IDFA's 2023 Program
Highlights selected for Cartier
On this page, we share a few films from IDFA 2023 that we think are worth sharing with Cartier. These titles are all top-notch quality films, directed by big names in the documentary industry and that work with themes such as female empowerment, innovation and environment. We also share some projects from our DocLab, showing new and innovative ways of making new media art.
In the future, we would love to discuss the possibility of Cartier adopting a series of films, so we can present them together during the festival at a few of IDFA's most prestigious movie theaters. This selection of films serves as an indication of what could be possible parts of a Cartier Series during the IDFA festival.
On the Adamant
Nicolas Philibert - France, Japan - 2023 - 105 min
The Adamant is a day facility for psychiatric patients floating on the Paris Seine. This subtle and deeply empathetic Golden Bear winner is a heartwarming portrait of some regular visitors and their companions.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/25634/on_the_adamant_1.5cdfb6f31c6a.jpg?)
Occupied City
Steve McQueen - Netherlands, United Kingdom - 2023 - 262 min
Ghosts of the past echo in the present in this meditation on Amsterdam's wartime history. Steve McQueen (also known from 12 Years a Slave) based this monumental film on Bianca Stigters Atlas of an Occupied City about the Nazi occupation.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/25634/occupied_city_118911.e1810ff8bcaf.jpg?)
Metamorphosis
Netherlands - 2023 - Pim Zwier - 96 min.
An extraordinary combination of nature documentary, costume drama and art project about the life and work of naturalist and illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), known for her study of the metamorphosis of caterpillars into butterflies.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/25634/idfa-2023-metamorphosis-1.d2eab62ab5cb.jpg?)
Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros
France, United States - 2023 - Frederick Wiseman - 240 min
Wiseman, master of the observational documentary, settles in with a family in central France that runs several top restaurants. An ultimate slow-cinema experience about craftsmanship, sustainability, passing on knowledge, family ties and letting go.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/25634/still_4.d48938d57f74.jpeg?width=4000)
Daguerréotypes
France - 1975 - Agnès Varda - 79 min.
Famous film by Agnès Varda, who's work is also part of the FondationCartier collection, about the lives of business people of the Rue Daguerre in Paris. Reflecting on the 100 year anniversary since Kodak introduced the 16mm film format, IDFA once again shares this iconic film from 1975 in the 2023 festival.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/25634/image-w1280.d0d58cd38334.jpg?)
Offset: Boiler Room
Sam Lavigne, Tega Brain - United States - 2023 - 8 min - World première - IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Artists Tega Brain and Sam Lavigne take a critical look at existing carbon offset programs with this call center-like installation, engaging participants in a method of generating carbon credits with direct action.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/25634/boiler_roomjpg.ccf86392e85b.jpeg?)
Cyberfeminism Index Installation
United States - 2023 - Mindy Seu - 5 min - World Premiere - IDFA DocLab Spotlight
In the early days of the internet, cyberspace was primarily defined by men. This work by designer and tech expert Mindy Seu brings to light the origins and extensive legacy of cyberfeminism, not by defining it, but by showing and celebrating it.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/25634/interior_05.7f6e64ca52ec.jpg?)
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
Estonia, France, Iceland - 2023 - Anna Hints - 89 min.
An intimate and poetic portrait of women who literally and figuratively bare all in a traditional Estonian sauna, where listening to traumatic stories from one another’s lives has a powerful healing effect.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/25634/savvusannasosaradfilmstill7.f6a5a6d9eb94.jpg?)
Manu: A Visual Album
Alexandra Cuesta - Ecuador, United States - 2023 - 61 min - World première -
Meditative film to accompany composer/violinist Bryan Senti's album, on which he interweaves neoclassical compositions with indigenous Latin American music. Through memories, the film captures something distant but also familiar.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/25634/still_31_copy.c797e6bf1a94.jpg?)