Inclusion & diversity
All inclusive
Inclusion & diversity in the festival's programming
A festival in which at least 50% of the films and new media projects are by female directors; programming featuring a large number of films from under-represented regions; competition juries made up of at least 50% women and professionals no longer representing predominately Western Europe, but drawn from all over the world.
These are just a few of our festival’s ideals. At IDFA, however, we believe that meeting quotas in the film program is not enough. As the largest documentary festival in the world, we are in a position to strive for lasting change; change that means a complete restructuring of the film industry as it currently is.
In September 2018, we signed the 5050x2020 Pledge for Gender Parity and Inclusion in Film Festivals. The 5050x2020 initiative was launched at the Cannes film festival in 2018 and signed by Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Locarno, Annecy, and Sarajevo, among other festivals. In doing so, these festivals commit to work towards greater gender equality by adhering to a series of strict measures in the areas of transparency and accountability, for example in relation to the organization’s make-up.
A think tank at IDFA 2018 formed the starting point for panel discussions of diversity within the festival’s programming. During these panels, we entered into discussions with directors and programmers from international festivals on greater gender equality within the festival program, attention for minorities, and attracting an audience that represents all these different groups.
