The 36th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is slated for 8 to 19 November, 2023, in Amsterdam. This year, the festival is honouring Chinese filmmaker #Wang Bing# as its Guest of Honor, along with a Lifetime Achievement Award for renowned filmmaker and artist Peter Greenaway.

Wang Bing will be celebrated through a curated selection of his work, including his groundbreaking 2002 film Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks. The festival will also screen Wang’s recent films Man in Black and Youth (Spring), both of which premiered earlier this year at Cannes. As Guest of Honor, Wang will give a Master Talk in which he will guide the audience through 10 contemporary films by Chinese filmmakers, offering a rich understanding of social and political history and the language of cinema.

Peter Greenaway, on the other hand, will be honoured with a selective retrospective that reflects his long-standing career in cinema. The festival will showcase a range of Greenaway’s works that transcend genres, embodying a unique cinematic language that defies mainstream forms.

IDFA is also focusing on three thematic programs this year. The first pays homage to the 100th anniversary of 16mm film and its influence on documentary filmmaking. The second program, titled «Fabrications,» explores the line between reality and realism in documentaries. The third focus program investigates the universal connectivity of cinema, as filmmakers worldwide discuss what and who has inspired them.

Details for these focus programs and Wang Bing’s Top 10 film list will be announced shortly by IDFA.