International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
IDFA
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Amsterdam hosted the 38th IDFA from November 13 to 23, 2025, with Portuguese filmmaker Susana de Sousa Dias as Guest of Honor. The awards ceremony at Eye Filmmuseum on November 20 brought two very different visions of documentary cinema into the spotlight: Mehrdad Oskouei’s A Fox Under a Pink Moon won the International Competition, while Morteza Ahmadvand and Firouzeh Khosrovani’s Past Future Continuous took the top Envision prize. The international jury brought together Eric Hynes, Isabelle Glachant, Maya Daisy Hawke, Michel K. Zongo and Myriam Sassine.
Dawood Hilmandi’s Paikar collected the Best First Feature and FIPRESCI awards, alongside a special mention in the Dutch competition. Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni’s Cutting Through Rocks was the audience favourite, winning the NPO Doc Audience Award. The DocLab Immersive Non-Fiction Award went to Claudix Vanesix’s Feedback VR, an anti-futurist musical, with a special mention for Khalil Ashawi and Hadeel Arja’s Under the Same Sky. Beyond the film competitions, DocLab’s Digital Storytelling Award went to Anan Fries’s interactive installation Artificial Sex (Ep. 1 & 2); Maisha Wester’s desktop game Coded Black received a special mention.
Best Film — International Competition
Best Directing — International Competition
Tamar KalandadzeJulien Pebrel
No Video Available Tamar Kalandadze, Julien Pebrel
The Kartli KingdomHundreds of thousands of Georgians fled their homes in the disputed region of Abkhazia…Best Editing — International Competition
Fernando Epstein
Best Cinematography — International Competition
Dmytro Sukholytkyy-SobchukIvan Morarash, Oleksandr Korotun and Viacheslav Tsvietkov
Trailer Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk
Silent FloodFor decades, members of a pacifist, traditional religious community have been living in…Special Mention — International Competition
Best Film — Envision Competition
Trailer Morteza Ahmadvand, Firouzeh Khosrovani
Past Future ContinuousMaryam fled Iran decades ago and settled in the United States. Her parents remained in…Best Directing — Envision Competition
Aiste Žegulytė
Outstanding Artistic Contribution — Envision Competition
Best Short Documentary
Special Mention — Short Documentary
Best First Feature
Special Mention — Best First Feature
No Video Available Tamar Kalandadze, Julien Pebrel
The Kartli KingdomHundreds of thousands of Georgians fled their homes in the disputed region of Abkhazia…Best Dutch Film
Special Mention — Best Dutch Film
Beeld & Geluid ReFrame Award
Special Mention — Beeld & Geluid ReFrame Award
FIPRESCI Award
NPO Doc Audience Award
No Video Available Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni
Cutting Through Rocks37-year-old Sara Shahverdi, a motorcycle riding, land owning, former…
