IDFA Bertha Fund announces spring selection for IBF Classic
Kicking off the 2023 season, the IDFA Bertha Fund is delighted to support 10 documentary projects with a total of €149,000 in development and (post-)production financing, alongside tailor-made support for the filmmaking teams. The new selection, completed as part of the IBF Classic funding scheme, includes highly anticipated titles by Karim Kassem, Carolina Arias Ortiz, and Fan Jian, in addition to up-and-comers such as Zahraa Ghandour.
Operating since 1998, IBF Classic is the among the leading grant programs for documentary filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Oceania, offering tailored forms of support in addition to direct financing.
“This selection presents projects from a good mix of directors, ranging from authors whose ongoing work we look forward to seeing—to six newcomers working on their first feature. For the Fund it’s crucial to not only offer filmmakers financial support to move their projects forward, but to put our network and knowledge to good use for these filmmakers. Whether that support means facilitating potential participation in IDFA’s training programs and markets, or individual consultancies that deal with the creative and production challenges filmmakers are facing,” said Isabel Arrate Fernandez, Deputy Director of IDFA and Managing Director of the IDFA Bertha Fund.
Selected projects: IBF Classic – Development
The Bag of The Night, dir. Janaina Wagner (Brazil)
Life in the Shadows, dir. Anonymous (Afghanistan)
The Light of Masao Nakagawa, dir. Hideki Nakazaki (Peru)
Like a Flame Lit on a Dark Night, dir. Carolina Arias Ortiz (Costa Rica)
Moondove, dir. Karim Kassem (Lebanon)
Selected projects: IBF Classic – Production & Post-production
9-Month Contract, dir. Ketevan Vashagashvili (Georgia)
I Still Want, dir. Fan Jian (China)
Morro Grande, dir. Rita Toledo and Isabel Joffily (Brazil)
Women of My Life, dir. Zahraa Ghandour (Iraq)
Anonymous project
Selection committee
The selection committee members were Adrian Kawaley-Lathan (Creative Director, Bertha Foundation), Salomé Jashi (filmmaker), Qutaiba Barhamji (filmmaker and editor), María Campaña Ramia (Programmer, IDFA), and Isabel Arrate Fernandez (Deputy Director, IDFA & Managing Director, IDFA Bertha Fund).
Upcoming submission deadlines
The Fund is currently accepting submissions to the IDFA Bertha Fund Europe category, which remains open until April 1. In early May, submissions open for IDFA Bertha Fund classic again, with a deadline of June 10. For more information, click here.
The IDFA Bertha Fund is supported by Bertha Foundation, Creative Europe Media, JustFilms / Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Netherlands Film Fund, ASN Bank and Special Friends+.
