IDFA Bertha Fund announces IBF Classic fall selection

Selected from 430 entries, the latest IDFA Bertha Fund selection in the IBF Classic category comes with a strong commitment to emerging talent, with eight first-time feature-length documentary filmmakers and several projects with previous IDFA support. The fall selection proudly includes countries lesser represented in previous selections, with projects from Bhutan, Guatemala, and Democratic Republic of Congo, among others.

With three projects that cannot fully disclose details because of security reasons, this selection round once again speaks to the growing and ongoing need to support filmmakers whose freedom of artistic expression remains under threat.

The fall selection includes three projects that previously received IDFA Bertha Fund Classic support for development. Among them is The Shadows of the Forest by Akash Basumatari and Shrutiman Deori, which traces the impact of state-driven wildlife conservation on the lives of indigenous young adults in Northeast India. In Under the Flags, the Sun, Juanjo Pereira’s film uses found footage to reconstruct the untold history of Paraguay.

Welcoming familiar names back to IDFA, the selection includes the latest projects by filmmakers previously featured at IDFA—Ali Essafi with Looking for Bacchus and Anais Taracena with The Pulse of the Volcanoes. In addition, the Fund supports Road of Bones by Aiaal Adamov, a project participating in IDFA Project Space 2024.

Operating since 1998, IBF Classic is among the leading grant programs for documentary filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Oceania. The grant offers support to documentary projects in all stages, from starting up and developing a project to the final phases of post-production. In addition to the grant, the selected project teams will receive tailor-made support from IDFA’s Filmmaker Support department.

• One of the selected projects must remain anonymous

Karim Aitouna (Producer, Haut les Mains Productions & Waq Waq Studio), Gema Juárez Allen (Producer, GEMA Films), Isabel Arrate Fernandez (Deputy Director, IDFA & Executive Director, IDFA Bertha Fund), Fabien Greenberg (Producer, Antipode Films), Clara Vuillermoz (Producer, Solent Production).

The next IBF Classic deadlines is on December 10, 2024. Find more information about the funds, deadlines, and applications here.

The IDFA Bertha Fund is supported by Bertha Foundation, Creative Europe Media, JustFilms / Ford Foundation, Nationale Postcode Loterij, Netherlands Film Fund, and Special Friends+.