On the last IDFA day, the audience prize was awarded. It had long since ceased to be a surprise. Very quickly, the audience poll was led by 'Sonita', with a score only surpassed three times in the past 15 years.
It is the thrilling account of the adventure of 18-year-old Sonita from Afghanistan. Residing illegally in Iran, she dreams of a career as a rapper. Not the most obvious choice, to say the least. In her scrapbook, she is already assembling her own portrait in pictures of celebrities.
'Sonita' is one such documentary that derives its appeal mainly from an appealing protagonist, where Iranian director Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami had the presence of mind to be on the spot at the right time. Sonita is the ideal heroine. Sympathetic, independent and headstrong, naive perhaps, but also down-to-earth, pursuing her dream with the stubbornness of an adolescent.
Fits perfectly with the previously identified trend of portraits of people and their small, yet special stories. The professional jury was not insensitive to this either, given the awarding of 'Don Juan' as best feature-length documentary.
In the case of 'Sonita', of course, there is something more at play, as this rap dream is also a fresh and unexpected way of tapping into the overblown burning issue of the position of women in that region. As soon as Sonita scores some success with her self-made protest rap - talent she certainly has - it turns out she is no longer welcome at the refugee relief centre. Music? No way! And then, of course, when it comes to light that her mother wants to sell her as a bride for $9,000, you as a viewer are on the edge of your seat. How will this end? And will the film crew be able to manage to capture the events in a strictly neutral way, or will they interfere? This is another question that comes up from time to time. Is a documentary filmmaker a reporter or an activist?
Sonita knows. 'This film changed my life,' the IDFA daily newspaper earlier noted from her mouth.
The IDFA Music Audience Award for the music documentary with the highest audience rating went to 'Boudewijn de Groot - Come Closer' by Suzanne Raes.
The total number of visits to the festival, at around 255,000, was the same as in 2014. More young people attended the school performances in this regard. Visits to regular screenings decreased slightly. Net receipts fell slightly - from €1,335,000 in 2014 to €1,275,000 this year.
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