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Shoghakat Vardanyan’s 1489 and Ariel Kuaray Ortega & Ernesto de Carvalho’s Canuto's Transformation led the way for a dazzling night of IDFA awards. Get the full overview of winners from last night's ceremony. 

International Competition

1489 (Armenia) by Shoghakat Vardanyan is the winner of the IDFA Award for Best Film. The award is accompanied by a €15,000 cash prize.

"A film that acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence. Cinema as a tool of survival—to allow us all, to look at the things we would rather not see. And ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love,'' the jury reported.

The IDFA Award for Best Directing (worth €5,000) in the International Competition went to Mohamed Jabaly for Life Is Beautiful (Norway, Palestine).

"A timely cinematic expression of the universal need to be recognized in our full humanity. A compelling indictment of the bureaucratic and political structures that deny that. A directorial tone that, almost impossibly, manages to find hope and humor amid unimaginable pain. An urgent call for freedom, freedom of movement, freedom of opportunity and the freedom to pursue our dreams," said the jury.

The IDFA Award for Best Editing (worth €2,500) in the International Competition went to Anand Patwardhan for The World Is Family (India) and the IDFA Award for Best Cinematography (worth €2,500) in the International Competition went to Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan for Flickering Lights (India).

The jury members of the International Competition were Emilie Bujès, Francesco Giai Via, Tabitha Jackson, Ada Solomon, Xiaoshuai Wang.

Envision Competiton

Ariel Kuaray Ortega and Ernesto de Carvalho won the IDFA Award for Best Film in the Envision Competition for Canuto's Transformation (Brazil). The award is accompanied by a €15,000 cash prize.

"With a decades-long commitment to the filmmaking process within community, a sense of humor, and a quest to move between worlds. This film embodies the many meanings of transformation," the jury reported.

The Award for Best Directing (worth €5,000) in the Envision Competition went to Kumjana Novakova for Silence of Reason (North Macedonia , Bosnia-Herzegovina).

"For her rigorous presentation of forensic evidence and the incredible courage of women whose testimony meant that rape would be internationally recognized as a crime of war. Kumjana Novakova cinematically rendered these crimes unforgettable," said the jury.

Ariel Kuaray Ortega and Ernesto de Carvalho also received the Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution (worth €2,500) for Canuto's Transformation (Brazil).

The jury members for the Envision Competition were Annouchka de Andrade, Cao Guimarães, Kirsten Johnson, Kivu Ruhorahoza.

IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction
Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts won the IDFA DocLab Award for Immersive Non-Fiction for Turbulence: Jamais Vu (Australia). The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

"Our first award goes to a mixed reality project that couldn’t be done in any other way. It uses simple techniques to drastically adjust our perception, enabling us to experience the world through someone else’s eyes. This confronts societal notions surrounding illness and questions the dependence we have on our own unique visual realities," reported the jury.

The Special Jury Award for Creative Technology (worth €2,500) went to Natalie Paneng for Natalie's Trifecta (South Africa).

The jury members for the IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction were Jessica Brillhart, Arnaud Colinart, Joy Mawela.

IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling

Tamara Shogaolu won the IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling with Anouschka (Netherlands, United States, Switzerland). The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

"This piece masterfully strikes the delicate balance between a unique narrative and its chosen medium, offering inspiration to future creators. The work carries an important message that we collectively bear the responsibility to nurture an understanding of each other's stories. Much like Anouschka, we are spurred to explore our own heritage with a sensitive and inquisitive spirit,'' said the jury.

The Special Jury Award for Creative Technology (worth €2,500) went to Borderline Visible (Turkey, Greece, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany) by Ant Hampton.

A Special Mention went to Despelote (Ecuador, United States) by Julián Cordero and Sebastian Valbuena.

The jury members for the IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling were Zuraida Buter, Miri Chekhanovich, Jay Kim.

IDFA Competiton for Short Documentary

At That Very Moment (Argentina, Germany) by Rita Pauls and Federico Luis Tachella won the IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary. The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

"For its simplicity, spontaneity, and transparency in dealing with people, things, and small details, and for the depth of the questions raised in it that are profound despite their apparent simplicity, and for its smooth and intense cinematic work, especially photography and lyrical editing, the jury awards the IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary to At That Very Moment by directors Rita Pauls and Federico Luis Tachella,'' reported the jury.

A Special Mention went to My Father (Iran, Czech Republic) by Pegah Ahangarani.

The jury members for the IDFA Competition for Short Documentary were Nadim Jarjoura, Brigid O’Shea.

IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary

The IDFA Award for Best Youth Film (13+) went to Mariusz Rusiński for Sister of Mine (Poland). The award is accompanied by a €2,500 cash prize.

The IDFA Award for Best Youth Film (9-12) went to Sebastian Mulder for And a Happy New Year (Netherlands). The award is accompanied by a €2,500 cash prize.

A Special Mention went to Boyz (Germany) by Sylvain Cruiziat.

The jury members for the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary were Maria Vittoria Pellecchia, Ileana Stanculescu, Pawel Ziemilski.

IDFA 2023 Cross-Section Awards

The IDFA Award for Best First Feature went to Chasing the Dazzling Light (Syria, Qatar, Sweden) by Yaser Kassab. The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

The jury members were Carlos A. Gutiérrez, Gaia Furrer, Mieke Bernink.

The IDFA Award for Best Dutch Film went to Aliona van der Horst and Luuk Bouwman for Gerlach (Netherlands). The award is accompanied by a €7,500 cash prize.

A special mention was awarded to Mother Suriname – Mama Sranan (Netherlands) by Tessa Leuwsha.

The jury members were Lea Glob, Nora Philippe, Khalid Shamis.

The Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award went to In-Soo Radstake for Selling a Colonial War (Netherlands). The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.

A Special Mention was awarded to Milisuthando Bongela for Milisuthando (South Africa, Colombia).

The jury members were Oris Aigbokhaevbolo, Melissa Thackway, Biljana Tutorov.

The FIPRESCI Award went to 1489 (Armenia) by Shoghakat Vardanyan.

The jury members were Senem Aytaç, Irina Codrea-Trocan, Carolin Weidner.

IDFA Forum Awards

The IDFA Forum Awards were announced on Wednesday.

Mohammed Almughanni’s project Son of the Streets won the IDFA Forum Award for Best Pitch, Amber Fares' Coexistence, My Ass! took home the Forum Award for Best Rough Cut, and the DocLab Forum Award went to Turbulence by Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts. Militantropos, created by a collective of Maksym Nakonechnyi, Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova and Simon Mozgovyi, was recognized with an Honorable Mention for the IDFA Forum Rough Cut Award.

Read more about the IDFA Forum Awards here.

The International Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) continues until Sunday, November 19.

IDFA Complete Winners