Burma VJ (Denmark/Sweden/England/Norway

Friday, November 28-------As IDFA enters its final weekend, the front runners in the various competition categories have been announced. At the nightly IDFA Talks, an assembly of filmmakers, producers, programmers and IDFA staff anxiously awaited the announcements of the final nominees in the main Festival competitions. The list is included below, with information on the award winners coming soon on this blog.

Joris Ivens Competition

The nominations for the Joris Ivens Competition (films longer than 60 minutes) are: Burma VJ – Reporting From a Closed Country (Denmark/Sweden/England/Norway) by Anders Østergaard; Necrobusiness ( Sweden ) by Fredrik von Krusenstjerna, Richard Solarz and Monika Sieradzka, and Yodok Stories (Norway/Poland) by Andrzej Fidyk.

The jury was made up of: Wouter Barendrecht (Fortissimo, the Netherlands ), Deepa Dhanraj (filmmaker, India ), Christoph Jörg (commissioning editor, Germany ), Sandra J. Ruch (former director of the IDA, USA ), Bianca Stigter (author/journalist, the Netherlands ). The VPRO Joris Ivens Award consists of a sculpture and a cash prize of €12,500.

Silver Wolf

For the Silver Wolf (films up to 60 minutes), the nominations are: Boris Ryzhy (the Netherlands) by Aliona van der Horst; Lady Kul el Arab (Israel) by Ibtisam Mara'ana and Love on Delivery (Denmark) by Janus Metz. The Silver Wolf consists of a cash prize of € 10,000 (made available by the NPS) and purchase and broadcast of the film by the NPS.

The nominations for the Silver Cub, for films up to 30 minutes, are: Slaves – An Animated Documentary (Sweden/Norway/Denmark) by Hanna Heilborn and David Aronowitsch, The First Kid to Learn English from Mexico ( USA ) by Peter Jordan and Wanja ( Australia ) by Angie Abdilla. The Silver Cub consists of a cash prize of € 5,000.

De jury was: Nishtha Jain (filmmaker, India ), Jess Search (director Channel4 British Documentary Film Foundation, UK ), Rik Stallaerts (filmmaker, Belgium ), Thomas White (editor-in-chief, Documentary , USA ) and Jeanne Wikler (advisor, USA ).

First Appearance

The jury of the First Appearance programme has nominated Afghan Star (England/Afghanistan) by Havana Marking, Constantin and Elena (Romania/Spain) by Andrei Dascalescu and My First War ( Israel ) by Yariv Mozer for the First Appearance Award, the award for the best first or second film. The First Appearance Award consists of a prize of € 2,500. The jury was: André Bennett (producer, Canada ), Sally Berger (curator Film MoMA , USA ), Marrie Bot (photographer, the Netherlands ), Diana Nenadi (film journalist, Croatia ) and Oscar Pérez (filmmaker, Spain ).

International Student Competition

For the second year, an award will be given in the international student film programme: the International Student Competition. The nominations are: 12 Notes Down ( Denmark ) by Andreas Koefoed, Shakespeare and Victor Hugo´s Intimacies ( Mexico ) by Yulene Olaizola and Waiting for Women ( England ) by Estephan Wagner.

The jury was: Elina Hirvonen (filmmaker, Finland ), Ellen Kuras (camera woman/filmmaker, USA ) and Nenad Puhovski (filmmaker, Croatia ). The award consists of a cash prize of €2,500.

Movies that Matter

The jury of the Movies that Matter Award, for the best documentary dealing with human rights and human dignity, has announced four nominations: At the Death House Door (USA) by Steve James and Peter Gilbert, Burma VJ – Reporting From a Closed Country (Denmark/Sweden/England/Norway) by Anders Østergaard, Iseta Behind the Roadblock (Kenya) by Juan Reina and Lucanamarca (Peru) by Carlos Cárdenas Tovar and Héctor Gálvez.

The jury was made up of Chris Keulemans (journalist, the Netherlands ), Mercedes Moncada Rodríguez (filmmaker, Mexico ) and Coral Vinsen (human rights activist, South Africa ). The Movies that Matter Award consists of a cash prize of € 2,500 and modest distribution in Dutch cinemas.

DOC U!

A five-strong youth jury has announced which films from the DOC U! programme are in the running for the DOC U! Award (€1,000). The nominations are A Complete History of My Sexual Failures ( England ) by Chris Waitt, Kassim the Dream (USA/Germany) by Kief Davidson and Slingshot Hip Hop (USA/Palestine) by Jackie Reem Salloum.

On Saturday evening at the Awards Gala that officially closes the Festival (although screenings continue through Sunday), there will be announcements of the Dioraphte Audience Award and the Stimuleringsfondsprijs Documentaire Dutch Cultural Broadcasting Fund Award for Documentary] for the best film plan from the IDFA Documentary Workshop.

Sandy Mandelberger, IDFA Dailies Editor