IDFA 2026 Amsterdam Sets Forum Slate, Revises Formats on Market Trends

The 2026 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), which takes place Nov. 12-22, has unveiled the 47 projects for the 34th edition of its IDFA Forum co-production and co-financing market. The Dutch doc fest said the projects on the slate “stretch and reimagine the documentary form, opening new ways of engaging with the world today.”

The IDFA Forum, running Nov. 15–18, had received 859 entries, which were assessed by 42 external experts. The doc in development, in production and near completion will be showcased across the Forum Pitches, Roundtable Presentations, Rough Cut Presentations and IDFA DocLab Forum, for new media, sections.

“As the documentary market becomes increasingly fragmented and harder to navigate, IDFA Forum has revised its presentation formats to help projects communicate more clearly the support they need and to foster their meaningful engagement with funders, broadcasters, producers, and other collaborators, enabling those potential partners to better understand the role they can play in supporting a film,” organizers said. “Under the revised structure, selected projects will be showcased either to a larger audience at the Forum Pitches or in the more intimate setting of the Roundtable Presentations, allowing for more in-depth conversations. Both formats offer access to the Forum’s one-on-one meetings with industry professionals.” Co-production and producer-to-producer meetings also remain central to Forum.

“Despite the challenges of the market, both in terms of finance and distribution, we strongly believe that IDFA Forum should provide space for filmmakers who approach their craft with courage and curiosity,” said Adriek van Nieuwenhuijzen, head of IDFA Industry. “We champion works that surprise, reveal, and embrace complexity, and we hope to see all of these projects find audiences, whether on screens, big or small, via headsets, or in immersive installations.”

Mixing emerging talent and some of the most recognized documentary filmmakers, this year’s lineup features new works by Wang Bing, Vitaly Mansky, Rachel Leah Jones and Liang Zhao.

“Spanning five continents, the selection features projects from Paraguay, Tunisia, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Namibia, and Palestine, among others, reflecting a broad range of geographies, production contexts, and perspectives,” organizers highlighted. “Gender balance has been achieved across all the formats, with a commitment to wider diversity beyond parity alone.”

Check out the list of IDFA Forum projects right here.

Forum Pitch and Roundtable Presentations
Being North Korean, dir. Roxy Rezvany, prod. Aya Kaido / Besheh Meesheh Films Ltd, Roxy Rezvany (United Kingdom)

Dr. Hedgehog, dir. Peter Alsted, prod. Birgitte Keseler / Elk Film, Katrine Dolmer / Elk Film (Denmark)

Examination, dir. Juanjo Pereira, prod. Ivana Urízar / Cine Mío (Paraguay)

Fur, dir. Joakim Demmer, prod. Thomas Kufus / zero one film GmbH (Germany)

Game of Replacing Gods, dir. An Chu, prod. Kei Yiu Kathy Wong / In-sight Practice Ltd. (Taiwan)

How Love Moves, dir. Pallavi Paul, prod. Aman Mann, Shaunak Sen / Kiterabbit Films (India)

Jiabiangou, dir. Wang Bing, prod. Mao Hui / CS Productions, Sonia Buchman / Gladys Glover Films, Nicolas R. De La Mothe / Gladys Glover Films, Serge Lalou / Les Films d’ici (France, Hong Kong)

La Linda, dir. Francina Carbonell, prod. Gema Juárez Allen / Gema Films (Argentina, Chile)

My Father Killed Bourguiba, dir. Fatma Riahi, prod. Dorra Bouchoucha / Nomadis Images, Lina Chaabane / Nomadis Images, Fatma Riahi (Tunisia)

My Rebel Heart, dir. Ida Kat Balslev, prod. Sidsel Lønvig Siersted (Denmark)

Near Life, dir. Marta Miskaryan, prod. Alice Hughes / Beehive Films Ltd (United Kingdom)

Odesa.Mama, dir. Vitaly Mansky, prod. Filip Remunda (Czech Republic, Latvia)

One Step Closer, dir. Mehran Tamadon, prod. Rebecca Houzel / Petit à petit production, Marianne Romeo/Petit à petit production (France)

Podium (You Have Three Minutes), dir. Rachel Leah Jones, prod. Rachel Leah Jones / Home Made Docs, Philippe Bellaiche / Home Made Docs (France, Switzerland, Canada)

Re:collection, dir. Dane Dodds, prod. Antoinette Engel (South Africa, Denmark)

