IDFA International Documentary Festival Amsterdam's blog

Films Transit International, the premiere distributor of international documentaries with offices in Montreal and New York, is having a record year at this year's IDFA, the world's largest and most prestigious documentary film festival. The company, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, has an impressive 11 films represented in both the Festival and the  parallel Docs For Sale market, including 5 films that are competing in the main Features Competition. The high number of films points to the prolific production of documentaries worldwide and the company's position in the forefront of documentary film sales. Company head Jan Rofekamp will be at the Festival for the duration.

In the Features Competition are such esteemed titles as MY HEART OF DARKNESS (Staffan Julen and Marius Van Niekerk, Sweden/Germany), a story of four war veterans from conflicts in Namibia and Angola who journey back to the battlefields where they fought each other in the 1970s and 1980s; HOLY WARS (Stephen Marshall, USA), which brings together a Muslim advocate for global jihad with a conservative Christian on a mission to evangelize the world's Muslims; THE TEAM (Patrick Reed, Canada), focusing on the election fraud and political turmoil that has turned traditionally stable Kenya into a country on the verge of civil war; YOU DON'T LIKE THE TRUTH: 4 Days Inside Guaantanamo (Luc Cote and Patricio Henriquez, Canada), a harrowing portrait of Canadian citizen who was arrested at age 15 in Afghanistan and has spent the last 9 years in the US Army prison of Guantánamo; and POSITION AMONG THE STARS (Leonard Retel-Helmrich, Netherlands/Indonesia), the celebrated Festival opener about an Indonesian family from the slums of Jakarta that offers an insightful portrayal of the religious, economic and social divisions in contemporary Indonesian society.

Competing in the First Appearance section is FEATHERED COCAINE (Orn Marino Arnarson and Thorkell Hardarson, Iceland), the visceral story of one of the world's leading falcon trainers who has formed a global nature conservation group to protect the falcons. In the Green Screen Competition, the company is repping INTO ETERNITY (Michael Madsen, Denmark), an eye-opening investigation into the high-level radioactive waste that are placed in interim storage caverns in Finland that are alarmingly vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters. 

Films Transit also has a number of outstanding films in the Festival's non-competition sections, including IN THE NAME OF THE FAMILY (Shelley Saywell, Canada), a harrowing look at "honor killings" that take place in Canada and the USA; AUTUMN GOLD(Jan Tehnhaven, Germany/Austria), a life-affirming story of five senior athletes (aged 80 plus) as they prepare for the Track and Field World Championships; ONE LUCKY ELEPHANT (Lisa Leeman, USA), a film festival favorite about an orphaned baby elephant who retires from her career as a circus attraction; and STEAM OF LIFE (Joonas Berghall, Finland), a look at the cult of saunas in a country where men reveal their most intimate secrets to one another in the safety of the steam room.

Films Transit also has a strong selection of films in the Docs For Sale market sidebar full of films that have won awards and recognition on the international film festival circuit. For more information on the company and their lineup, visit: www.filmstransit.com

Sandy Mandelberger, IDFA Dailies Editor

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