Every doc festival has, it seems, an Industry component designed to inform and inspire, to unite rights holders with the money, and to facilitate opportunities for co-production or deal-making. The thing is, there are many such events, especially around Autumn time.
Of course, IDFA stole a march on all its competitors back in the 1980s with its introduction of ground-breaking initiatives such as Forum, Docs for Sale and the Jan Vrijman Fund (which later morphed into the IDFA Bertha Fund). Nevertheless, how does Industry Head Adriek van Nieuwenhuijzen explain the ongoing importance and uniqueness of IDFA and its market activities? Her response is clear and to the point.
“It is all about the filmmakers. They are our ears and eyes in society and it is very important to remember that we should give space to them to make their work possible,” she tells Business Doc Europe.
“On top of that, it’s also about artistic filmmaking, about pushing the boundaries of the genre, trying to find new ways of storytelling,” she adds. “That does not necessarily mean that it is only designed for cinema and it can’t be shown on television, but what we really want to do is to give voice to a different kind of filmmaking.”
Van Nieuwenhuijzen cites Indian filmmaker Anand Patwardhan who opened Industry IDFAcademy 2023 in conversation with IDFA Artistic Director Orwa Nyrabia. Patwardhan is at IDFA with his new film The World is Family (International Competition) after his previous work, Reason, won the Best Film Award at IDFA 2018. “He’s a filmmaker with a very important body of work, but not so well known, let’s say in Europe. So giving him a stage is very important,” she says.
Forum is again at the heart of the IDFA Industry in 2023. It is an event, much copied, that has “has grown into a world-leading space to explore co-production, co-financing and distribution strategies.” The range of documentary subjects is impressive, but there are inevitable and necessary topics at the core of this year’s 64-project event, namely Ukraine and climate change and, even though the selection was finalized months ago before the recent horrendous outbreak of hostilities in Gaza and Israel, tensions in the Middle East.
Eight Ukrainian doc projects are selected, a combination rough cut works and new productions, including Lights (working title) the new work by Mila Teshaieva and Marcus Lenz, who made the highly lauded When Spring Came to Bucha (world premiere, IDFA 2022). The Lights logline reads how, “beginning with the liberation of Bucha and following five characters as they navigate their life through conflicts, trauma, and hopes, the film tells a story of transformations of the nation shaped by war.”
In the Israeli project Issa’s House by Tomer Heymann, Issa Amro and non-violent activists spend their days guarding a Palestinian-owned home in Hebron. “Issa’s House gives voice to their stories of solidarity in the face of insurmountable oppression,” say the filmmakers. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Son of the Streets by Mohammed Almughanni chronicles how, “against all odds, a stateless Palestinian child in a Beirut refugee camp embarks on a courageous journey for recognition, education, and a brighter future (filmmaker’s synopsis).”
“Of course, now it’s even more important than ever that we show these films,” van Nieuwenhuijzen underlines. “We never as a festival can provide an immediate response to what is happening now in Israel, to what’s happening in Gaza, but the selection shows that these films indeed are being made, are already in the making.”
The climate change project Fire, Water, Earth, Air practises what it preaches, the Industry Head stresses. The project weaves together “four stories of everyday life in small communities in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and the Faroe Islands and [presents] scientific findings to show how we live with the unprecedented environmental changes and prepare for them.” The film has four directors attached and therefore travel between countries is hugely minimized. “It’s new, it’s challenging, but [lead director Phie Ambo] is leading the way. She’s an established filmmaker and she sees this also as a big adventure, but a very necessary one,” says van Nieuwenhuijzen.
Another climate-related doc project All Rivers Spill Their Secrets (to the Sea) is described as an “urgent, funny and tender feature documentary made in the North East of England, by Jeanie Finlay, in the place where she grew up.”
“It’s a very clear example of what is happening where big industry, big money is taking over and doesn’t care about environmental issues,” comments van Nieuwenhuijzen. “It’s very interesting when you can see that filmmakers feel the need and the urge to put a lens there.”
Climate change is on the agenda in Industry Talks on November 11 when a panel of industryites will discuss ‘Producing documentary film in a climate crisis,’ addressing the environmental impact of production, as well as finances and logistics.
Another session which reflects the core sense of “solidarity” that must be applied across all strata of the doc industry is the ‘Livelihood’ presentation of November 13, which includes a keynote by Rebecca Day (Film in Mind) examining how “concerns over livelihood are affecting the mental wellbeing of filmmakers in everyday production and in power relationships with financiers.” The focus will then shift to the experience of European film directors and findings from various European surveys examining issues such as income levels and pro bono work.”
The closing debate will really get down to the nub of the issue, assessing whether it is actually possible to run a business based on producing documentary film.
Delegates in Amsterdam, and the industry at large, can only hope that the panel concludes with a resounding ‘yes.’
