The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has announced the full lineup for its 39th edition, which will take place in the Dutch capital from November 12 to 22. The official selection features 253 films from 80 countries and includes the International and Envision Competitions, the Luminous and Frontlight sections, and the IDFA DocLab competition.

The festival will open with White Tiger Column, by Robert Mentov, Dwight Jantzi, and Bryan Dickie, which will have its world premiere at IDFA. The documentary follows a group of young recruits through 45 days of training with Myanmar’s resistance movement. At a training camp deep in the jungle, the filmmakers capture the volunteers’ daily lives as they prepare to fight for their freedom.

The film is also part of the International Competition and has been nominated for the IDFA Award for Best First Feature.

The International Competition brings together 13 titles that explore different aspects of the contemporary world through a range of cinematic approaches. The selection pairs works by established filmmakers with those by first-time directors. Twelve of the selected films will have their world or international premieres at the festival.

With the announcement of these sections and the nominations for the cross-section awards, IDFA has completed the lineup for its 2026 edition, bringing together a broad selection of contemporary documentary filmmaking from around the world in Amsterdam.

International Competition

• Bardi, dir. Tala Hadid (Morocco), 108’ – European Premiere
• Crack in the Head, Crack in the Sky, dir. Mehran Tamadon (France), 120’ – World Premiere
• Down the River, dir. Ruslan Fedotov (Germany), 79’ – World Premiere
• Hazara Town, dir. Khadim Dai (Belgium/Australia/Germany), 103’ – World Premiere
• Here Where the Fire Burns, dir. Juan Manuel Sepúlveda (Mexico), 97’ – World Premiere
• An Incomplete Day in the History of Georgia 10.06.93, dir. Salomé Jashi (Georgia), 100’ – World Premiere
• Lonan Tché, dir. Joël Richmond Mathieu Akafou (France/Italy/Ivory Coast/Senegal), 95’ – World Premiere
• Mangabangabaka, dir. Michaël Andrianaly (France/Madagascar/Burkina Faso), 92’ – World Premiere
• Morro Grande, dir. Isabel Joffily, Rita Toledo (Brazil/Netherlands), 88’ – World Premiere
• Still Night, Burning House, dir. Carol Nguyen (Canada), 76’ – International Premiere
• White Tiger Column, dir. Robert Mentov, Dwight Jantzi, Bryan Dickie (Canada), 95’ – World Premiere
• Women and War, dir. Elwira Niewiera (Germany/Poland/Ukraine), 103’ – World Premiere
• The Year of the Ghost, dir. Louis Hothothot (Netherlands/China), 95’ – World Premiere 

Envision Competition

• Bahía Honda, dir. Alejandro Alonso Estrella (Cuba/France/Norway), 85’ – World Premiere
• Between Revolutions, dir. Ruben Desiere (Belgium/Netherlands), 78’ – World Premiere
• The Black Box Is Orange, dir. Yuula Benivolski (Canada), 89’ – International Premiere
• Drop! Cover! Hold On!, dir. Stéphanie Roland (Belgium/France), 77’ – World Premiere
• Lyrical Vengeance, dir. wendelien van oldenborgh (Netherlands), 111’ – World Premiere
• Memories, dir. Anna Falguères (Belgium/France), 78’ – World Premiere
• Memories of Lightning, dir. Riccardo Giacconi (France/Italy), 73’ – International Premiere
• My Own Personal Gulag, dir. Lina Gorbaneva (Spain), 84’ – World Premiere
• Radiant Mountain, dir. Miguel Moraes Cabral (Belgium/Portugal/France), 75’ – World Premiere
• Ragazzi al fiume, dir. Pablo Briones (Switzerland), 75’ – World Premiere
• Rivers of Memory, dir. Shishir Jha (India), 72’ – World Premiere
• Vertigo Garden, dir. Lei Lei (Hong Kong SAR, China), 73’ – World Premiere
• You Don’t Die Two Times, dir. Ager Oueslati (Algeria/Germany/Netherlands), 90’ – World Premiere