Ally Derks

After studying Dutch literature and film and theater Ally Derks became coordinator of Festikon, a yearly educational Film and video festival in Hilversum.
In 1988 Ally Derks started with help of the Netherlands Film Institute the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). Since 1989 she is the director of IDFA. Besides the selection of the yearly competition program she was responsible for different retrospect’s focused a/o on Cuban, Kazach, Lithuanian, Palestinian/Israeli and Polish documentaries.
Ally Derks is also director of the IDFA Bertha Fund and head of the selection committee of the IDFA Bertha Fund; a Fund that supports documentary filmmakers in developing countries.
Ally Derks has been on many juries, amongst others in Sundance, Krakow and St. Petersburg, and has won several awards for her contribution to the documentary field.

The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam is the largest documentary festival in the world. Over the course of ten days, more than 300 international documentaries are screened for a huge number of film lovers and professionals. For filmmakers, IDFA is the perfect place to screen their films to enthusiastic audiences in sold out cinemas. The festival is also an exciting meeting place for directors, producers, buyers, financiers and audiences alike.

IDFA is unique for its largely international film programme, the variety of genres showing there, its politically committed programme and the many European and world premieres featured each year. Add to that the presence of many filmmakers, sizeable audiences, all the discussions and debates, workshops, masterclasses and the experienced staff, and it’s no wonder IDFA is the pre-eminent festival for creative documentaries.