IDFA unveils 50 Forum titles

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IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) has unveiled the 50 titles that will be presented at its international co-finance and production market, the IDFA Forum (Nov 24-26).

At the market, filmmakers and producers will present their documentary projects to commissioning editors from international television stations and other financiers with the aim of completing finance for their documentary projects.

A total of 50 projects have been selected for the upcoming IDFA Forum, including new projects by Heddy Honigmann, Janus Metz and Vitaly Mansky.

The IDFA 2014 programme contains 17 documentaries that were presented as projects at previous editions of the IDFA Forum.

Projects selected for this year’s IDFA Forum will be pitched in a variety of settings: the central pitches in the main auditorium of the Compagnietheater, the round table pitches in the small auditorium, as well as individual, one-on-one conversations with prospective financiers.

For the second consecutive year, the Docs4Cinema category is included in the IDFA Forum, presenting projects that have been made specifically for theatrical distribution.

A new feature of the Forum this year will be a special round table pitch on youth documentary, in which the international finance perspectives for this genre will be examined.

The majority of these projects are linear, creative documentaries. In addition, this year attention will once again be devoted to the cross-media documentary.

Although the majority of the projects come from Europe, a total of 20 different countries are represented at the Forum, from China and Japan to Chile.

Two projects that were previously selected by the IDFA Bertha Fund are also included: Blue ID by Vuslat Karan and Burcu Melekoglu (Turkey) and Weaving by Wang Yang (Japan/China).

For the central pitches, the new projects by Maite Alberdi (Tea Time, 2014), Kristi Jacobson (Toots, 2006) and Åsa Ekman (who at the Forum will be pitching the follow-up to My Life My Lesson, selected for the IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary 2014) have been selected.

The round table pitches will include the latest projects by Heddy Honigmann (Around The World in 50 Concerts, 2014); Janus Metz, with the third part of his trilogy (the first two parts of which, Love on Delivery and Ticket to Paradise, 2008 were shown at IDFA) and Alexandre Brachet (Alma, a Tale of Violence, winner of the IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling 2012).

Among the projects selected in the Docs4Cinema category is the latest project by Vitaly Mansky (Tender’s Heat. Wild Wild Beach, 2006).

IDFA Forum 2014

100UP (Neth)
Director
Heddy Honigmann
Production
Iris Lammertsma for Witfilm 
A film about people from across the world who are 100 years and older, and all have a contagious zest for life. Is it the key to longevity?

66 Days (N. Ire)
Director
Brendan Byrne
Production
Trevor Birney for Fine Point Films
A complex portrait of one of the world’s most renowned hunger strikers, Bobby Sands, peeling back the myth to reveal the man, in a probing examination of political protest.

Adrift (UK/Can)
Director
Aurelio Laino
Mauro Talamonti
Production
Andy Glynne for Mosaic Films
Daniela Flori for EyeSteelFilm 
Alex Bellini has decided on the adventure of a lifetime: living alone for one year on a melting iceberg adrift in the Arctic, following its course until it melts away.

Aida’s Secrets (Isr/Ger)
Director
Alon Schwarz
Shaul Schwarz
Production
Alon Schwarz for Reel Peak Films
Izak was adopted after WW2. At 68, he finds Shepsel, a blind brother he never knew existed. He then reunites Shepsel and Aida, their mother, and uncovers dark family secrets.

Ben’s Robot (Isr/UK)
Director
Roy Cohen
Production
Mike Lerner for Roast Beef Productions 
Ben is building a robot that will replace you. All of you.

Between Two Worlds (Den)
Director
Janus Metz
Production
Henrik Veileborg for Upfront Films 
A mirror image of a Thai village and a Danish fishing community tied together by marriage migration. An exploration of people caught between two worlds - filmed over ten years.

Blue ID (Tur/US)
Director
Vuslat Karan
Burcu Melekoglu
Production
Vuslat Karan, Burcu Melekoglu for Moxie
Geoff McLean, Brendan Lynch for Vision Film Co LLC
Vuslat Karan
A transgender man struggles with self-realization and acceptance in traditional society of Turkey.

