Three Slovak films will be screened at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), considered the largest and most prestigious documentary film festival in the world. Slovak cinema will be represented in the program for film professionals as well. The 38th edition of the festival takes place from November 13 to 23 and will bring together many filmmakers and representatives of film festivals from around the world.
IDFA is the largest documentary film festival in the world, held annually since 1988. It is a significant place for documentary filmmakers and viewers. It premieres documentaries, organizes workshops and discussions, and serves as a platform for established and emerging documentary filmmakers from all over the world. The festival presents diverse stories, and this year will once again bring films that ask questions, push boundaries, and tell personal stories. “This year’s festival program will feature three Slovak films, which is an extraordinary achievement,” says Tomáš Hudák from the Film Events Department of the Slovak Film Institute (SFI). “It is a sign of the excellent condition of Slovak documentary. We see that films can succeed in international competition, that Slovak filmmakers can speak to audiences not only in Slovakia but also abroad, they can bring forward topics that resonate in the world, and they can treat them in an original way.”
The Best of Fests section, which presents winning films from other events, audience favorites, and the most interesting works of the year from international festivals, offers a selection of diverse styles and genres on the most pressing topics in the world. Two Slovak films are included in this section. The film Better Go Mad in the Wild (2025) by Miro Remo about two loners in Šumava region—twins who live in a magical world with their pets—will be screened. The film had its world premiere at this year’s Karlovy Vary IFF, where it won the main prize, the Crystal Globe, and was also presented at the Dok Leipzig or the Festival dei popoli in Florence. The same section will also feature Paula Ďurinová’s film Action Item (2025), about the need to stop, in which the director transforms her personal experience of burnout into a collective sharing. The film had a shared world premiere at the Karlovy Vary IFF and FIDMarseille, and was also shown at Dokufest Prizren in Kosovo, where it won the main prize, and at the Festival dei popoli in Florence.
The Paradocs section presents this year’s non-fiction artistic creations by visual artists and filmmakers whose works move between visual art and cinema, often experimental documentaries or hybrid forms that disrupt established boundaries. In this section, the festival’s programmers have included Viera Čákanyová’s new film Bardo (2025), in which the director visualizes the experience of being in darkness, where one can experience the constant transformation of matter into unexpected forms. The film premiered at this year’s FIDMarseille and was also presented at Dokufest Prizren in Kosovo, MakeDox in Skopje, and the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, among others.
Slovak projects will also be presented in the program for film professionals. The IDFA Forum is a public presentation of projects combined with individual meetings, the aim of which is to find international partners – co-producers, broadcasters, sales agents, distributors, and other professionals. The Hungarian-French-Slovak project in the production phase Karsai vs Hungary by director Marcello Gerő, co-produced by Slovak producer Mátyás Prikler, will participate in this presentation. The film is the story of the personal and legal struggle of a terminally ill 45-year-old constitutional lawyer for a dignified death in the context of a polarized Hungary.
IDFA will also host a public presentation of projects currently in development and preparation, Delegation Project Showcase: Georgia, Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine. This initiative is organized by the Ukrainian Institute in cooperation with the Georgian Documentary Association (DOCA), the Hungarian Documentary Association (MADOKE), and the Slovak Documentary Film Association. Slovakia will be represented in the presentation by two projects: In the Shadows, We Lose the Sense of Colour by Lena Kušnieriková and Parallel Space by Martin Piga.
The partner of the intensive training and education program IDFAcademy for documentary directors and producers at the beginning of their careers, working on their first or second feature film, is the Slovak Film Institute. Thanks to the SFI, a producer from Slovakia participates in it every year, this year it is the producer Tereza Tokárová.
More information at: www.idfa.nl/en
