IDFA Bertha Fund Classic supports more Ukraine documentaries

Thanks to extra funding from the Open Society Foundations, the Bertha Fund of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is delighted to select two additional documentaries, The Elf’s Tower by Polina Kelm and Displaced by Olha Zhurba, for its IBF Classic – Ukraine Support.

They will receive a total amount of 45,000 euros in production and post-production support.

Selected as part of the temporary funding scheme launched by the Fund last year, the two projects mark an important addition to the initial selection of seven Ukrainian titles.

Both The Elf’s Tower and Displaced were submitted in response to the original call for projects.

“Making the selection for IBF Classic – Ukraine Support was a difficult task because of the strength of many proposals that made it to the last stage. The selection committee felt strongly that more than seven should be supported and we approached the Open Society Foundations to discuss the possibility of additional funding.

“Now, with a total of nine projects supported from this call, we look forward to supporting these filmmakers in bringing their films to light. We expect to see some of the films presented to an international audience already in 2023,” said Isabel Arrate Fernandez, Deputy Director of IDFA and Managing Director of the IDFA Bertha Fund.

The selection committee members were Audrius Stonys, Yulia Serdyukova, Anna Gawlita and Isabel Arrate Fernandez.