The Borneo Case (Swe, Ger, Wales)
Director
Erik Pauser
Dylan Williams
Production
Dylan Williams for AMP Film 
The Borneo Case tells the story of the destruction of the Borneo rainforest and the hunt for Billions of dollars filtered into offshore accounts and property portfolios around the world.

Bugs (Den)
Director
Andreas Johnsen
Production
Sigrid Dyekjær for Danish Documentary Production 
Ben & Josh, two chefs from René Redzepi’s experimental Nordic Food Lab goes on a journey on six continents of the world, to investigate the eats and tastes of insects.

China’s van Gogh (China, Neth, Fra)
Director
Haibo Yu
Tianqi Yu
Production
Tianqi Yu for Century Image Media 
An intimate portrait of a peasant-turned-oil painter who is transitioning from making copies of van Gogh’s paintings to creating his own authentic works of art, emblematic of China’s Dream for the 21st Century: to go from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China’.

Close Relations - The Ukraine Crisis, My Family, and I (Rus, Ger, Ukr, Est, Lat)
Director
Vitaly Mansky
Production
Simone Baumann for Saxonia Entertainment GmbH
Natalia Manskaya for Studio Vertov 
The Ukrainian-Russian crisis as seen by Ukrainian-born Russian director Vitaly Mansky’s close Ukrainian relatives in Lviv, Odessa, and Sevastopol/Crimea.

Euromaidan Almanac (Pol)
Director
Ielizaveta Smith
Kristina Liulchenko
Liubov Durakova
Kateryna Gornostai
Alisa Kovalenko
Matej Bobrik
Olya Zhurba
Denis Strashny
Production
Miroslaw Dembinski for Doc’n’World Foundation 
The Euromaidan Almanac presents seven interconnected personal stories of young filmmakers and participants in the dramatic events on the Euromaidan, which combine to form a single film.

The Family (Aus)
Director
Rosie Jones
Production
Anna Grieve for Big Stories Co 
A powerful, dangerous feature documentary set in Australia, the UK and the US about an elusive apocalyptic sect led by the charismatic but delusional Anne Hamilton-Byrne.

Generation What? (Fra)
Production
Alexandre Brachet, Margaux Missika for Upian
Christophe Nick for Yami 2 
Generation What? is a European transmedia campaign which consists in an online survey aimed at young adults of several countries and a television documentary series about their generation.

Gladiators. A Different World (Lith, Ita, Swi, Bel, Lat, Ire, N. Ire)
Director
Arunas Matelis
Production
Arunas Matelis for Studio Nominum
Stefano Tealdi for Stefilm International SRL 
Gladiators is a poem about a unique side of pro-cycling, about the relationship between those who lead and who are ready to sacrifice and help them achieve the victory.

The Grown-Ups (Chile)
Director
Maite Alberdi
Production
Clara Taricco for Micromundo Producciones 
A group of friends with Down syndrome have attended the same school for 40 years, they’re aging and they have not been allowed to live adulthood on their own.

The Imam’s Daughter (US)
Director
Patrick Farrelly
Production
Patrick Farrelly for Accidental Pictures Ltd 
As a baby Jaha was genitally mutilated, at 15 she taken to New York to be forcibly married. Now she’s coming back to Africa to confront her society.

The Jerusalem Syndrome (US)
Director
Beth Earl
Production
Beth Earl
Tim Williams for Label Media 
The line between religious belief and insanity begins to blur when 12 psychotic patients enter a community house in Jerusalem.

Jimbo (Can)
Production
Heleen Gerritsen, Sahand Zamani for Serious Directions GmbH
Tyler Hagan for Shakey Films 
Jimmy Leung’s dream to become an action movie star, despite battles with mental illness, is unconventionally realized as he and director Ryan Flowers push each other towards their breakout hit.

King Georges (US)
Director
Erika Frankel
Production
Erika Frankel for 1500 Walnut Films 
King Georges follows fiery French chef Georges Perrier’s crusade to save his world-renowned 40-year-old restaurant Le Bec-Fin from becoming obsolete amid changing tastes.

