IDFA Award for Best Film goes to Trains and Chronicles of the Absurd

Trains by Maciej J. Drygas won the IDFA Award for Best Film in the International Competition.
Chronicles of the Absurd by Miguel Coyula won the IDFA Award for Best Film in the Envision Competition.

Trains (Poland) by Maciej J. Drygas is the winner of the IDFA Award for Best Film in the International Competition. The award is accompanied by a €15,000 cash prize.

“The jury was unanimous. This is a bold and inventive use of archive. The film shows us routes to the positive and negative consequences of modern industrial innovation. It harnesses the magic of cinema and as an audience we are haunted by our present historical time, even while we bear witness to the past,” the jury reported.

The IDFA Award for Best Directing (worth €5,000) in the International Competition went to Auberi Edler for An American Pastoral (France).

“By simply looking and listening, this director reveals the current complexity at the heart of the United States. Her deep commitment to observation allows the viewer to come face to face with the communities in the film and provides critical insight into the results of the last U.S presidential election,” said the jury.

The IDFA Award for Best Editing in the International Competition went to Rafał Listopad for Trains (Poland) and the IDFA Award for Best Cinematography in the International Competition went to Zvika Gregory Portnoy and Zuzanna Solakiewicz for The Guest (Poland/Qatar).

The jury members of the International Competition were Juliana Fanjul, Sophie Fiennes, Grace Lee, Asmae El Moudir, and Kazuhiro Soda.

Read the jury statements here.

Miguel Coyula won the IDFA Award for Best Film in the Envision Competition for Chronicles of the Absurd (Cuba). The award is accompanied by a €15,000 cash prize.

“Formally complex with a film language that arises organically and directly from its limitations, this film impressed us with the use of an audio track as a political diary. For its radical form that matches and embodies the radical spirit of artists refusing to be silenced, the jury awards the IDFA Award for Best Film to Chronicles of the Absurd (Crónicas del absurdo) by Miguel Coyula,” the jury reported.

The Award for Best Directing (worth €5,000) in the Envision Competition went to Massimo D'Anolfi and Martina Parenti for Bestiaries, Herbaria, Lapidaries (Italy/Switzerland) and the Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution went ex aequo to Omar Mismar for A Frown Gone Mad (Lebanon) and to Yo-Hen So for Park (Taiwan).

The jury members for the Envision Competition were Sam Green, Nduka Mntambo, Kumjana Novakova, B. Ruby Rich, and Wael Shawky.

Read the jury statements here.

Lisa Schamlé won the IDFA DocLab Award for Immersive Non-Fiction for Me, a Depiction (Netherlands). The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

"Our jury recognizes a work that sets up a powerful dynamic between physical and digital representations of the body to actively engage audiences and create a maverick visual language. We enter a sensually charged and technically fortified environment where the artist asserts her body as her home: an act of liberation from stereotypes of beauty and sexuality. Schamlé designs a uniquely creative confrontation between artist and audiences, and offers a new direction for portraiture that invites collective participation,” reported the jury.

The DocLab Special Mention for Immersive Non-Fiction went to The Liminal (Netherlands/Lebanon/Palestine/Norway) by Alaa Al Minawi.

The jury members for the IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction were Chafik Benhmidouch, Shari Frilot and Samantha King.

Read the jury statements here.

Pegah Tabassinejad won the IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling with Entropic Fields of Displacement (Canada). The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

“The winner of IDFA Doclab Competition for Digital Storytelling is a deceptively simple piece. Under a theme that explores the space between the real and the unreal and in a year of increasing polarization, dominant patriarchy, and global violence against the marginalized, the jury unanimously agrees that this important and moving work of resistance and solidarity is the clear winner. Powerful and layered, Entropic Fields of Displacement cuts through the noise of virtual promises and dreams to create a deeply moving and timely artwork,” reported the jury.

The DocLab Special Mention for Digital Storytelling went to Burn from Absence (France/Canada) by Emeline Courcier.

The jury members for the IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling were Karim Ben Khelifa, Amy Rose, and Jarl Schulp.

Read the jury statements here.

The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing (United Kingdom) by Theo Panagopoulos won the IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary. The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

“It is remarkable how a seemingly naive and idyllic, almost century-old color film holds profound insights into the colonial power dynamics, as seen through the eyes of the observer. By uncovering hidden layers, the work transforms vivid, beautiful images and overlooked presences into powerful reflections on the act of filming as an assertion of power. These rediscovered depictions remind us of our shared humanity and serve as a poignant warning against the perils of forgetting. The film masterfully reclaims archival footage, highlighting the overlooked presence of Arab Palestinians. Through its delicate editing, it transforms misrepresentation into presence, challenging history’s omissions with quiet, evocative power,” reported the jury.

A Special Mention in the IDFA Competition for Short Documentary went to Mama Micra (Germany) by Rebecca Blöcher.

The jury members for the IDFA Competition for Short Documentary were Eroll Bilibani, Monica Taboada-Tapia, and Darunee Terdtoontaveedej.

Read the jury statements here.

