Moments from IDFA

Founded in 1988, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam has grown into one of the largest and most respected documentary festivals in the world, screening several hundred films each November across a cluster of Amsterdam cinemas rather than a single dedicated venue, with the ornate Art Deco Pathe Tuschinski and the striking angular EYE Filmmuseum, on the north bank of the IJ, typically serving as its most prominent stages. The festival treats documentary filmmaking as a genuine visual art form in its own right rather than journalism's poor relation, and its selection has launched or cemented the international reputations of documentary filmmakers who might otherwise have struggled to find distribution outside festival circuits.

Because screenings are spread across the city, plan your route between venues before buying tickets for back-to-back films, the distances between some IDFA cinemas are enough to eat into a tight schedule. The festival also runs DocLab, a strand dedicated to interactive and virtual reality documentary work, genuinely worth seeking out if you want to see where nonfiction storytelling is heading beyond the traditional screen. Tickets for high-profile premieres sell out fast, so book as early as the festival's system allows rather than waiting to browse the full program.