Life On Us, the Interactive Journey (Fra)
Director
Mathieu Détaint
Production
Mathieu Détaint, Eléonore Lamothe for Kids up hill 
Need vacation? Discover astonishing landscapes and curious inhabitants you will never forget. And know what? The destination is your own body ‘cause the greatest travels are just one bug away…

Magnum Cinema (Fra)
Director
Sophie Bassaler
Production
Emmanuel Laurent, Martin de la Fouchardière for Films à Cinq 
A photographic tribute to the history of great cinema. The story of 60 years of cinema by a family of photographers, some of the greatest of their time.

Magnus (Nor)
Director
Benjamin Ree
Production
Sigurd Mikal Karoliussen for Moskus Film
Magnus is a rags to riches story of a 13 year old boy, who follows his dream to become the World Chess Champion.

Monsieur Mayonnaise (Aus)
Director
Trevor Graham
Production
Trevor Graham for Yarra Bank Films Pty Ltd
Ned Lander for Ned Lander Media 
Monsieur Mayonnaise is a bold comic book odyssey and feature documentary - a recipe of appetizing ingredients-demonic forces, innocent individuals, werewolves, Nazis -all plated up with baguettes & mayonnaise.

Mrs. B, a North Korean Woman (S. Kor, Fra)
Director
Jero Yun
Production
Jae Keun Cha for Su:m
Guillaume de la Boulaye for Zorba Production 
North Korean Mrs B. is a smuggler in China. She goes to South Korea to be reunited with her sons. She is suspected of being a spy by Intelligence Services.

The Nine Lives of James Brett (UK)
Director
Patrick Collerton
Production
Patrick Collerton for Yipp Films
Claudio Mascolo for Aria Films Limited
Kate Myers for Hero 
From drug smuggler to pomegranate impresario to the liberator of Afghanistan - James Brett is the Don Quixote of our times.

Notes on Blindness (UK, Fra)
Director
Peter Middleton
James Spinney
Production
Alex Usborne for 104 Films 
After losing sight John Hull knew that if he did not try and understand blindness it would destroy him. In 1983 he began keeping an audio diary.

Offside (S. Afr)
Director
Clifford Bestall
Production
Chris Nicklin for Sabido Productions 
Three black schoolboys who are driven to play rugby for the world-renowned Springboks, unwittingly test whether the white administrators of the game in South Africa are racist or not.

On the Border of Paradise (Swe)
Director
Maryam Ebrahimi
Production
Nima Sarvestani for Nima Film
Photographer Saeed Sadeghi documented the entire Gulf War. To lure young Iranians into combat, the Iranian government used his pictures to implement the myth of a holy war and martyrdom.

Out of Mind (US)
Director
Kristi Jacobson
Production
Kristi Jacobson, Katie Mitchell for Catalyst Films 
Out of Mind investigates an invisible part of the American justice system: the use of isolation and segregation in US prisons, commonly known as solitary confinement. With unprecedented access inside a prison tackling the issue head on, the film explores this divisive issue through the experiences of those on both sides of the bars.

Paul Robeson - Behind the Curtain (Ger)
Director
Enrique Sanchez Lansch
Production
Sarita Sharma for Kinomaton Berlin 
A famous American singer wants to change the world through his art and gets trapped between the Cold War’s super powers.

The Prosecutors (US)
Director
Leslie Thomas
Production
Leslie Thomas for ART WORKS Projects 
An intimate portrait of those using legal frameworks to end impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict.

The Real Thing (Fra)
Production
Olivier Mille for Artline Films
Architectural doppelgangers of the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, the Vatican are more than just copies. These architectural constructions are monumental “mirrors” that reflect a certain image of the world.

Rebels! (Nor)
Director
Kari Anne Moe
Production
Gudmundur Gunnarsson, Therese Naustdal for Fuglene (The Birds) 
A group of school-dropouts are given a new chance to get back on track. Will they take it, or will their old life grab them back?

René Redzepi - The Reborn Recipe (UK)
Director
Pierre Deschamps
Production
Etta Deschamps for Documentree Films 
With automatic access to genius, Redzepi plays with wilderness and interprets a forgotten edible world into a language we all understand. A journey into his mind begins with an epiphany…

Samia’s Run to Freedom (Ger)
Director
Thomas Wartmann
Production
Eva Rink for Filmquadrat.dok GmbH 
From Mogadishu to Beijing, from Libya to Lampedusa. This is the story of Samia: a Somali runner and young woman dreaming of a better life.

