The 6th West Lake International Documentary Festival (IDF) Held in Hangzhou

HANGZHOU, China, Dec. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- West Lake International Documentary Festival (IDF), hosted by China Academy of Art, is a high standard platform for the arts and the humanities that promotes documentaries through competition, forums, screenings, pitching and workshops, which is held by the side of West Lake, Hangzhou, China during every golden autumn. IDF stands for "I-Documentary-Fact" and aims to explore the relationship between documentary creation subjects, objects, and methods. Embracing core values of innovation, pioneering spirit, academic rigor, and non-fiction cinema, IDF aims to unlock boundless possibilities as new technologies revolutionize documentary filmmaking.

The 6th West Lake International Documentary Festival (IDF2023) was held from 24th to 26th November, 2023 in Hangzhou, China, with three sections including IDF Competition, IDF Forum and Glory of Documentary Screening Section. IDF2023 invited documentary filmmakers, production companies, distributors, scholars, press at home and abroad to visit Hangzhou to share the glory of documentary. Five academic seminars and lectures took place during the IDF Forum, which saw an attendance of nearly 4,000, while 38 documentaries were screened 43 times to over 7,000 audiences at the Glory of Documentary Screening Section.

IDF2023 received 641 entries from 96 countries and regions spanning six continents. Fifteen documentaries were eventually selected after the preliminary and subsequent rounds of assessment, and shortlisted for the IDF Competition. It took the jury three days to decide on the winner of "IDF Best Short Documentary", "IDF Best Chinese Documentary", "IDF Special Mention", and "IDF Best Documentary".

Dutch director Douwe Dijkstra's production, Neighbour Abdi, won "IDF Best Short Documentary"; Chinese director Zheng Yifei's Trashy Boy won "IDF Best Chinese Documentary"; Polish director's The Balcony Movie garnered "IDF Special Mention"; and Canadian director Jacquelyn Mills' Geographies of Solitude received "IDF Best Documentary".

The films screened at the festival included 3 world premieres, 7 Asian premieres, 12 Chinese premieres, and 6 Chinese mainland premieres. Director Ann Hui's production Elegies also had its premiere at IDF2023. Notably, Kind Hearts,  winner of the Grand Prix of the International Jury Generation 14plus for the Best Film at the Berlin International Film Festival, Haulout, winning entry of Berlinale Shorts 2022, Geographies of Solitude, Mariner of the Mountains, Innocence, and other major documentaries that have been shortlisted for influential international film festivals like the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and Berlin International Film Festival were also screened at the festival.

A special VR section was available all day throughout the festival. "IDF Special Outdoor Screening" was held for the first time for the audience to enjoy the unique charms of film viewing outdoors amidst nature.