IDFA Starts Today/3
… and is, as mentioned above, also the place to go for professionals who are looking for films for their tv channels, or for festival programmers. Around 500 films are available for the accredited guests, who are there to select films for us, the spectators in front of the tv screen and/or at festivals. It is all digitalized and to give you an impression of the activity, the figures of 2009 were as follows: 460 films had 9312 in 9 days.
On top of that: From 2008 Docs for Sale launched a new online platform where buyers and exhibitors ” can view documentaries whenever they want and wherever they are. Buyers and festival programmers who can’t make it to Amsterdam therefore still have the opportunity to catch up with the Docs for Sale selection.”
”The Docs for Sale catalogue of online films contains titles selected for IDFA festival, as well as important documentaries that don’t deserve to be shelved just yet. The catalogue is continuously updated throughout the year.”
I can confirm that this initiative is of a high quality both in terms of available films and quality of image and sound.
As is the professionalism of The Forum where filmmakers come with their film projects to pitch them (this year November 22-24) to commissioning editors and other financiers. If you want to see what films might be ready in the coming couple of years, visit the site below. I have often, in connection with other festivals, and especially when it comes to the North American market, complained about the ignorance of the originality of Eastern European documentaries – this is not the case at idfa, and I am happy to see 7 projects from that part of world on the list for presentation.
PHOTO: Katka by Helena Trestikova, Czech Republic, in competition at idfa 2010.