Say Something (Swe, Nor)
Director
Åsa Ekman
Production
Oscar Hedin, Anna Hagnefur for Film and Tell 
Isabell’s mother was battered by her boyfriend. Isabell confronts her past, and realises that she must say things to her mother about a neglected childhood she has never said before.

The Snake Charmer (Gre, Fra, Cyp)
Director
Nina Maria Paschalidou
Production
Rea Apostolides for Anemon Productions
Nina Maria Paschalidou for Forest Troop
What happens when India’s biggest Bollywood star decides to expose his country’s deepest social ills?

Strike a Pose (Neth)
Director
Ester Gould
Reijer Zwaan
Production
Sander Verdonk, Rosan Boersma for CTM Docs 
In Truth or Dare, Madonna’s proud gay dancers showed the world how to ‘express yourself’. In reality, they’re still struggling with dark secrets and shame. This is their story.

Thank You For Playing (US)
Director
Malika Zouhali-Worrall
David Osit
Production
Malika Zouhali-Worrall, David Osit for Kinematic Films LLC 
Ryan, an indie video game developer, is creating an unusually poetic video game about his experiences raising his 4-year-old son Joel, who has terminal cancer.

Through You Princess (Isr)
Director
Ido Haar
Production
Liran Atzmor, Stephen Apkon for Atzmor Productions
They are all extremely talented but overlooked, now they discover they are part of the next musical web project Through You Too by Kutiman.

Tokyo Girls (UK)
Director
Kyoko Miyake
Production
Felix Matschke, Kyoko Miyake for Brakeless Limited
Following aspiring pop singers, Tokyo Girls explores what it means to grow up as a girl in a society obsessed with young female sexuality.

The Trapped Memory (Chile)
Director
Cristian Leighton Cerda
Production
Cristian Leighton Cerda for Surreal Películas de la Realidad Ltda.
Fernando Lataste for Valdivia Film S.A.
A privileged witness of the 33 Chileans miners accident in 2010, the director uses his unpublished material and confront the protagonists of this story four years after this worldwide milestone.

The Trial of Ratko Mladic (UK)
Director
Henry Singer
Production
Henry Singer, Robert Miller for Sandpaper Films 
The man accused of the worst atrocity in Europe since WWII; the biggest trial since Nuremberg; a prosecution and defence fighting for justice and a region still bitterly divided.

Victor’s Last Class (US)
Director
Brendan Brandt
Production
Brendan Brandt for VLC, LLC
Arielle Amsalem for Below the Arch Productions 
A brazen acting teacher suffering from chronic pain announces he is going to end his life, and spends the next five months hashing the decision out with his loved ones.

We are the Gun (Nor, Den, Ger)
Director
Christine Cynn
Production
Kristian Mosvold for Substans Film AS
Robert Freiert for Manymade 
How does the arms trade impact real people? A high-tech theatre project weaves the personal insights of businessmen, soldiers, refugees, and politicians through a surreal global labyrinth.

Weaving (China, Japan)
Director
Wang Yang
Production
Jiaqing Huang
Qi Zhao for QI Films 
A grandmother fights to keep a harmonious family, when their old textile district undergoes demolition. Her story plays out as China’s soaring economy is shaping the family dynamics.

When the Guns Go Silent (Fra, Col)
Director
Natalia Orozco
Production
Christine Camdessus, Serge Gordey for Alegría Productions 
The FARC, the oldest guerrillas in the world, are finally taking the path of democracy, together with the Colombian government. How to achieve peace after 50 years of civil war?

White Rage (Fin)
Director
Arto Halonen
Production
Arto Halonen for Art Films Production Ltd. 
Lauri’s, and through him also the story of other victims of school bullying and a separate childhood trauma: victims full of white rage, which may lead to school shootings.

WINNIE - The story of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (Fra)
Director
Pascale Lamche
Production
Christoph Jörg, Eric Tavitian for Ran Entertainment 
Part political soap opera, part Greek tragedy, the real story of Winnie Mandela, from political widow to commander of a rebel army, from ‘gangland leader’ to pivotal politician, takes us on a complex journey into the dark side of the story of South Africa showing the inextricable relationship between her and Nelson Mandela and defining, perhaps, the very nature of power.