Documentaries address issues of worldwide concern, and people around the world are interested in seeing them. International documentary film festivals held around the globe attract some of the best, most controversial films and a wide audience demographic. Here's a list of outstanding festivals in Europe, Asia and New Zealand.
DOCNZ, New Zealand's only documentaries film festival, takes its programming on the road from September through November each year, screening cutting edge nonfiction films in the cities of Auckland, Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington.
Held annually in November and December, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam is the largest documentary festival in the world. It screens more than 250 international documentaries for a huge number of film professionals and movie lovers. Unique and politically committed programming, a variety of genres, the presence of filmmakers for inrteresting discussions, workshops, master classes and a huge international audience make IFDA the world's pre-eminent festival for creative documentary films.
Sheffield Doc/Fest, held in November, is a five day marathon of film watching and industry networking. 100 films are screened, showcasing some of the world's finest talent working in the nonfiction genre.
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival was founded in 1999, and seeks to reflect upon important current events and socio-policial trends such as globalization. The festival, held in March, attracts an average of 22,000 viewers annually, as well as the participation of important personalities and industry professionals from Greece and abroad.
Held in October, the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival present fifteen outstanding films (painstakingly selected from about 1000 submissions from 100 countries) in competition, plus dozens of additional documentaries by upcoming documentary filmmakers from Asia and elsewhere.
