While Amsterdam certainly boasts its own unique cast of characters that one can observe on the streets, in the stores and the coffee shops, some of the most intriguing people I met during my stay at IDFA were on the film screen. When you immerse yourself in as many films as I did (an average of four per day), one comes away with a contact high from the encounters with unique individuals with unique stories and circumstances that stay with you (with me, at least). And while I am already...

While Amsterdam certainly boasts its own unique cast of characters that one can observe on the streets, in the stores and the coffee shops, some of the most intriguing people I met during my stay at IDFA were on the film screen. When you immerse yourself in as many films as I did (an average of four per day), one comes away with a contact high from the encounters with unique individuals with unique stories and circumstances that stay with you (with me, at least). And while I am already at a new ...

    Amsterdam has a rather valid reputation as a refuge for the not completely normal. Misfits from across the continent and across the seas find the city's open nature and history of tolerance a welcoming invitation. So, when an Amsterdam institution like IDFA, the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, announces a program entitled "Not Normal", the mind only boggles. In fact, one of the key themes at this year's Festival is the theme of unconventionality ...