Documentary tips for IDFA 2024

Agent of happiness

In Bhutan, the national happiness of its citizens has been measured every year since 2008 and Amber Kumar Gurung is one of these 'agents of happiness'. Together with a colleague, she travels far and wide to interview people. It soon becomes clear that the checkboxes on a survey don't cover everything. For example, a man who is interviewed has a completely different idea of ​​happiness than his three silent wives. And how happy is Amber herself?

Director: Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó

The battle for Laikipia

For generations, the permanent landowners and the nomads in Kenya's Laikipia have lived together peacefully. But the persistent drought is putting an end to this peaceful peace. While the landowners worry about the bills due to their declining income, the Samburu watch their herds starve because more and more land has been fenced off. According to the Samburu tribe, the land belongs to everyone. The landowners and the people of the nature reserve think differently. And the battle for Laikipia has no heroes, only victims.

Director: Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi

Black box diaries

In Japan, it's very difficult for victims to prove rape. Rape is only considered rape if the person has clearly resisted. This is bad news for journalist Shiori Ito, who was unconscious when she was assaulted by an influential colleague. To compound things, the perpetrator is also friends with the Japanese prime minister and the chief of police. Nevertheless, Shiori puts her reputation, career and family ties on the line to obtain justice. An intimate and brave visual portrait.

Director: Shiori Ito

A family portrait

Does the 'average Dutch family' exist? If so, where do they live? In 2014, artist duo Sander Breure and Witte van Hulzen delved into the national database and found the most exacting example of the average family. For a week, the makers recorded all conversations at the family's home. This became the script for a special and very strange theatre performance, in which everything is reenacted word for word. Last year, they followed the family again. This double family portrait will be performed live three times in the Stedelijk Museum.

Director: Sander Breure

Grand Theft Hamlet

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, two friends came up with an extraordinary plan: what if they try to perform William Shakespeare's play Hamlet in the online computer game Grand Theft Auto? That's easier said than done. How do you hold auditions in an extremely violent game where the players prefer to shoot first and listen later? It makes the documentary Grand Theft Hamlet, which takes place entirely online, a unique and hilarious experiment.

Director: Pinny Grylls, Sam Crane

One to one: John & Yoko

In 1971-1972, musician John Lennon and his partner and artist Yoko Ono lived in an apartment in Greenwich Village in New York for 18 months. While their life was mostly made up of visits from friends and watching a lot of television, their life was anything but boring. Spurred on by what they saw on television, they used their fame to make the world a little better; like with the One to One benefit concert for children with disabilities. A documentary that's a colourful and hopeful journey back in time.

Director: Kevin McDonald

Real

With all the new digital developments, making contact is easier than ever. But why does it still feel so lonely and empty for many people? Without commentary, this fascinating documentary shows both the pros and cons of our digital world: a super-smart residential area in South Korea where everything is automated, lovers who can only really be who they want in their virtual world, and burned-out influencers who succumb to all the pressure. As a viewer, you can draw your own conclusions.

Director: Adele Tulli

Riefenstahl

Perhaps it would have been better if she had died at her peak. This is what filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl (1902-2003) mused in a post-war interview. Her award-winning documentary Olympia, a report on the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, made her world famous. Too bad her best buddy, Adolf Hitler, started the Second World War soon after. After the war, Riefenstahl always maintained that she was not interested in politics and that she had never known anything about Hitler's atrocities. This devastating documentary proves the opposite.

Director: Andres Veiel