IDFAcademy is IDFA’s training program during the festival. Each year, it offers a group ofapproximately 80 talented documentary filmmakers and producers the opportunity to gain up-todateknowledge about the international documentary industry (financing, production, distribution).This takes place over the course of four days during the festival. The festival trains talenteddocumentary filmmakers and producers from home and abroad and gives them the chance to showtheir work at an international platform. IDFAcademy training program stems from the observationthat there was no such program in the documentary field for young talented filmmakers andproducers who process the necessary artistic skills and knowledge of developments in documentaryfilmmaking where they can get to know the documentary industry in a short timespan (4 days).Thefact that IDFAcademy is embedded in the festival has the advantage that participants can get3 https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/creative-europe/library/eligibility-organisations-non-eu-countries_en4 http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/creative-europe/projects/21acquainted with a large festival and the markets thereby effectively being handed the variousaspects of the international documentary industry. In addition to gathering up-to-date marketknowledge, another important goal is to build an international network of peers and relevant playerssuch as broadcasters, distributors, funds, festivals and markets, many of which are in attendance atIDFA.The prevailing practices in financing, production and distribution, but also the latest trends anddevelopments are addressed during these 4 days. IDFAcademy is unique because it allows theparticipants to put their gained knowledge of the industry directly into practice with their owndocumentaries or projects. This last part is mostly possible because during IDFA all the key playersare present and willing to spare their time for meetings with the participants.