Awards
Winners & juries
2018
Twelve entries were nominated in each of IDFA’s competitions, which were then assessed by esteemed jury members with a background in film or other arts. In 2018, 53% of the jury members were female, and the jurors represented 22 different countries spread across Eastern and Western Europe, North and South America, northern and southern Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
This made IDFA’s juries more diverse than ever before. The high standing of the jury members meant filmmakers were especially enthusiastic that their films would be seen by these professionals.
The IDFA 2018 competition program was supported by Ammodo.
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Jury: Daniela Elstner (France), Jean-Michel Frodon (France), Tala Hadid (Morocco), Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (Chad), Alina Marazzi (Italy).
IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary
Reason (India) by Anand Patwardhan.
IDFA Special Jury Award for Feature-Length Documentary
Los Reyes by Bettina Perut and Iván Osnovikoff. This film was made with support from the IDFA Bertha Fund.
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Jury: Catherine Dussart (France), Ross McElwee (United States), Avi Mograbi (Israel), Jean Perret (Switzerland), Adina Pintilie (Romania).
IDFA Award for Best First Appearance (€ 10,000)
Giacinto Scelsi. The First Motion of the Immovable (France, Italy) by Sebastiano d'Ayala Valva.
IDFA Special Jury Award for First Appearance (€ 2,500), in memory of Peter Wintonick
Kabul, City in the Wind (the Netherlands, Afghanistan, Japan, Germany) by Aboozar Amini. This film was made with support from the IDFA Bertha Fund.
The IDFA Competition for First Appearance was made possible by the Friends of IDFA.
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Jury: Leah Giblin (United States), Everardo González (Mexico), Marc Isaacs (United Kingdom).
IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary (€ 10,000)
Summa (Poland, Belarus) by Andrei Kutsila.
IDFA Special Jury Award for Mid-Length Documentary (€ 2,500)
In Touch (Poland, Iceland) by Pawel Ziemilski.
IDFA Competition for Short Documentary
Jury: Catherine van Campen (the Netherlands), Inadelso Cossa (Mozambique), Haruka Hama (Japan).
IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary (€ 5,000)
I Signed the Petition (United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland) by Mahdi Fleifel.
IDFA Special Jury Award for Short Documentary (€ 2,500)
And What Is the Summer Saying (India) by Payal Kapadia.
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Jury: Klaudiusz Chrostowski (Poland), Serra Ciliv (Turkey), Pauline Terreehorst (the Netherlands).
IDFA Award for Best Student Documentary (€ 5,000)
In Search... (Germany, Kenya) by Beryl Magoko.
IDFA Special Jury Award for Student Documentary (€ 2,500)
Backwards (Israel) by Dana Gelman.
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
Jury: Catherine Bizern (France), Eduardo Escorel (Brazil), Alisa Lebow (United Kingdom).
Beeld en Geluid IDFA Award for Best Dutch Documentary (€ 7,500)
Now something is slowly changing by mint film office.
IDFA Special Jury Award for Dutch Documentary (€ 2,500)
But Now Is Perfect by Carin Goeijers.
The IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary is made possible by The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision.
IDFA Competition for Kids & Docs
Jury: Ingvil Giske (Norway), Pawel Lozinski (Poland), Shamira Raphaëla (the Netherlands).
IDFA Award for Best Children’s Documentary (€ 5,000)
Dancing for You (Poland) by Katarzyna Lesisz.
IDFA Special Jury Award for Children’s Documentary (€ 2,500)
The Man Who Looked Beyond the Horizon (The Netherlands) by Martijn Blekendaal.
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Jury: Dries Depoorter (Belgium), Joël Ronez (France), Mandy Rose (United Kingdom).
IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling (€ 5,000)
1 the Road (United States) by Ross Goodwin.
IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction
Jury: Mads Damsbo (Denmark), Ali Eslami (Iran), Luna Maurer (the Netherlands).
IDFA DocLab Award for Immersive Non-Fiction (€ 5,000)
Eat | Tech | Kitchen (the Netherlands, United States) by Klasien van de Zandschulp and Emilie Baltz.
Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Documentary Stipendium (€ 50,000)
Sophie Dros (My Silicon Love, Genderbende) was awarded the Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds Stipendium, a prize to stimulate the work of talented documentary filmmakers. With this amount, Dros can now make a new film.
Amsterdam Human Rights Award (€ 25,000)
Island of the Hungry Ghosts (Germany, United Kingdom, Australia) by Gabrielle Brady.
The Amsterdam Human Rights Award went to a film that makes the theme of human rights tangible in a cinematic, poignant way. The award is made possible by the City of Amsterdam.
VPRO IDFA Audience Award (€ 5,000)
Don't Be a Dick About It (United States) by Benjamin Mullinkosson.
The VPRO IDFA Audience Award was presented for the third time this year. A total of 33,156 visitors voted after film screenings. 194 films participated in the competition.