De Facto recommends

In the documentary series Gateways of Europe (in Dutch Poorten van Europa), we see how the paper reality of European border control clashes with daily reality. Documentary makers Eefje Blankevoort, Els van Driel and Tomas Kaan were granted three years of access to Frontex, the European border agency that has come under fire due to human rights violations. They also followed key figures outside the agency who critically monitor the organization and its border policy.

5 Broken Cameras is a personal testimony from a Palestinian father who spent five years filming the peaceful protests of his fellow villagers against the construction of an Israeli barrier wall. Go and watch this documentary classic and other films about human rights at the Movies that Matter festival in The Hague (NL) from 20-28 March.

In eastern Ukraine, the documentary Mariinka traces several young Ukrainians whose lives have been forever shaped by more than ten years of war and conflict in the Donbas region. The world premiere of this film by Pieter-Jan De Pue will be on March 10 during the CPH:DOX festival in Kopenhagen (Denmark).

Picture this: 1 in every 70 people on earth is currently displaced due to conflict, war, or persecution. The International Film Festival Rotterdam - January 29th to February 8th - is showcasing five worldpremieres this year about the experience and emotions of displacement.

The Kartli Kingdom (2025) is an observational documentary about Kartli, a crumbling sanatorium in Tbilisi that became a home to refugees fleeing the Abkhazia war – a palace of life and death where a temporary refuge has endured for three decades, and dreams of a promised land slowly fade away.

On July 11, De Facto’s Jorie Horsthuis will interview Dutch-Kurdish film maker Beri Shalmashi about Kurdistan and the developments in the Middle East, after the screening of Half Moon, a film by Bahman Ghobadi.

The dominant narrative insists that borders keep us safe. But from what, and from whom? What if borders are systems of power designed to divide, to dominate, to decide who gets to move, who gets to stay, and who is left behind? Film, talks, music and poetry on 20 June in Amsterdam.

Overwhelmed by the vast offerings at The International Film Festival Amsterdam? Let yourself be guided by the IDFA Pathways. De Facto especially recommends ‘Palestine’, ‘The Law of the Land’ and ‘Life in Europe’. See you there?

Yasha, who used to be a devoted Soviet worker, is struggling to adapt to reality after the Soviet Union’s collapse - he prefers to continue his life in a state that no longer exists. Edgar Baghdasaryan’s tragicomedy Yasha & Leonid Brezhnev will be Armenia’s submission for the upcoming Oscars’ Best International Feature Film.

It has been more than 30 years since fighting broke out between Georgia and Abkhazia. Some of those whom the conflict displaced found refuge in a former Georgian sanatorium: the Hotel Metalurg. Now, they’re under pressure to leave again. Watch the documentary here.

The winners of IDFA’s 36th edition competition programs were announced at the Awards Ceremony taking place at ITA (Internationaal Theater Amsterdam) on Thursday November 16. 1489 by Shoghakat Vardanyan won the IDFA Award for Best Film.

Reber Dosky, who makes documentaries about Kurdistan and was our guest at De Facto Live #6, has been jailed for three days in Turkey. Dosky was there for a new project and got arrested because of suspected ‘terrorist activities’. (article in Dutch)