IDFA Forum
By filling out the online IDFA Forum entry form. There are separate entry forms for submitting to IDFA Forum (Pitch & Rough Cut Presentations), IDFA DocLab Forum, and the Producers Connection. You can find all forms in the MyIDFA section of this website. Make sure you create a MyIDFA account first. Also make sure that your project meets our entry regulations and that you fill in all the required material in the entry form. Please read our entry regulations and checklist for IDFA Forum entry first.
Yes, there is a submission fee of €25 excluding VAT. We offer the following methods to pay the entry fee:
i. Credit cards: MasterCard, Visa, and American Express
ii. iDeal
Payment should take place as quickly as possible and within two weeks after submitting the online entry form. Entries will not be processed and taken into consideration until your payment has been received.
We only provide fee waivers for filmmakers who are based in a country on the IDFA Bertha Fund Country List. If you are a producer with a production company registered in one of these countries, please get in touch with the Forum team via forum@idfa.nl to see if you’re eligible for a fee waiver.
Yes, but we select a maximum of two projects per production company.
No, providing a trailer or other visual material for your project is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended because it’s difficult for our selection committee to judge a project without visuals. If you do not have material for the project yet, you can also send previous work. For more information about sending additional material see the Checklist for IDFA Forum entry.
We will inform you by the end of August if your project goes to the next selection round. If your project reaches this round, we will inform you at the end of September of the final selection results. Please refer to the Checklist for IDFA Forum entry for more information on selection procedures.
Yes. Observer seat can be requested by producers who entered a project that was not selected. There is a limited number of seats reserved for Observers. Because of the large demand for seats, we are forced to make a selection. Only one person per production company is allowed to apply for an Observer pass. All applicants are informed by October 20 about whether the Observer seat application has been granted. For more information, please see our accreditation page.
You can request to be an Observer by logging into your MyIDFA account and going to the Accreditations section. From there, choose the Accreditation IDFA 2023 – Festival & Markets form. We start accepting accreditation entries from July 12, 2023.
Yes, there is a fee for presenting your project at the Forum. The presentation fee includes two Forum passes for the project team, usually the director and the producer. Please consult the list of fees provided in the IDFA Forum entry regulations. Once your project is selected you will receive an invoice by email with instructions on how to pay the presentation fee through our secure website.
No, there is no fee for Observer seat applications.
Yes, there is a fee for Observers. Please consult the list of fees provided in our accreditation information. If you are selected for an Observer seat, you will receive an invoice by email from our Guest Services team with instructions on how to pay.
Yes, all Forum participants receive an IDFA Festival pass. This pass will give you access to all screenings (including industry screenings) and events during the festival. Please make sure to fill out the accreditation form as well. The accreditation form will be online from July through MyIDFA.
Unfortunately, we are not able to support projects with travel and accommodation.
IDFA Forum aims to support projects in different stages of production.
The Producers Connection is best suited to projects in early development or development, whose teams are thinking through their financing structures and narrative storylines and are interested in international co-production. Creatively, these projects can still be in the gestation stage and welcome collaborative feedback from production partners.
The Forum Pitches welcome projects at any stage of production (except rough cut) that are looking for financing and distribution collaboration. Creatively, these projects are more mature and advanced than those in Producers Connection.
The Rough Cut Presentations welcome projects that are in editing or rough cut stage, far along in post-production, and almost ready for distribution. These projects are looking for gap financing, finalizing sales and distribution strategies and securing world premieres in high-quality festivals.
The DocLab Forum welcomes artists with new media projects in all production and financing stages looking for financing and distribution collaboration.
The Producers Connection presentation welcomes producers from all over the world with a track record in co-producing, including from countries with demonstrable financing for minority co-production. The Producers Connection presentation is specially scheduled to occur before the Forum Pitches so that participating producers can seamlessly attend both events with the same Observer pass. To attend Producers Connection as a producer without a project, please apply here.
Docs for Sale
Docs for Sale is IDFA’s distribution incubator and marketplace for creative documentaries. During the festival, accredited buyers, sales agents, distributors, and festival programmers can view documentary films in Amsterdam, meet with film teams in one-on-one meetings, and connect in the Docs for Sale Lounge. Throughout the year, these film professionals can also stream the selected documentaries via our online viewing platform and connect with the rights holders directly. The market also offers bespoke participation and networking services for filmmakers to successfully launch their film at IDFA.
Having your film in Docs for Sale means that it can be viewed by hundreds of potential buyers and festival programmers. If your film is selected for Docs for Sale, it will be included in the catalogue, which is available during the festival in the Docs for Sale viewing booths as well as in an online secure environment for one year.
Docs for Sale focuses on creative documentaries. Non-fiction genres such as nature documentaries, corporate films, travelogues, and informational films are not eligible for selection. Of the films that are ultimately presented in the market, many of them are also presented at IDFA in competitive and non-competitive sections. Other films are selected by the Docs for Sale team on the basis of submissions that we believe are interesting for buyers and sales agents, including classic documentary storytelling and seralized content. If your film is older than one year, it will not be accepted for the Docs for Sale catalogue.
