IDFA Bertha Fund documentaries included in IDFA 2015 selection

The IDFA 2015 selection contains twelve new documentaries made with financial support from the

IDFA Bertha Fund (IBF).

Sonita and Ukrainian Sheriffs both compete in the IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary, while Roundabout in My Head is a contender in the IDFA Competition for First Appearance.

Three IBF-supported films have been selected by Benjamin Barber for his special program Jihad vs. McWorld 2015.

Other IBF-supported titles are spread across the program sections Masters, Best of Fests and Panorama. Since January of this year the IDFA Bertha Fund, which supports documentary projects in developing countries, has also offered support to European producers partnering productions by filmmakers from developing countries. 

IBF supports documentary filmmakers and festivals in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe.

This year, a total of 31 new projects were selected, with a total budget of €306,000. In addition, IBF continues to support documentary festivals in the Dominican Republic, Georgia and Myanmar as well as, from this year, in Afghanistan.

IBF not only offers financial support but also plays a significant advisory role. Three projects by makers supported by the IBF have been selected for the IDFA Forum and various IBF makers are participating in the IDFAcademy or as observers at the IDFA Forum.

In cooperation with the Bertha Foundation, during IDFA, IBF will organise a workshop on outreach and distribution for a group of eligible filmmakers.

A new program was introduced at the beginning of 2015, IDFA Bertha Fund Europe, aimed at cooperation between European producers and producers from developing countries.

In total, 6 projects received support totalling €240,000. IDFA Bertha Fund Europe is made possible thanks to Creative Europe’s MEDIA program.

IBF Documentaries at IDFA 2015

A total of 12 new documentaries that have received finance from the IDFA Berta Fund over the years are included in the IDFA selection. This year’s harvest brings us stories from all over the world: from an abattoir in Algiers to salt flats in the Chilean Andes and a music school in Karachi, Pakistan.

Sonita (Iran) by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami and Ukrainian Sheriffs (Ukraine) by Roman Bondarchuk compete in the IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary, and Sonita is also eligible for the DOC U Award.

Roundabout in My Head (Algeria) by Hassen Ferhani is a contender in the IDFA Competition for First Appearance.

Two IBF-supported films are included in the Masters program section: Behemoth (China) by Liang Zhao and Malek Bensmaïl’s Checks and Balances (Algeria).

Three IBF-supported films have caused a stir at film festivals during the past year and can be seen in the Best of Fests section: The Chinese Mayor (China) by Hao Zhou, winner of a Special Jury Award at Sundance; The Siren of Faso Fani (Burkina Faso) by Michel K. Zongo and Surire (Chile) by Bettina Perut and Ivan Osnovikoff.

Alka Sadat’s Afghanistan Night Stories (Afghanistan), Cecilia (India) by Pankaj Johar, Maheen Zia and Miriam Chandy Menacherry’s Lyari Notes (India/Pakistan) and Please Remember Me (China) by Qing Zhao all screen in Panorama.

IDFA guest curator Benjamin Barber, who selected films for the special program Benjamin Barber: Jihad vs. McWorld 2015, includes three films that received support from the IBF in his selection: Checks and Balances, The Chinese Mayor and Ukrainian Sheriffs.

For the special Sounds Real program, Victor Kossakovsky and his regular sound man Alexander Dudarev selected Tishe! (2002) which also received support from the IBF.

The Bertha Foundation is a main partner of the IBF. In 2015, the IBF also received support from the Hivos development organisation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

IDFA Bertha Fund Europe was made possible by Creative Europe.