Top 10 autumn film festivals
As the leaves start to fall and the weather gets a little cooler, Amsterdam plays host to some of the most interesting, quirky, cultural and fascinating film festivals – each one is unique and all are trying to entice you indoors.
October to December top ten
1) Each October, the Cinekid Festival features a carefully-selected range of live-action and animated films, documentaries, television programmes and cross-media productions all made especially for kids.
2) Africa in the Picture represents not only the continent of Africa but also its communities and legacies throughout the world. For five days in October, watch shorts and feature-length films across a range of genres.
3) The Rocket Cinema festival invites various DJs and musicians to compose new soundtracks for film classics, and to perform them live at the screenings. This year's festival theme is adventure, so many screenings will take place at adventurous locations!
4) Mr Horror’s Halloween Horror Show is one for lovers of scary movies! This one night only (29 Oct), four-movie marathon of spine-chilling horror classics will have you jumping in your seat and biting your nails.
5) The Turkish Film Festival will be in De Balie for its second year and features a range of contemporary Turkish films as well as debates and an evening programme.
6) The Jewish Film Festival presents films that were made by Jewish filmmakers and/or have a Jewish theme. The festival gives a colourful insight into Jewish life in all its aspects.
7) The inaugural Amsterdam Film Week launches in November. It’s the first film festival in the world where winners from prestigious film festivals (including Cannes, Berlin and Tribeca) and recent Golden Globe and Oscar winners are brought together in one fabulous festival.
8) Mid to late November sees IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) take over the cinemas. It’s one of the biggest in the film festival calendar. IDFA is dedicated to documentaries; you will come away enlightened, challenged, inspired and impressed.
9) Cinematic Sounds is a gem of a festival. The Melkweg takes old silent movies and screens them alongside a new musical score. This quirky little festival runs October through December.
10) The Brazil Festival runs throughout October and November and alongside its other festivities you can view a Brazilian themed screenings on topics such as music, football, culture or the environment.
With so many to choose from, it’s just a matter of booking your favourites into your social calendar, grabbing some friends and heading out for some silver screen entertainment.
If one of your favourite autumn/winter film festivals hasn’t made the top-ten list, feel free to let us know. Email editor@iamsterdam.com with the details.
Related topics
International Buddhist Film Festival
Strawberry Earth Film Festival
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