IDFA focuses on experimental, artistic documentaries in Paradocs

Films that go beyond the frameworks and traditions of the documentary, balancing on the fine lines between film and art, truth and fiction, form and narrative find a home in the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam’s IDFA Paradocs program.

During the last weekend of November, IDFA Paradocs will again be collaborating with Amsterdam Art Weekend, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and EYE.

The Paradocs selection is made up of ten films, including El Mar La Mar by Joshua Bonnetta and J.P. Siadecki which tackles a political and social issue by adopting the form of a poetic nature film. The makers create a portrait of the Sonoran Desert on the border of Mexico and the United States – a real ‘death trap’ where thousands of illegal Mexican immigrants have lost their lives since the 90s: bone dry, searingly hot and full of snakes and coyotes.

Paradocs also shows films centred around the maker’s personal artistic expression, such as If You Were in My Pictures, in which the sudden death of filmmaker Lou Colpé’s lover leads to a melancholy contemplation of faith, sorrow and anger. The program also includes new films from Johan Grimonprez (Blue Orchids), Véréna Pavarel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor (Caniba) and Yaser Kassab (On the Edge of Life).

Paradocs: Amsterdam Art Weekend at IDFA in EYE

As part of Paradocs and in cooperation with Amsterdam Art, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and EYE, 12 films will be screened by artists associated with Amsterdam galleries and participants in the 'Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten' and independent art institute 'De Ateliers'. This gives films made for a museum context a first opportunity to be seen on a cinema screen.

Yael Bartana will present Tashlikh (Cast Off), a film that presents us with a stream of seemingly random everyday objects which illustrate the stories of their owners. This represents Bartana’s own interpretation of the Jewish Tashlick ritual, which involves throwing bread or other items into flowing water to atone for the sins of the past.

Works by Meiro Koizumi (Rite for a Dream II (With Countless Stones in Your Mouth)) and Mohau Modisakeng (To Move Mountains) can also be seen, as well as a performance by Paulien Oltheten (La Défense, A Live Photo Video Essay).

On Friday, November 24 Lebanese artist Rabih Mroué will give a performance, presented in cooperation with EYE, Prins Claus Fonds and Amsterdam Art. He will perform his multimedia theatrical lecture Sand in Eyes, which investigates the image politics in Islamic recruitment videos based on materials seized by German security forces.

Amsterdam Art Weekend at IDFA runs November 24-26 in EYE.

The 30th edition of IDFA will take place November 15 – 26.