International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.

23 Nov-3 Dec 2006. Now in its 19th edition, IDFA is the worlds largest documentary film festival, with around 125,000 visitors each year. The 2006 festival opens with 4 Elements by Dutch filmmaker Jiksa Rickels, a four-part documentary dealing with mans struggle with the primordial elements of air, fire, water and earth. This years IDFA theme programme is China Transit with ten films highlighting the current changes taking place in the Peoples Republic of China, including a community-produced film, the China Villagers Documentary Project. Guest filmmaker for 2006 is American Alan Berliner, who has compiled his top 10 documentaries which will be screened along with some of his own films. Documentaries from the USA include The US vs John Lennon, Spike Lees film on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina When the Levees Broke and The Prisoner or How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair (in co-production with Germany). Other titles from around the world include TV War (Burkina Faso), Dinner Time (Armenia), Dead Man Walking (Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia), Heavy Metal Jr. (Scotland) and The Way Back Home (Palestine). Debates, forums, master-classes and workshops run parallel to the festival, with a special music documentary programme run at the Paradiso Club. Other venues include de Balie and the Path City Cinema. Admission regular ticket 7.50, masterclass 15, world documentaries 20, Docs around the Clock 40. For films, times and venues see website.