The glitz and glamor of showbusiness in the mainstream film festival can sometimes detract from the true purpose of the event — the celebration of creative film-making. While the red carpets, the champagne parties, and the high admission prices may be good for grabbing headlines and driving profits, they may also prevent the dissemination of art to the audience.
At the Amsterdam Independent Film Festival, we focus on film. The event will bring independent artistic visions to an audience that demands a more fulfilling experience than the latest Hollywood fare.
In Amsterdam’s Lab 111 — a cult cinema located in a former anatomical pathology hospital — we’ll be screening the world’s best independent films free of charge, giving film-makers the widest possible exposure and freedom from commercial constraints.
We’ll also pay tribute to the masters of the independent film industry and explore their creative journeys. In 2018 we looked into the work of Jim Jarmusch and in 2019 our focus was the early work by David Lynch. In 2020, we look at famed Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman (1950-2015). A pioneer of modern feminist cinema, her oeuvre explores the mundanities of everyday life with a clear, personal eye and has left a considerable mark on avant-garde cinema.
Alongside our showcase of independent film will be the carefully-curated “Red Lights” selection, featuring the best of modern erotic cinema. This presentation of unique and original art will be a tasteful exploration of human sexuality — demonstrating the full spectrum of human experience through the medium of motion picture.
No red carpets. No elitist audiences. No distraction from the art itself. The Amsterdam Independent Film Festival will provide an intimate environment for film-makers and film lovers to come together and share in the beauty of artistic expression.
The announcement of a new partial lockdown on the first evening of the 2020 festival threatened to throw a wrench in our live events, but we were relieved to hear cinemas were allowed to remain open, at reduced seating capacity. The festival team was very pleased to be able to safely welcome a limited number of guests at our screening venue.
Join us in October 2021 with your own independent work, and embrace a new type of film festival — one where the films take center stage.
All selected filmmakers will receive The Tarkovski Grant, a film festival submission fee waiver package with an average value of about $250. This not only saves you a lot of money, but it also recognizes your work as something to watch for during the selection procedure, making a selection with another partner film festival more likely - but of course, never guaranteed. The Tarkovski Grant supports hundreds of filmmakers each year in their challenging journeys as independent filmmakers, by promoting existing films, no matter the genre, style or length. The Tarkovski Grant is supported by film festivals from all over the world. Find out more here: https://www.tarkovski.net/thetarkovskigrant
All selected films are also automatically in the running for Producer's Night.
Producer's Night is an opportunity for independent filmmakers to have their work screened to a private group of elite Hollywood producers. For many directors, it could mean their ticket to the mainstream. The exclusive screening presented by Cinematory, Tarkovski, and Hollywood producer Bhavani Rao, member of the PGA, will show the best of independent cinema from the past year's film festivals at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in West Hollywood. The only way to be considered for this by being selected at one of the partner film festivals. Amsterdam Independent Film Festival is a proud partner film festival of Producer's Night. More information: www.producersnight.com
Each edition, the festival will also give out awards in the following categories:
Best Narrative Feature Film
Best Documentary Feature Film
Best Narrative Short Film
Best Documentary Short Film
Best Experimental Film
Best Animated Film
Best Red Lights Film
Best Dutch Film