IDFA is edging even closer to its old spiritual home as Forum 2025 moves into the ITA Theatre on the Leidseplein and all Industry talks and consultancy sessions relocate to the legendary de Balie. Docs For Sale meanwhile is headed for the Documentary Pavilion in the Vondelpark.
“This means that now, everything is really concentrated around the square,” says Head of Industry Adriek van Nieuwenhuyzen.
Other changes are afoot at Forum (November 16-19). This year, the Producers Connection* projects will run alongside the regular Forum Pitch* presentations. Both categories will be presented at ITA as part of the same programme, taking place on the Monday and Tuesday mornings (17 and 18 November). The newly integrated set-up means that all IDFA Forum accredited guests are invited to attend both the Forum Pitches and Producers Connections presentations. “They have an equal status, they will have an equal visibility because everyone is in the room,” van Nieuwenhuyzen tells BDE.
“The renewed set-up of the pitches and Producers Connection underlines a focus on supporting filmmaker teams in making valuable connections and fostering creative partnerships,” she adds. “They are also a response to the market where creative partnerships are crucial to the finance of artistic films.”
In 2025, the pitch set-up will be less intimidating than in years past. Gone are the days when pitchers had to nervously make their presentation before a panel of leading commissioning editors who in turn would proclaim their willingness to join (or not).
As of 2025, it’s a straight pitch with no supplementary questions. Complex or meaningful answers will be provided at the one-on-ones or during a series of new, thematically-oriented Informative Panels that “acknowledge the need for information sharing about the mandates and practices of funders.”
These interactive panels are a revised approach to the previous post-pitch feedback panels and aim to provide practical insights into viable financing routes, organisers inform. Each panel session will include up to 30 participants, and themes may range from country-specific requirements to Impact to sub-genres (such as artistic docs).
“We like to offer the filmmakers and producers the possibility to connect and explore these possible partnerships,” van Nieuwenhuyzen underlines. “We think that it’s really still important that producers and filmmakers understand what their options are as they look to get their films funded. With this model, we better serve the project teams, and it should lead to really more in-depth conversations during the one-on-ones.”
Van Nieuwenhuyzen also commented on the appointment of Isabel Arrate Fernandez as IDFA Artistic Director from July 1, replacing Orwa Nyrabia. “I’m really looking forward to build on the relationship we have had over the years. She’s a very warm person, and I also value very much her ideas about the festival, about the industry and what role a festival like IDFA can play.”
“I hope we can together keep working on that, and think along which direction we should go, because every festival has to rethink or at least consider its place in the ecosystem all the time, as things are always shifting. It’s always relevant to see where we stand in the bigger landscape,” van Nieuwenhuyzen added.
*IDFA Forum Pitch projects are expected to offer a clear artistic vision and an established creative and financial strategy. Producers Connection, by contrast, highlights projects at formative, incubation stage, where teams are actively shaping both their creative direction and financing approach.
