And this is translating into really only betting on very, very clearly winning horses.
So, everybody is looking for films with preexisting IP.
I mean, they dont say so.
Orwa Nyrbia, artistic director of IDFAIDFA/Coen Dijkstra
In a way this is about relying on the safest bets.
Its what we think the marketshouldbe looking for.
[We spoke a few days before Wednesday nights opening ceremony which was interrupted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Artistic Director Orwa Nyrabia atIDFA‘s opening night ceremony.IDFA/Coen Dijkstra
you’re able to read aboutthe controversy that ensued here].
Look at this film and look me in the eye and tell me its not great.
And should you not take a risk on this film?
I mean, there needs to be some courage.
This safety first mentality is not limited to U.S. platforms and distributors, Nyrabia said.
And that is becoming less and less noticeable to me post pandemic.
So, I think everybody in post pandemic is trying to be as populist as they can.
He added that such a strategy is not going to work.
It not only negates the actual ethos behind this profession, it also is pragmatically not going to work.
Its our most international to date, Nyrabia declared.
Its a very urgent film that is at the same time very personal.
Midi Z is a filmmaker whose fiction works were often in Cannes, Nyrabia said.
Its taking you to the human experience within this crushing reality [of war].
While he was abroad, the border to Gaza was shut indefinitely, stranding him in the Scandinavian country.
It is a brilliant film…
It is not a piece of propaganda.
My job here is to check that that he is safe, Nyrabia said of Jabaly.
So we are not in the business of direct response.
Were not first responders.
Last year, the festival screened Guy DavidisInnocence, a film that examines the militarization of Israeli society.
The documentary left viewers with little reason to hope for peace between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
That if this is reality [now], then this is tomorrow.
If this is today, then this is tomorrow, Nyrabia stated.
Nyrabia indicated his observation should not be construed as political.
Im really giving the space [at IDFA] to this collective voice of filmmakers, he noted.
They care about the world, thats why they chose this profession.
Nyrabia was born in Syria and studied acting in Damascus.
A year later, the Assad government arrested and jailed him.
I grew up in Syria, we grew up with Israel as the absolute enemy.
Its so much more rich than that.
He added, This is what film did to me.
It saved me from chauvinism and counter chauvinism.
