IDFA Bertha Fund Director Isabel Arrate Fernandez Focuses on Supporting Filmmakers Through Co-Production, Praises IBF-Backed Opening Film

variety.com:

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor When asked how she felt about this year’s opening film at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) having been supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund (IBF), the fund’s executive director and IDFA deputy director Isabel Arrate Fernandez beamed with pride, stating it is “amazing, most of all because it’s a beautiful film.” The film in question is Olga Chernyk’s “A Picture to Remember,” which has its world premiere at IDFA, running between Nov.

8-19. “The film team was involved with IDFA in several ways, not only through financing via the fund but also because Olga and Kasia [Boniecka], the film’s editor, attended the IDFA Project Space earlier this year.

From the fund’s perspective, you never know where the films will end up, and when they start their career this way it’s incredible.” Speaking to Variety, Fernandez recalls how “A Picture to Remember” was one of the 10 projects selected as part of a special leg of IBF Classic in 2022, created to support Ukrainian filmmakers during wartime. “There are a lot of efforts around for Ukrainian filmmakers and it is wonderful to see that such efforts can have this impact,” notes the fund director. “The downside of it is labelling all films as Ukrainian films because it can sell the film short. ‘A Picture to Remember’ is so much more — it is a personal, poetic essay.

It is a female-driven generational story. Olga is such an incredible filmmaker and artist.” “All of us here are carving out this space, be it like last year specifically for Ukraine but also for all these other voices that have more difficulties reaching the limelight or reaching that space where they will be seen,” Fernandez emphasized. “Voices that bring other stories,.