Ally Derks announces her departure from IDFA in 2017

Derks

Having spent almost thirty years at the head of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam

(IDFA), founder and festival director Ally Derks has decided to leave IDFA.

She will spend 2017 living and working in Berlin as an invited ‘fellow’ of the prestigious Robert Bosch Stiftung.

2017 also marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of IDFA. “That seems like a good moment to say farewell and pass on the baton to the next generation,” she said.

Ally Derks (1958) is one of the most influential people in the Dutch film world. She founded IDFA in 1988. The first edition of the festival screened 80 films to an audience of around three thousand. IDFA has since become the leading documentary festival in the world, receiving 271,000 visitors last year.

In recognition of this achievement, she’s been presented with numerous awards, including the Bannink Cock medal for her contribution to the city of Amsterdam.

In 2011, she was awarded the prestigious Doc Mogul Award at the Canadian documentary festival, Hot Docs, and last year she was made a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French ambassador to the Netherlands.

She’s been referred to as ‘The High Priestess of Documentaries’ by Indiewire magazine. Under her passionate leadership, IDFA has grown into much more than just a festival. IDFA Forum has developed into a leading international co-finance and co-production platform; Docs For Sale is a marketplace for the purchase and sale of films; the IDFA Bertha Fund provides support to filmmakers from non-Western countries; DocLab is IDFA’s ground-breaking new media programme; the IDFAcademy is a major development institute for international documentary talent, and each year more than 10,000 children are exposed to documentary film through the IDFA schools’ screenings.

And all these are just some of the many activities carried out by and through IDFA.

As a Bosch Fellow in residence, she will remain affiliated to IDFA in 2017, but on a sabbatical. In November 2017 – during the thirtieth anniversary celebrations – she’ll officially step down from ‘her’ IDFA.

“It has been 30 wonderful years, and saying goodbye is always a little painful. But I think the time is right. A year in Berlin will be a great challenge. I know I’m leaving IDFA in good hands with my hugely appreciated, professional, dedicated colleagues. I look forward to the future with confidence, both for IDFA and for myself,” she said.

The IDFA board completely understands her decision to leave the festival after thirty years “although IDFA without Ally is almost unthinkable,” says chairman of the board Derk Sauer. “We’re of course hugely indebted to Ally for what she leaves behind: a strong organisation, a fantastic festival and a great future.”

The board is delighted to report that Barbara Visser will take over Derks’ role for 2017, and will be responsible for the composition of next year’s festival programme.

Visser (1966) is a visual artist/filmmaker and also chairs the Royal Academy of the Dutch Royal Society of Arts.

Visser has a long association with IDFA. In 2010, she took part in the IDFA Workshop and won the Media Fund’s Documentary Award for her film plan C.K. In 2013, she was guest curator of the Paradocs programme, and in 2015, she chaired the jury of the IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary.

She’s been a member of the IDFA board since 1 January 2016 and will step down from this position in 2017.

“The documentary story, whether told in film or through interactive media, builds a bridge between social commitment and artistic freedom. These days there’s always an abundance of information, while the giving of context and creation of beauty are pushed to the margins. The success of IDFA demonstrates that increasingly large numbers of people are coming to realise this,” she said.

The board intends to present a new artistic director during the first quarter of 2018. The current financial director, Cees van Hullenaar, will take over as managing director as from 2018.

And during 2018, Derks will remain affiliated to IDFA in an advisory role in order to allow the transition to take place as smoothly as possible.