IDFA 2024

“This film disproves the supremacy of Global North academic institutions”: an interview with ‘The Shadow Scholars’ director Eloise King

Nov 19, 2024 | IDFA 2024, Festivals

British director Eloise King discusses her documentary ‘The Shadow Scholars’, showing at the 2024 edition of IDFA, and what it says about the intellectual capacities of the Global South.

Writing Hawa

Nov 19, 2024 | Festivals, IDFA 2024

The unpredictable nature of conflict robs ‘Writing Hawa’ of much of its compelling titular character, but Najiba Noori’s pro-feminist and anti-Taliban project emerges unscathed in ideological terms.

Gerald Igor Hauzenberger and Gabriela Schild have made a quietly spectacular documentary on the migration-related troubles of the Nigerien city Agadez through a trio of knowledgeable and remarkably telegenic mediators.

The Guest

Nov 19, 2024 | IDFA 2024, Festivals

Zvika Gregory Portnoy and Zuzanna Solakiewicz’s documentary ‘The Guest’ showcases the best side of humanity in troubled times, with unforced intimacy and unavoidable staidness.

Man Number 4

Nov 19, 2024 | Festivals, IDFA 2024, Verdict Shorts

How we consume images and what it means to be a distant onlooker lie at the heart of Miranda Pennell’s sobering, analytical short, Man Number 4.

A Want in Her

Nov 19, 2024 | Festivals, IDFA, IDFA 2024

Drawing on her own troubled family background, Irish visual artist and first-time feature director Myrid Carten paints a slightly muddled but emotionally powerful portrait of addiction and depression, shame and blame with ‘A Want in Her’.

Archipelago of Earthen Bones – To Bunya

Nov 17, 2024 | Festivals, IDFA 2024, Verdict Shorts

Malena Szlam uses in-camera editing to craft Archipelago of Earthen Bones – To Bunya, an evocative 16mm exploration of Australia’s vast central eastern ranges and their deep geological time.

“No Ukraine, no Ukrainian movies”: an interview with film director and military commander Oleh Sentsov

Nov 17, 2024 | Featured, Festivals, IDFA, IDFA 2024

The Ukrainian director of accidental one-shot war documentary ‘Real’ talks to The Film Verdict about war and peace, boycotting Russian propaganda, and Donald Trump’s prospects for ending the conflict.

The Shadow Scholars

Nov 17, 2024 | IDFA 2024, Featured, Festivals

‘Shadow Scholars’ introduces a serious issue plaguing academia, but the Eloise King documentary isn’t quite ready to point a finger at the African component of the problem.

Higher Than Acidic Clouds

Nov 17, 2024 | Festivals, IDFA, IDFA 2024

Iranian director Ali Asgari delivers an elegant response to government censorship with ‘Higher Than Acidic Clouds’, an achingly beautiful essay-film about memory, imagination and Tehran’s toxic skies.