IDFA International Documentary Festival Amsterdam

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Monday, November 27----Three of the fifteen documentary feature films selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as contenders for this year's Best Documentary Oscar are associated with the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA). The 79th Academy Awards will be given out on Sunday, February 27, 2007 in Los Angeles.

SISTERS IN LAW, co-directed by Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi, opened last year's Festival and also copped the prestigious IDFA Audience Award. The powerful film, set in Cameroon, explores the story of a crusading female judge, who attempts to change ages-old traditions of rape and abuse of women by members of their own families. SISTERS IN LAW also won the C.I.C.A.E. Award at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for a British Independent Film Award. It is being distributed in the United States by Women Make Movies.

JESUS CAMP, co-directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, is a timely look at the indoctrination of young people at an evangelical summer camp, where they are taught to mix politics and religion (a tantalizing but deadly combination). The film, which won top honors at this year's Silverdocs Film Festival, has been a success in its theatrical run in the United States, where it is being handled by the arthouse specialty company Magnolia Films. The film screens this week at IDFA.

THE WAR TAPES, directed by Deborah Scranton, is a powerful account of an American soldier's mission in Iraq, in which common soldiers candidly and poignantly capture their day-to-day experiences on camera. The film won the Best Documentary prize at the Tribeca Film Festival and is currently in theatrical release in the United States via SenArt Films. The film recently screened at the inaugural Rome Film Festival and will have its premiere at IDFA later this week.

Sandy Mandelberger
Online Festival Dailies Editor