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IDFA Artistic Director Orwa Nyrabia on ‘Recalibration’ Following Tense 2023 Edition and Rejecting Neutrality: ‘We Cannot Rely on an Ostrich Kind of Policy’
After a process of self-evaluation, IDFA chief Orwa Nyrabia concludes that festivals cannot claim neutrality when it comes to polarizing issues.
Last year, the festival faced major scrutiny after pro-Palestinian protestors took over the stage during the event’s opening ceremony with a slogan seen as a chant of liberation to Palestinians, but viewed as an expression of hostility by those who support Israel. This year’s edition, which runs from Nov. 14-24, comes after an “elaborate process of discussions, thinking and introspection,” says the festival’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia, who recently revealed he will step down at the end of June. As for this year’s opening film, Piotr Winiewicz’s “About a Hero,” the festival director says it was a choice that came out of the need to foster discussions about AI and new technologies not only from a pragmatic point of view in terms of how it will affect the industry but also when it comes to “human singularity.”
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