IDFA Meets

IDFA Meets is a collaborative program where we join forces with artists, platforms, brands, and collectives across the city to reach a younger generation of art and film enthusiasts. Each film screening includes a side program, ranging from panel discussions and concerts to live performances.

IDFA Meets joins forces with Bonne Suits to spotlight Russian protest art. Following on from the exhibition curated by Bonne Suits dedicated to activist artist Pavel Krisevich, IDFA presents Queendom, about Russian non-binary performance artist Gena.

Meervaart Studio is a cultural hub connecting diverse audiences and creators. It serves as a stage, talent incubator, and center for urban performing arts, fostering contemporary stories and cross-disciplinary collaborations locally and internationally. 

This year a Meervaart Studio panel aged between 16-27 chose to highlight the film Ernest Cole, Lost and Found with an in-depth Q&A, as part of the Meets program. Photographer Ernest Cole (1940–1990) was one of the first to reveal the harsh realities of apartheid for Black South Africans like himself. As an exile in the U.S., he captured not only the freedom he experienced but also the unfiltered racism. 

IDFA Meets is collaborating with MacGuffin, the interdisciplinary publication that delves into the hidden stories, cultural meanings, and design significance of everyday objects.

In conjunction with MacGuffin's latest issue, we explore the impact of ‘the wall’—not merely as a physical barrier dividing space, but as a social and political boundary with a profound psychological impact. Through two films, Infiltrators and Rule of Stone, as well as talks, we unravel how these walls embody larger forces that separate, control, and define communities—forces that are imposed, challenged, and, at times, transcended.

Visitors can watch the films separately, but it is recommended to view them as a diptych. Infiltrators starts at 19:00, followed by Rule of Stone at 21:30. There will be a program of talks between the screenings. The Podium is free to visit from 19:00 to 23:00.