Recovery, dir. Roman Bondarchuk, Vadym Ilkov, prod. Darya Bassel / Moon Man (Ukraine)

Ship of Fools, dir. Liang Zhao, prod. Jia Zhao / Muyi Film (Netherlands)

Shooting Stars, dir. Parsa Ansari, prod. Milad Khosravi / Seven Springs Pictures (Iran)

Silence Diaries, dir. Daniela Muñoz Barroso, prod. Daniela Muñoz Barroso / Estudio ST, Leila Montero / Estudio ST (Spain, Cuba)

Sisters in War, dir. Lay Thida, prod. Lay Thida / Lavender Productions, Maya Newell / Closer Productions (Myanmar)

Sonia – Searching for Balance, dir. Rita Balogh, Peter Akar, prod. Sára László / Campfilm, Marcell Gerő / Campfilm (Hungary)

Stitch by Stitch, dir. Alina Baitokova, prod. Adilet Karzhoev / Karzhoev Films (Kyrgyzstan)

Super Sila, dir. Mohammed Alshareef, prod. Ala’ Abu Ghoush (Palestine)

The Contract of the Century, dir. Christina D. Bartson, prod. Elijah Stevens / Space Time Films (United Kingdom, United States

The Earth Beneath Our Feet, dir. Jack Wolf, Janvier Murairi, prod. Arne Buettner / Kino Adagio, Quentin Laurent / Les Films de l’oeil sauvage, Quentin Noirfalisse / Dancing Dog Productions SPRL (Germany, France, Belgium)

The Night I Return, dir. Ehsan Fardjadniya, prod. Pieter van Huystee / Pieter van Huystee Film (Netherlands)

This Body Is My Final Address, dir. August Joensalo, prod. Emilia Haukka / Aamu Film Company (Finland)

This Version of Me, dir. Gabrielle Zilkha, prod. Ina Fichman (Canada)

Wild Goose Days, dir. Andrew H. Brown, prod. Andrew H. Brown, Katie Basile (United States)

Rough Cut Presentations

Artificial Clouds, dir. Josefina Buschmann Mardones, prod. Daniela Camino / Mimbre Films, Boris Garavini/Les Films Invisibles (Chile, France)

Camels of the Sea, dir. Vikram Singh, prod. Mandakini Gahlot / Elefant Films (India)

Moon Is Watching You, dir. Chi Hang MA, prod. Chi Hang MA, Catherine CHAN (Hong Kong)

My Mother & I, dir. Dilpak Mjaeed, prod. Marwa Tammam / Patchwork Productions (Egypt)

Oh Heart, Don’t be Afraid, dir. Ana Kvichidze, prod. Avtandil Khorava / Moonbow Productions, Mariam Bitsadze / 17/07 Productions, Ana Kvichidze (Georgia)

Resisting Residents, dir. Nikos Pilos, Arsinoi Pilou, prod. Dafni Kalafati / Filmiki (Greece)

IDFA DocLab Forum

Artificial (Body) Intuition, dir. Amit Palgi, prod. Amit Palgi (Netherlands)

The Atlas of Sound, dir. Siobhan Silén, prod. Annika Hagemann (United Kingdom)

The Bridge, dir. Brandon Powers, prod. Brandon Powers / Our Time Projects (United States)

How to Make a Chiffon Cake, dir. Hyeunjoo Woo, Jiyun Park, prod. Ubac Studio (South Korea)

Just a game?, dir. Jo Sol, prod. Georgina Oliva / Shaktimetta Produccions (Spain)

Lidscape XR, dir. Sebastian Carrasco, prod. Andrés Piñeros / Scrmbld Studio (Colombia)

Mine Land, dir. Katja Verheul (Netherlands)

The Passage, dir. Nicole-Christine Strasser, prod. Sebastian Herbst / Arkanum Pictures (Germany)

This Pleasant Lady, dir. Victoria Mapplebeck, prod. Victoria Mapplebeck (United Kingdom)

Time Hunter XR: Colonial Protocols, dir. Mark Mushiva, Daniel Chein, prod. Laura Kloeckner / Seera Films (Germany, Namibia, United States)

TKHAFSH / تخفش (working title), dir. Noor Abed, Haig Aivazian, prod. AFAC Arab Fund for Art and Culture (Lebanon), with Time Based Editions (Belgium)

We Walk the Bridge of Worlds, dir. Sara de Gouveia, Inka Kendzia, Zinhle Purity Mkhize, prod. Sara de Gouveia / Lionfish Productions (South Africa)