The deadline for submissions to IDFA Forum’s Producers Connection, Forum Pitch, DocLab Forum and Rough Cuts is imminent. The last date to make applications is July 25 2025.
- Producers Connection entails presentations and curated one-on-one meetings focusing on supporting projects looking to finance their films through international co-production. The programme is designed for documentary projects seeking international co-producers, and for independent producers keen to find new projects to co-produce.
- Forum Pitch Presentations: Pitch-style presentations and one-on-one meetings catering to projects at all stages of production seeking co-financing, collaboration, and/or distribution. Forum invites documentary projects at any stage of production, both feature one-offs and series, looking for financing and distribution partners.
- IDFA DocLab Forum: Cross-media pitch presentations and one-on-one meetings where projects presented can find new partnerships and explore new ways to move forward. DocLab Forum invites non-fiction interactive/immersive artworks at all production and financing stages seeking new collaborators in the field.
- Rough Cut Presentations: Cinema screening presentations of 20 min. excerpts to Forum and Docs for Sale industry professionals, in addition to curated one-on-one meetings. Forum invites documentary projects nearing completion, looking to showcase their rough cut to potential sales, distribution, and exhibition stakeholders.
- Attending Forum as an Observer: For producers who do not have a project and would like to network during IDFA Forum, and for industry professionals looking to collaborate with projects and teams, accreditations for Observer status are available.
IBF EUROPE – MINORITY CO-PRODUCTION SCHEME
The IDFA Bertha Fund has announced its latest selection for the IBF Europe – Minority Co-production scheme, awarding €240,000 to six documentary projects. This selection reflects the Fund’s “ongoing commitment to fostering equitable co-production partnerships between European producers and filmmakers from across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Oceania,” write organisers.
This year’s selection features both new voices and filmmakers who have previously been supported by the Fund. Bahia Honda by Alejandro Alonso Estrella and Oma by Armin Septiexan Radja Djawa were both previously supported through IBF Classic. Also returning to IDFA is Marina Luiza, whose project Freedom is no fear follows her 2023 immersive work Redemption, selected for IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction.
The selection also places strong emphasis on emerging talent: five of the six projects are directed by first- or second-time feature documentary makers – including You Don’t Die Two Times by Ager Oueslati. One of the selected projects remains anonymous, “underlining the urgency of the stories being told and the risks faced by filmmakers in politically sensitive contexts.”
“This round, the IBF Europe call saw an increase of nearly 50%,” comments Selin Murat, Executive Director of IDFA Bertha Fund. “It was inspiring to see so many more meaningful, equitable, and director-centred collaborations being created worldwide, and it definitely made our selection work both difficult and rewarding.”
“At the same time, too many international collaborations continue to be imbalanced in terms of commitment, access to finance and risk-taking,” Murat adds. “The international community is calling for transparent practices, globally applicable standards, and—most importantly – that teams get compensated and recognized fairly for the work they do, rather than whether their production company is based in a territory with access to more financial means.”
SELECTED PROJECTS
- Bahia Honda by Alejandro Alonso Estrella (Cuba). Production: Daniela Muñoz Barroso for Estudio ST, Boris Prieto for Vega Alta Films. Co-production: Anita Norfolk for Folk Film. Logline: Pitufo, a young Cuban shipbreaker, dreams of escaping the remote bay where he spends his days destroying ships amidst fire and metal. In search of his freedom, he enters the ship graveyard, a territory where his visions begin to take shape. Europe Minority Co-production Grant: €40,000
- Freedom is no fear by Mariana Luiza(Brazil). Production: Heverton Lima for Paideia Filmes. Co-production: Mário Gajo de Carvalho for Filmes do Gajo. Logline: A girl, embodiment of the mythical coral snake, moves through Brazil’s underground, unearthing buried memories, bodies, and Black knowledge. Guided by Sueli Carneiro’s philosophy—a leading Black feminist thinker—she dares the nation to face what it silenced—and listen to what insists on returning. Europe Minority Co-production Grant: €40,000.
- Oma by Armin Septiexan Radja Djawa (Indonesia, Philippines). Production: Armi Rae Cacanindin for Popple Pictures, Lodimeda Kini for Hammu Hawu. Co-production: Quentin Laurent for Les Films de l’oeil sauvage, BALDR Film. Logline: Mikael, 20, is caught between two grandmothers and a painful past. Oma Net, 85, wants to reveal her tragic history, but Mamie Tualaka, whose husband may have caused her family’s deaths, stands in the way. Torn between them, Mikael embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about his family. Europe Minority Co-production Grant: €40,000.
- Wave by Mariam Chachia (Georgia). Production: Mariam Chachia for Kino Elva. Co-production: KriStine Ann Skaret for Stray Dog Productions AS, Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan for Manifest Film. Logline: This documentary is currently in development and is expected to be finished in 2027. Europe Minority Co-production Grant: €40,000.
- You Don’t Die Two Times by Ager Oueslati (Algeria). Production: Ager Oueslati. Co-production: Thomas Kaske for Seera Films. Logline: When a haunting dream awakens Gift, she embarks on a perilous odyssey toward Europe, retracing the memories of abandonment, loss, and hope that shaped her journey—a timeless tale of migration as an inward voyage, where the past and present collide in a search for belonging. Europe Minority Co-production Grant: €40,000
- Anonymous project
The next IBF Europe deadline will be April 1, 2026, for films to be completed by December 2027. The next IBF Classic deadline is December 10, 2025.
