IDFA Artistic Director Orwa Nyrabia on the Intersection of Politics and Cinema: ‘No Festival Can Escape the Fact That It Is Also a Political Activity’

George Harrison‘s widow Olivia has shared a “surprising magical” story about how The Beatles‘ ‘Now And Then’ artwork came about.In a video posted on her late husband’s official social media channels, she explained how he once bought a clock featuring the title of their final song.“We were in this store, George saw this clock made out of bits and pieces and it had some Scrabble letters and it just said ‘Now And Then’,” she said. “He was attracted to it for some reason, he just took it off the wall and bought it.

The Peasants would already be a daunting project in the best of times. Like their previous film, Loving Vincent, directors Hugh and DK Welchman oversaw a team of animators painting each frame of the film based on live-action reference material. Hugh, who came to Los Angeles from Poland just for his 12-minute Contenders panel, said The Peasants also had to work around COVID and the Ukraine War.

Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly is leaving the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam with a major award: Best Director in International Competition for his film Life Is Beautiful. But where he goes next is uncertain – he can’t return to Gaza for the time being because the border is closed as the Israel-Hamas war rages on.

Christopher Vourlias Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly, who won the best director award at documentary festival IDFA on Thursday for “Life Is Beautiful,” has expressed his sense of helplessness amid the rising death toll in Gaza, where he was born. On Oct. 7, Hamas – a terrorist organization that has ruled Gaza since 2006 – launched coordinated attacks in Israel, killing over 1,200 civilians, and taking over 240 civilian hostages.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor It took director Ariel Kuaray Ortega almost two decades to be able to tell a story he’s heard throughout his entire life: the strange tale of Canuto, a man who mysteriously transformed into a jaguar and then died a tragic death. The resulting film, “Canuto’s Transformation,” had its world premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, where it took the award for best film in the Envision Competition and the outstanding artistic contribution award.

Documentaries about the impact of war claimed two of the top prizes as the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam handed out awards Thursday night.

Andy Burnham has set out plans to bring together a network of cities and charities to support the recovery of Ukraine after the war.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor As part of this year’s industry program at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), producer Ted Hope sat down with the festival’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia for an in-depth conversation about his career in U.S. independent film, the future of the industry, and the ways in which filmmakers and audiences are “trained by major players to adapt and conform to a creative process that colors only between the lines.” Hope, who is at IDFA to support Vanessa Hope’s “Invisible Nation,” has navigated the independent filmmaking scene since the late 80s.

International Documentary Festival Amsterdam has long enjoyed a reputation as a politically engaged festival – standing up for artists and speaking out for freedom of expression. For instance, IDFA forcefully advocated for Ukrainian filmmakers at last year’s event, making no secret of its position on Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

Jackie Baillie has claimed the SNP is playing "Punch and Judy politics" over its attempt to force a Commons vote on a ceasefire in Gaza.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Five years after opening the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam with his feature debut “Kabul, City in the Wind,” Afghanistan-born, Netherlands-based filmmaker Aboozar Amini returns to IDFA to present his latest, “Kabul, Year Zero,” at the festival’s industry section, Forum. The choice to return to IDFA was an obvious one to Amini and frequent collaborator Jia Zhao of Silk Road Film Salon, who is co-producing “Kabul, Year Zero” alongside Julia Niethammer for Chromosome and Heejung Oh for Seesaw Pictures.

Documentary’s gatekeepers are playing it awfully safe lately, in the estimation of Orwa Nyrabia, artistic director of the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, the world’s largest documentary film festival. 

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Selected as this year’s Guest of Honor at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), Chinese director Wang Bing sat down with the festival’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia for an in-depth talk on his career on Friday at the imposing Tuschinski Theatre in the Dutch capital. Bing commented on not wanting his films to be “political” while reflecting on the entirety of his career, from his nine-hour-long debut “West of the Tracks” to the recent Cannes competition title “Youth (Spring)” — “I’m not particularly interested in politics (…) I don’t want my films to become a political tool.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Rise and Shine World Sales has acquired In-Soo Radstake’s “Selling a Colonial War,” which world premieres in the International Competition section of documentary festival IDFA in Amsterdam. “Selling a Colonial War” looks to encourage the Dutch government and society to accept responsibility for their actions as a colonial power in Indonesia – and especially their actions when fighting a war in Indonesia after the country declared independence in 1945. The Dutch government still refrains from using the term “war crimes” to describe their actions as this would have great impact on calls for reparation.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has issued an apology after three activists burst on stage during the opening ceremony on Nov. 8 with a banner that read “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free.” The slogan, which calls for the destruction of Israel, has been used by Hamas, the terrorist group behind the Oct.

Leading members of the Israeli film community are accusing the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam of “allowing and applauding” a pro-Palestinian protest that interrupted IDFA’s opening night ceremony, which saw three activists take the stage with a banner emblazoned with the slogan, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free.”

Annika Pham Danish IDFA winner Phie Ambo (“Family”) will be attending Amsterdam’s major doc showcase for the 8th time with “Fire, Water, Earth, Air,” bowing at the Forum Pitch alongside 20 other projects. Ahead of their industry pitch Nov.

The Scottish Greens have defended the use of a “vile” phrase which critics believe is a call for the destruction of Israel.

Ryan Thomas has said he is 'awe' of his brother Adam following his exit from Strictly Come Dancing. The former Coronation Street star was seen in the ballroom a couple of times cheering his younger sibling on before his time in the BBC One dance contest came to an end.

Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes has not had too much trouble raising a few eyebrows in recent times during appearances on talk shows and live radio. The 82-year-old became famous around the world for playing Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter films.