Eight AFAC-supported documentary films will be presented at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), from November 13 to 23, 2025.

Brought to life by directors from Morocco, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria and Palestine, these films address grief and loss, dig into the past, fight for freedom of speech and seek truth.

Part of the “International Competition” section, Zahraa Ghandour’s Flana (Iraq) examines the disappearances of Iraqi women, through the filmmaker’s personal quest to find her childhood friend Nour.

In “Paradocs”, Mahmoud Al Massad’s Cinema Kawakeb (Jordan) shows the struggle of making a documentary — a film within a film, where the process of filming is also shown as an act of resistance.

Three films will participate in the “Best of Fests” section: Do You Love Me by Lana Daher (Lebanon), a personal journey through Lebanon’s audiovisual memory; L’Mina by Randa Maroufi (Morocco), which reconstructs current activity in the pits of mining town, Jerada, where local residents, perform their own roles on screen; and Life After Siham by Namir Abdel Messeeh (Egypt), where Namir himself - a filmmaker suffering from creative block - decides to revive his mother Siham’s memory through film.

In “Dead Angle: Institutions”, Checks and Balances by Malek Bensmail (Algeria) presents a day in the life of an independent Algerian newspaper.

Competing in the “Forum” section are, My Name is Khalil by Bilal Alkhatib (Palestine) and Flying Like a Bird by El Mahdi Lyoubi (Morocco). While the first addresses memory, loss and expectation through Khalil Albatran’s struggle to find his own identity, the second narrates a friendship between Mehdi, the rapper who left to become a filmmaker in France and Hamza, the circus acrobat who stayed in Morocco. These two children of the Arab Spring are driven by the same desire for freedom.

Check out the other films from the Arab region set to premiere at the festival:

• Beneath Which Rivers Flow by Ali Yahya (Iraq)
• The Clown of Gaza by Abdulrahman Sabbah (Palestine)
• Gaza’s Twins, Come Back to Me by Mohammed Sawwaf (Palestine)
• In 36,000 Ways (Site-Specific Installation) by Karim Ben Khalifa (Tunisia)
• Intersecting Memory by Shayma' Awawdeh (Palestine)
• Palestine Comedy Club by Alaa Aaliabdallah (Palestine)
• R 21 aka Restoring Solidarity by Mohanad Yaqubi (Palestine)
• Rahhala: Hayya ala Hayya by Lujain Jo (Lebanon)
• Tales of the Wounded Land by Abbas Fahdel (Iraq)
• Treat Me Like Your Mother by Mohamad Abdouni (Lebanon)
• Under the Same Sky by Khalil Ashawi (Palestine)
• With Hasan in Gaza by Kamal Aljafari (Palestine)

For the full program and the screenings schedule, visit the IDFA website.