‘Trains’ Wins 2 Prizes, ‘Chronicles of the Absurd’ & More Earn Awards At International Documentary Festival Amsterdam

Trains, the Polish documentary that offers “a collective portrait of people in 20th century Europe, capturing their hopes, desires, dramas, and tragedies” has won Best Film in the International Competition section of the prestigious International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).

The film directed and edited by Maciej J. Drygas was a unanimous choice of the five-person jury. The award comes with a €15,000 cash prize. Trains also earned the award for Best Editing in the International Competition, recognizing Drygas.

“This is a bold and inventive use of archive,” said the jury comprised of Juliana Fanjul, Sophie Fiennes, Grace Lee, Asmae El Moudir, and Kazuhiro Soda. “The film shows us routes to the positive and negative consequences of modern industrial innovation. It harnesses the magic of cinema and as an audience we are haunted by our present historical time, even while we bear witness to the past.”

The jury awarded Best Directing in the International Competition category (which comes with a €5,000 award) to Auberi Edler for An American Pastoral.

“By simply looking and listening, this director reveals the current complexity at the heart of the United States,” jurors noted. “Her deep commitment to observation allows the viewer to come face to face with the communities in the film and provides critical insight into the results of the last U.S presidential election.”

Best Cinematography in the International Competition was awarded to Zvika Gregory Portnoy and Zuzanna Solakiewicz for The Guest.

At the awards ceremony Thursday night in Amsterdam, prizes were awarded in several additional categories including the Envision Competition, a section devoted to films that expand the cinematic language of documentary. There, Best Film went to the Cuban documentary Chronicles of the Absurd directed by Miguel Coyula. The award is accompanied by a €15,000 cash prize.

The Envision Competition jury consisted of Sam Green, Nduka Mntambo, Kumjana Novakova, B. Ruby Rich, and Wael Shawky. They wrote of Chronicles of the Absurd, “Formally complex with a film language that arises organically and directly from its limitations, this film impressed us with the use of an audio track as a political diary. For its radical form that matches and embodies the radical spirit of artists refusing to be silenced, the jury awards the Best Film to Chronicles of the Absurd (Crónicas del absurdo) by Miguel Coyula.”

The Award for Best Directing in the Envision Competition went to Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti for Bestiaries, Herbaria, Lapidaries (along with a €5,000 prize). “The Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution went ex aequo [meaning a tie] to Omar Mismar for A Frown Gone Mad (Lebanon) and to Yo-Hen So for Park (Taiwan).”

The IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary was claimed by The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing, directed by Theo Panagopoulos (along with a €5,000 cash prize). The jury, comprised of Eroll Bilibani, Monica Taboada-Tapia, and Darunee Terdtoontaveedej, wrote, “It is remarkable how a seemingly naive and idyllic, almost century-old color film holds profound insights into the colonial power dynamics, as seen through the eyes of the observer. By uncovering hidden layers, the work transforms vivid, beautiful images and overlooked presences into powerful reflections on the act of filming as an assertion of power.”

The jury continued, “These rediscovered depictions remind us of our shared humanity and serve as a poignant warning against the perils of forgetting. The film masterfully reclaims archival footage, highlighting the overlooked presence of Arab Palestinians. Through its delicate editing, it transforms misrepresentation into presence, challenging history’s omissions with quiet, evocative power.”

The jury awarded a special mention in the Short Documentary to Mama Micra, directed by Rebecca Blöcher.

Lisa Schamlé won the IDFA DocLab Award for Immersive Non-Fiction for Me, a Depiction. The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

“Our jury recognizes a work that sets up a powerful dynamic between physical and digital representations of the body to actively engage audiences and create a maverick visual language. We enter a sensually charged and technically fortified environment where the artist asserts her body as her home: an act of liberation from stereotypes of beauty and sexuality. Schamlé designs a uniquely creative confrontation between artist and audiences, and offers a new direction for portraiture that invites collective participation,” reported the jury comprised of Chafik Benhmidouch, Shari Frilot, and Samantha King.

The DocLab Special Mention for Immersive Non-Fiction went to The Liminal by Alaa Al Minawi.

Pegah Tabassinejad won the IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling with Entropic Fields of Displacement (accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize).

“The winner of the 2024 IDFA Doclab Competition for Digital Storytelling is a deceptively simple piece,” wrote jurors Karim Ben Khelifa, Amy Rose, and Jarl Schulp. “Under a theme that explores the space between the real and the unreal and in a year of increasing polarization, dominant patriarchy, and global violence against the marginalized, the jury unanimously agrees that this important and moving work of resistance and solidarity is the clear winner. Powerful and layered, Entropic Fields of Displacement cuts through the noise of virtual promises and dreams to create a deeply moving and timely artwork.”

The DocLab Special Mention for Digital Storytelling went to Burn from Absence directed by Emeline Courcier.

The IDFA Award for Best Youth Documentary (13+) went to Eefje Blankevoort and Lara Aerts for Everything Will Be Alright (an award that comes with a €2,500 cash prize).

A special mention in the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary (13+) went to Simply Divine by Mélody Boulissière.

The IDFA Award for Best Youth Documentary (9-12) went to Poorva Bhat for What’s the Film About? The award is accompanied by a €2,500 cash prize.

A special mention in the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary (9-12) went to The Invisible Ones by Martijn Blekendaal.

The jury members for the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary were Aneta Ozorek, Festus Toll, Tarik Traidia, Rhianna Woods, and Sara Luna Zorić.

ADDITIONAL AWARDS:

The IDFA Award for Best First Feature went to CycleMahesh by Suhel Banerjee. The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.                    

The IDFA Award for Best Dutch Film went to Luuk Bouwman for The Propagandist. The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

The Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award went to Farahnaz Sharifi for My Stolen Planet. The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

The Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award special mention was awarded to Radu Jude and Christian Ferencz-Flatz for Eight Postcards from Utopia.

The FIPRESCI Award went to Writing Hawa by Najiba Noori.

IDFA, the largest documentary film festival in the world, wraps its 37^th edition on Sunday.