Use of Archive includes 10 titles from across the festival program. The selected films, which feature archival material, found footage, propaganda films, and everything in between, crack open our shared history to dig up new archaeologies and where we might fit in. Obsessively documenting ourselves, unearthing state secrets, re-constructing past events, and re-casting historical icons: This selection explores the cinematic histories that define us. The findings are imperative—our past, present, and future are at stake. The selected films will compete for the Beeld en Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award.
*Due to new travel and exhibition restrictions, it is not possible to present all DocLab competition works equally to an international jury. Therefore, the festival will forgo the DocLab juries and awards this year. IDFA will present an alternative scheme to celebrate and support projects in the DocLab competitions.
