The IDFA Forum Award for Best Project, valued at 2,500 euro, was given November 20 to Nicolas van Hemelryck and Clare Weiskopf (Colombia) for their project Alis.
The IDFA Forum jury, consisting of doc consultant Gitte Hansen, Lisa Chanoff (producer and co-founder of Catapult Film Fund) and Luis González Zaffaroni (founding director of DocMontevideo), said how, “the project is a win-win opportunity. For the protagonists and us, the future audience. The filmmakers aim to facilitate, capture and show the process of empowerment of young female protagonists coming from the harshest life-conditions in the streets of Bogota… We believe, here is a great potential for a film giving audience a chance to empathize and grasp that there really is a hope for a better future.”
An Honourable Mention was given for Forum project Justice Under Suspicion, by Maria Ramos. “With unique access and courageous characters and filmmaking, this important investigative drama uncovers the use of lawfare in Brazil, and tells the story of the power of journalism and the danger of the politicization and weaponization of a justice system, a story that all too sadly resonates not just in Brazil but in countries around the world”.
IDFA Forum Award for the Best Rough Cut Project, worth €1000, went to We are Inside by Farah Kassem, produced by Cynthia Choucair for Road2Films.
The jury noted how prize was given “for offering us access to an intimate and personal world from a woman’s point of view, using the poetry of the words and the cinema as a key to look at a society, a culture and a relationship between daughter and father, while the Lebanese October revolution emerges outside.”
The IDFA DocLab Forum Award for Best Project, valued at €2500, was given to Sacha Wares for Inside: A Journey Into the World of Outsider Artist Judith Scott.
The IDFA DocLab Forum jury, consisting of XR and director Joāo Inada, Paris-based web designer Margaux Missika and producer/content manager Janine Steele, noted how the film “spoke to us on multiple levels. Clarity and conciseness in presentation, supported by beautiful visuals, its innovative multi-tiered approach in bringing Judith and Joyce’s story to light and reflecting Judith’s lived reality in the storytelling and design, and its emotional resonance. The heart of this artwork remains an unbreakable bond between two sisters, and it truly moved us, in this time where family and personal connection is so important.”
An Honourable Mention was given for DocLab Forum project The Pulp Aubrey Heichemer (Germany).
Feedback
The festival published feedback from online Forum participants in 2020.
Israeli filmmaker Avi Mograbi, who took part in the IDFA Forum Rough Cut Presentations with The First 54 Years: “Telling others about your new project is something we filmmakers are obliged to do all the time in order to get the films funded. But truthfully, we also do it obsessively anyway. We can’t stop. So IDFA allows us to mix business and pleasure.”
Danish director Simon Lereng Wilmont, A House Made of Splinters, also in Rough Cut Presentations: “I was super impressed with how IDFA set up the Forum. It felt almost like being there pitching in real life—or as good as it can get. I still miss meeting in person though, but I hope we get a chance to do that next year.”
Indian filmmaker Soumya Mukhopadhyay, A South Asian Queer Pamphlet, in IDFA DocLab Forum: “A fabulous experience considering the unprecedented times and the scale of IDFA. A special mention for supporting audacious new media projects and creating a warm, cheerful shared space for seamless exchange of ideas and dialogues. Wonderfully organized pitching sessions and great one-on-one meetings.”
Ethiopian artist Kidus Hailesilassie, whose project Culture Archive was part of IDFA DocLab Forum, truly showed his participation: “Thanks to IDFA Forum, we’ve had the opportunity to engage with a broad range of industry leaders directly relevant to the continued development of our multimedia installation. This was our first time attending the Forum, and we felt welcomed and supported
throughout the preparation process for the pitch…Our experience has illuminated why IDFA has such a strong and close-knit returning community of creatives. Everyone was keen to support us in one way or another. As emerging artists this was especially impactful not only for the future of our current project, the Culture Archive but also for our future projects. We hope to attend in person next year.”