The IDFA Award for Best Youth Documentary (13+) went to Eefje Blankevoort and Lara Aerts for Everything Will Be Alright (Netherlands). The award is accompanied by a €2,500 cash prize.

A special mention in the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary (13+) went to Simply Divine (France/Romania) by Mélody Boulissière and Bogdan Stamatin.

The IDFA Award for Best Youth Documentary (9-12) went to Poorva Bhat for What’s the Film About? (India). The award is accompanied by a €2,500 cash prize.

A special mention in the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary (9-12) went to The Invisible Ones (Netherlands/Belgium) by Martijn Blekendaal.

The jury members for the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary were Aneta Ozorek, Festus Toll, Tarik Traidia, Rhianna Woods, and Sara Luna Zorić.

Read the jury statements here.

The IDFA Award for Best First Feature went to CycleMahesh (India) by Suhel Banerjee. The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

The jury members were Heidi Hassan, Mohamed Jabaly, Nicole Vögele.
Read the jury statement here.

The IDFA Award for Best Dutch Film went to Luuk Bouwman for The Propagandist (Netherlands). The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

The jury members were Mila Schlingemann, Gena Teodosievska, and Martiros M. Vartanov.
Read the jury statements here.

The Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award went to Farahnaz Sharifi for My Stolen Planet (Iran/Germany). The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

The Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award special mention was awarded to Radu Jude and Christian Ferencz-Flatz for Eight Postcards from Utopia (Romania).

The jury members were Qutaiba Barhamji, Fredrik Gertten, and Oksana Sarkisova.
Read the jury statements here.

The FIPRESCI Award went to Writing Hawa (France/Netherlands/Qatar/Afghanistan) by Najiba Noori.

The jury members were Paul van Es, Carlos Helí de Almeida, and Cloé Tralci.

Read the jury statement here.

The IDFA Forum Awards were announced on Wednesday at Felix Meritis.

Ibrahim Omar’s project Dry Sky won the IDFA Forum Award for Best Pitch, Lana Y. Daher’s Do You Love Me took home the Forum Award for Best Rough Cut, and the DocLab Forum Award went to Amorphous by May Abdalla. Presenting a new award for the first time, Looking for the Mermaid by Yara Costa won the Producers Connection Award.

Read more about the IDFA Forum Awards here.

The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) continues until Sunday, November 24.

• IDFA Award for Best Film - International Competition: Trains, dir. Maciej J. Drygas

• IDFA Award for Best Directing - International Competition: An American Pastoral, dir. Auberi Edler

• IDFA Award for Best Editing - International Competition: Trains, Editor Rafał Listopad

• IDFA Award for Best Cinematography - International Competition: The Guest, cinematographers Zvika Gregory Portnoy, Zuzanna Solakiewicz

• IDFA Award for Best Film - Envision Competition: Chronicles of the Absurd, dir. Miguel Coyula

• IDFA Award for Best Directing - Envision Competition: Bestiaries, Herbaria, Lapidaries, dir. Massimo D'Anolfi and Martina Parenti

• IDFA Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution - Envision Competition (ex aequo): A Frown Gone Mad, dir. Omar Mismar; Park, dir. Yo-Hen So

• IDFA DocLab Award for Immersive Non-Fiction: Me, a Depiction, dir. Lisa Schamlé

• DocLab Special Mention for Immersive Non-Fiction: The Liminal, dir. Alaa Al Minawi

• IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling: Entropic Fields of Displacement, dir. Pegah Tabassinejad

• DocLab Special Mention for Digital Storytelling: Burn from Absence, dir. Emeline Courcier

• IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary: The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing, dir. Theo Panagopoulos

• Special Mention - Short Documentary: Mama Micra, dir. Rebecca Blöcher

• IDFA Award for Best Youth Documentary (13+): Everything Will Be Alright, dir. Eefje Blankevoort and Lara Aerts

• IDFA Award for Best Youth Documentary (9-12): What’s the Film About?, dir. Poorva Bhat

• Special Mention - Youth Documentary Competition (13+): Simply Divine, dir. Mélody Boulissière.

• Special Mention - Youth Documentary Competition (9-12): The Invisible Ones, dir. Martijn Blekendaal

• IDFA Award for Best First Feature: CycleMahesh, dir. Suhel Banerjee

• IDFA Award for Best Dutch Film: The Propagandist, dir. Luuk Bouwman

• Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award: My Stolen Planet, dir. Farahnaz Sharifi

• Special Mention - Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award: Eight Postcards from Utopia, dir. Radu Jude and Christian Ferencz-Flatz

• FIPRESCI Award: Writing Hawa, dir. Najiba Noori

• IDFA Forum Award for Best Pitch: Dry Sky, dir. Ibrahim Omar

• IDFA Forum Award for Best Rough Cut: Do You Love Me, dir. Lana Y. Daher

• IDFA DocLab Forum Award: Amorphous, dir. May Abdalla

• Producers Connection Award: Looking for the Mermaid, dir. Yara Costa

Please find the photos from the Awards Ceremony here.

No Other Land by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor has won the IDFA NPO Doc Audience Award 2024, the grand public prize of IDFA.