IDFA 2024 kicks off with ‘About a Hero’ at Koninklijk Theater Carré
The 37th edition of IDFA has officially kicked off! Across 23 cinemas and festival locations throughout Amsterdam, the festival presents 254 documentaries and 27 new media projects from 76 different countries. In addition to welcoming the general public, over 3,000 film professionals have gathered in Amsterdam to participate in the festival's Industry program.
About a Hero
After a local factory worker named Dorem Clery dies under mysterious circumstances, Werner Herzog travels to Getunkirchenburg to investigate his perplexing death. But Herzog, our narrator, is not who he seems, and the film is not what we expect…
A computer will not make a film as good as mine in 4500 years. – Werner Herzog
About a Hero is an adaptation of a script written by an AI trained on Herzog’s body of work. The fictional narrative it produced, ironically self-reflective, is intertwined with a series of interviews with artists, philosophers and scientists reflecting on the notion of originality, authenticity, immortality, and the soul in the age of AI.
Cultuurfonds Documentaire Stipendium to Festus Toll
During the opening night, the Cultuurfonds Documentaraire Stipendium was also awarded. This year, the €50,000 prize went to filmmaker Festus Toll, whose film The Story of Ne Kuko was nominated for IDFA’s Best Short Documentary Award last year. Supported by an anonymous benefactor, the stipend provides documentary makers with the opportunity to create new work. Toll received the award from last year’s recipient, Luuk Bouwman.
Photography Coen Dijkstra
