Report from Amsterdam
The Last Word on Documentaries
By Henry Lewes

AMSTERDAM IS THE MOST REASSURING OF CITIES. Nothing seems to change. From the Central Station the trams always run like clockwork over the seemingly endless canals, to stop outside the Bali cafe, the Festival's central meeting point. Yet once inside the cafe a wisp of anxiety hovered. As old acquaintances met, the question of how documentarians should respond to September 11th touched many an opening conversation.

IDFA remains arguably Europe's premier documentary event for many reasons. Firstly, for its imaginative choice of more than 200 films from 50 countries; second for the Docs For Sale market which offered prospective buyers 350 titles; and thirdly, for it's brilliantly organized Forum, where 42 proposals were pitched in the hope of obtaining financing.....

Are documentarians prescient, or is it that they are simply more aware than most people as to what threatens the world: Whatever the reason, IDFA's director Ally Derks was able to observe that this year's entries noticeably reflected present day concerns and anxieties. "Films about religion, the Middle East conflict, terrorism, and wars predominate. As a consequence, the task of documentary filmmakers in this rapidly changing world, in which objective news coverage is sometimes indistinguishable from out-right propaganda, is becoming more important every day." Prominent among films which tackled these problems head on were aftermath: The Remnants of War, A Crisis of Faith / The American Dilemma, First Kill, and War Photographer.