- Viewing reports: If you have a film in the Docs for Sale catalogue, you can log in to your MyIDFA account at any time to get the latest information about who has viewed your documentary, and whether they have left any comments.
- Meet up with buyers or festival programmers: The 2023 edition of Docs for Sale will be an in-person event at our markets venue Felix Meritis (Keizergracht 324). Felix Meritis is also home to the dedicated Docs for Sale Lounge, where you can connect with other professionals attending the markets.
The Docs for Sale staff are always willing to help you meet the right people, but it’s also important to study the market beforehand. You should know what kind of film you are trying to sell and who might be interested in it. In the weeks leading up to the festival, you can find the Docs for Sale Guest List on our website, so you know who will be attending the market in Amsterdam.
- Contact details and profiles of buyers and sales agents: If your film is selected for the Docs for Sale catalogue, you will have access to the contact details of all registered buyers via the online Guest List. This means you can introduce your documentary to registered buyers by sending e-mails to the ones whose profile corresponds to your film. Spamming everybody is not a good idea. Instead, do your homework to find out who might be interested in your film. The profiles of the potential buyers and their contact information will be available on our website at the end of September. We encourage you to reach out and plan meetings with market guests that you can subsequently hold in the Felix Meritis Business Lounge, accessible to all Forum and Docs for Sale passholders.
IDFA has a contract with Vimeo as the provider of HD-quality streaming video on our website. All video materials will be uploaded to a private Vimeo Business account managed by IDFA. Vimeo is a global platform and is used as an industry standard for filmmakers to share and present their work online. Over the past years more than 95% of all submissions to IDFA have allowed full access to content residing on Vimeo already.
- We upload files to our 'private' Business account within a password-protected album that only IDFA has access to.
- All files are set so they cannot be searched or found on Vimeo's public platform.
- There are further settings in place that only allow the video to be viewed on www.idfa.nl, which ensures that all video is domain-restricted to IDFA only.
- Our database checks the MyIDFA account that is logged in on the IDFA site and the video will only appear on the website if this MyIDFA account has rights to view the content.
- Content cannot be commented on, shared, or downloaded.
To upload your file for your Docs for Sale submission, you do not need to create your own Vimeo account as we have that covered with our Business account. All we need from you is a video file of the final cut of your film, encoded according to Vimeo's compression guidelines. You need to upload the file directly onto our viewing platform through the automatically generated link you will receive after submitting the entry form.
We will, however, also need a preview link to preview your film upon selecting it—it can be a link to Vimeo or another similar streaming platform. You can provide this link in the Docs for Sale entry form.
Your film will be online for one year.
Docs for Sale Online gives buyers access to a wide range of documentaries from anywhere in the world. This online documentary platform contains award-winning titles selected for IDFA as well as other important documentaries that shouldn’t be missed. You can watch documentaries online remotely at your convenience. You’ll be able to browse through the catalogue or perform a search – by subject, genre, length, etc. Additionally, you can contact the sales representative of the film directly by clicking on the person’s name.
Please check whether you are logged in with your MyIDFA account. If not, log in at the top right of the screen. If this does not fix the problem, please try again using a different browser.
Professionals (entrepreneurs) can submit a claim for a refund of VAT charged by IDFA if:
- You use the goods and services for business and not personal use.
- You use the goods and services for activities for which VAT is charged.
Furthermore, you may only submit a claim for a refund if:
- You are not required to file a VAT return in the Netherlands
- The Dutch VAT has been charged to you
- The VAT is deductible as input tax for the Dutch entrepreneur
- The amount of VAT for which you claim the refund is at least €50 per calendar year.
To claim a refund as an EU entrepreneur:
- Reclaim digitally through the tax administration of the EU country in which you are established.
- Submit your claim before October 1 of the year following the year for which you are claiming the refund of VAT. As of 2012, claims for refunds must always be submitted digitally.
To claim a refund as an entrepreneur outside the EU:
- Claim a refund of the VAT that you have paid in the Netherlands using the form: 'Application for VAT refund for entrepreneurs based in non-EU countries' (downloadable from http://www.belastingdienst.nl).
- In order to get to the form 'Application for VAT refund for entrepreneurs based in non-EU countries' you can use the Registration of foreign businesses aid. By answering a number of questions, you will know if you can complete the application straight away or if you first have to apply for a VAT identification number or registration number. The calculation tool will guide you to the correct form.
- Submit your claim before July 1 of the year following the year for which you are claiming the refund of VAT.
- You must also enclose the following documents together with your claim for a VAT refund: (I) declaration of entrepreneurship, preferably from the tax administration in your country and (II) original invoice from IDFA.
- The tax authorities will only handle your request after you have registered as a foreign entrepreneur. No registration number yet? You can use the calculation tool Registration of foreign businesses aid to request a form for applying for the registration number.