IDFA 2026: Amsterdam documentary film festival runs 12 to 22 November at venues across the city

Screenings and events are spread over a number of locations in the city rather than a single venue. The organiser lists cinemas such as Het Documentaire Paviljoen, Eye, Rialto De Pijp, Kriterion and De Balie among the festival venues, while Pathé Tuschinski hosts the physical festival box office.

The programme is organised in sections. New feature documentaries are selected for International Competition, Envision Competition, Luminous, Frontlight, Signed and Paradocs, among others, and films in those sections are eligible for the IDFA Audience Award, which goes to the film with the most audience appreciation in the vote.

Two curated strands have been announced for this edition. Dead Angle, the festival's multi-year focus programme, closes with a final chapter called Common Ground, following Borders (2024) and Institutions (2025); it looks at the ways people find each other and come together. A separate spotlight is devoted to the filmmaker, producer, editor and actor William Greaves (1926–2014).

IDFA DocLab, the festival's new media programme, returns this year with an exhibition at the Brakke Grond and presentations in the ARTIS-Planetarium, at Droog and in the Tobacco Theater.

The awards are presented on 19 November, after which a day-long programme of top-rated films is announced. The Audience Award winner is announced on 20 November, followed by a screening on 21 November and extra showings of the winning film.

Tickets for regular screenings cost €13,50, with a reduced rate of €8 for students. Tickets are sold online, and during the festival a box office operates in Pathé Tuschinski (Café Abraham) from 12 to 22 November between 10.00 and 21.00. IDFA also programmes low-stimulus screenings in Het Ketelhuis and Het Documentaire Paviljoen, and several films throughout the festival carry subtitles for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers.