IDFAcademy 2026 kicks off with an inspirational talk with accomplished filmmaker Merhan Tamadon, whose Crack in the Head, Crack in the Sky premieres at IDFA in the International Competition. In this film, Tamadon takes us into a psychiatric ward in a Paris suburb threatened with closure; the filmmaker has his own ideas about how daily life there could be organized differently. Could the patients take over some of the staff’s tasks?

His previous films include the diptych My Worst Enemy and Where God is Not, both of which premiered at the Berlinale in 2023. Tamadon's films are rarely based on observation alone, but are rather built around encounters. He places himself inside the situations he investigates, often incorporating his own position, doubts, vulnerabilities, and contradictions into the film. Rather than speaking about political opponents from a distance, he seeks direct engagement with them, creating spaces in which conflicting worldviews confront one another.  

IDFA’s Artistic Director Isabel Arrate Fernandez will open IDFAcademy with a conversation with Mehran Tamadon about his approach to filmmaking and his continuous cinematic exploration of human relationships, political conviction and the possibilities of dialogue.