An inconclusive list of projects that will show at the 2024 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam has been announced. The list contains documentaries and documentary art from Kenyan, Senegalese, Nigerian, and Congolese filmmakers. There are also a few projects on Africa by non-African filmmakers.
In the festival’s typically experimental Paradocs section, attendees will get a chance to see Machine Boys. The 8-minute project follows riders of okadas, as commercial bikes are called in Nigeria. The project, by Karimah Ashadu, was a video installation at the Venice Biennale earlier in the year.
In the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary section, which IDFA describes as “presented for two distinct age groups: 9- to 12-year-olds, and 13-year-olds all the way to adulthood”, Norwegian filmmaker Julia Dahr and Kenyan filmaker Dina Mwende will present With Grace. The documentary follows a 13-year-old East African girl, as she recalls a time drought rains wreaked havoc on her household.
Dahomey, Mati Diop’s Golden Bear winner, will show up in IDFA’s Signed section. Described as “the latest cinematic adventures of some of the most original filmmakers of our time”, the section will also screen Haitian director Raoul Peck’s Ernest Cole, Lost and Found. Peck’s documentary about the late South African photographer premiered at Cannes, where it won the L’Oeil d’or for best documentary.
Kenya, the US, and Greece come together for Battle of Laikipia, which will screen in Best of Fest.
The section features “prize-winners, public favorites, and the year’s most eye-catching titles from the international festival circuit”. In the documentary, which premiered at Sundance, Kenyan director Peter Murimi and Greek director Daphne Matziaraki present a story about climate change and colonial legacy as played out in a region of Kenya.
Best of Fest will also feature Rising Up At Night by Congolese director Nelson Makengo. The film is an update on a short film Makengo presented at IDFA in 2019. His film won the festival’s short documentary award that year. The new version is credited to Belgium, Germany, Burkina Faso, Qatar, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In the same section, French filmmaker Hind Meddeb will present Sudan, Remember Us, in which the director follows a number of young artists “trying to energize their revolution with poetry and music”. The film is credited to France and Tunisia.
A few weeks ago, the festival announced Johan Grimonprez as its Guest of Honour this year. The Belgian filmmaker will be showcasing his films at the festival, including his newest picture, a jazzy treatise on 1960s’ Congo titled Soundtrack to A Coup D’etat. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematic Innovation.
The 2024 International Documentary Festival will take place from 14 to 24 November.
