IDFA: International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam

11/17/2021

Festival Reviews

F@ck This Job

by Stephen Dalton | Mar 8, 2022 | Festivals, IDFA, NYC, Thessaloniki Documentary

Vera Krichevskaya’s lively documentary ‘F@ck This Job’ chronicles how a rebellious gang of champagne-loving Moscow socialites ended up running the last independent TV news channel in Putin’s increasingly repressive Russia.

Shabu

by Oris Aigbokhaevbolo | Jan 13, 2022 | Berlin, Festivals, IDFA, Rotterdam

Through its boisterous main character, Shamira Raphaëla’s ‘Shabu’ represents a break from the clichéd images of Black experience in the West.

The Last Shelter

by Jordan Mintzer | Jan 6, 2022 | Hot Docs, IDFA

A sobering look at African migrants waylaid between their homelands and the dangerous trek to Europe.

A Thousand Fires

by Jordan Mintzer | Jan 6, 2022 | Festivals, IDFA, Locarno

Family life in rural Myanmar is intimately explored in this earnest if somewhat obtuse chronicle.

Zinder

by Oris Aigbokhaevbolo | Jan 6, 2022 | Festivals, IDFA

Aicha Macky’s superb documentary about the impoverished citizens of Zinder, in the Republic of Niger, bends towards compassion for a neglected people.

The Hostilities

by Patricia Boero | Jan 6, 2022 | Festivals, IDFA, Morelia

The winner of Morelia’s best documentary award is a raw, honest chronicle of the violence afflicting Mexico, seen through the lives of the filmmaker’s own family.

Words of Negroes

by Jay Weissberg | Jan 6, 2022 | Festivals, IDFA, Leipzig

Workers in an outdated sugar cane factory in Guadeloupe read from the transcripts of an 1842 trial against a slave owner in Sylvaine Dampierre’s powerful act of reclaiming history, Words of Negroes. Stunningly shot by Renaud Personnaz in crisp, vivid images, the film...

May God Be With You

by Jay Weissberg | Jan 6, 2022 | Festivals, IDFA, Leipzig

The act of exile is never a single-generation event; its ever-mutating ramifications shift down the family tree, undergoing a change as each generation grapples with questions of identity and belonging. Given that the person who flees their country often rejects...

Marx Can Wait

by Deborah Young | Jan 6, 2022 | Festivals, IDFA

The most fascinating aspect of Marco Bellocchio’s guilt-streaked revisitation of the suicide of his twin brother in 1968 is the insight it offers into the Italian master’s creative font–his own family.

A Night of Knowing Nothing

by Jordan Mintzer | Dec 18, 2021 | Busan, Cannes, IDFA, Spotlight, Toronto

A haunting low-fi meditation on memory, social class and political protest that won the Golden Eye documentary award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Awards Corner

IDFA

for
Mr. Landsbergis (Lithuania, Netherlands)
Director: Sergei Loznitsa
for
Children of the Mist (Vietnam)
Director: Diem Ha Le
for
Where Are We Headed (Russia, Belarus)
Ruslan Fedotow
for
Mr. Landsbergis (Lithuania, Netherlands)
Danielius Kokanauskis
Best Youth Documentary for
Shabu (Netherlands, Belgium)
Director: Shamira Raphaela
Best Dutch Film for
Jason (Netherlands)
Director: Maasja Ooms
Best Film for Envision competition
Octopus (Lebanon)
Director: Karim Kassem
Best Directing for Envision competition
O, Collecting Eggs Despite the Times (Netherlands)
Director: Pim Zwier
Outstanding Artistic Contribution for Envision competition
One Take Grace (South Africa)
Director: Lindiwe Matshikiza