IDFA Documentary Festival Opening Night Interrupted By Pro-Palestinian Protesters With “From The River To The Sea” Banner

On the first day of a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in the Fairfax District. A portion of the crowd marched through the streets and into The Grove as part of a nationwide effort demanding a lasting ceasefire in the war, as well as an end to U.S. aid for Israel.

Amid the ongoing Israel Gaza conflict, the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City today was temporarily disrupted when a group of pro-Palestinian protesters jumped the barricades and “glued themselves to Sixth Avenue,” ABC News is reporting.

EXCLUSIVE: After making controversial remarks at a recent pro-Palestinian rally in New York City, Susan Sarandon has been dropped by UTA as a client, a spokesman from the agency confirmed.

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.

Demonstrators protesting Israel‘s actions in Gaza clashed with police outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C. tonight, forcing the lockdown of nearby House of Representatives office buildings.

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.

Film Movement has acquired U.S. rights to Maciek Hamela’s In the Rearview, winner of well over a dozen awards at film festivals around the world, including the top prize at Sheffield DocFest.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Roger Ross Williams is having quite the year. So far, the Oscar-winning director has released his first fiction film, Amazon Studios’ “Cassandro”; the HBO documentary “Love to Love You, Donna Summer”; AppleTV+ docuseries “The Super Models”; and Hulu miniseries “The 1619 Project.” Joining Williams’ impressive output this year is Netflix’s “Stamped From the Beginning,” an adaptation of the eponymous bestselling book by Ibram X. Kendi about the history of racism and anti-Blackness in the U.S.

The Palestine Film Institute is planning to hold a “Stand Up For Palestine” rally on Monday at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, the world’s biggest nonfiction film festival.

A woman who had her brother's baby said she enjoyed it so much she would do it again for him.

Bill Maher is not afraid to share his opinion on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

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.

Activists are set to gather at a number of demonstrations across Scotland to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

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.

Enter Shikari, The Last Dinner Party and Architects are among a group of musicians who’ve signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire as the war in Israel and Gaza continues.The Peace and Justice Project, which was founded by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, today (November 10) launched its #MusicForACeasefire open letter from artists, musicians and performers “calling for an end to the siege of Gaza.”According to a report by Al Jazeera, at least 10,812 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators who were a part of a larger protest in Midtown Manhattan entered the New York Times building and occupied the lobby tonight.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Adriek van Nieuwenhuyzen, the head of the industry office at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), says that the primary objective of her team is to put the filmmakers at the center of the festival’s activities for industry professionals. “The key is that we really care about the filmmakers and what they are trying to achieve. Then we adapt to what is happening in the market, and try to make sure that we get the right people to support them,” she tells Variety.

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

Taylor Swift was the big winner at the 2023 MTV EMAs, securing the awards for Best Artist, Best Live and Best Video.This year’s Europe Music Awards ceremony was called off last month due to “the volatility of world events” relating to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.However, on Sunday (November 5), on what would have been the EMAs date, MTV released the winner’s list.Jungkook, Måneskin and Nicki Minaj all won two awards each. The BTS star won Best K-Pop and Best Song for ‘Seven’ featuring Latto, Måneskin won Best Rock and Best Italian act, while Minaj secured the Best US Act and Best Hip-Hop.Billie Eilish won Best Pop Act after going up against Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo and Swift.Congratulations to the 2023 #MTVEMA winners! Head to https://t.co/y6i2iDPOjo to see the full list now.