On Monday, September 29, the Netherlands Film Fund awarded seven Wildcards to recently graduated filmmakers who had submitted their graduation films. One of the winners is Sammy Shefa Idris (Class of 2024) with his documentary Vaders zijn ook Zonen.

The jury praised Idris for his ability to look at personal pain with compassion and nuance. The jury report states:

"This director is able to look beyond his justified resentment and anger. He is searching for understanding. Why did the person who should have been there for him fail so often? That the filmmaker can look at his own father's neglect and pain with such compassion and nuance demonstrates great emotional maturity. It results in a film that breaks the chain of intergenerational trauma in a fragile and poetic way. In doing so, the director works both skillfully and distinctively: he weaves together different motifs and visual languages into a unique whole."

With the Wildcard, Idris receives a production budget to develop a new documentary project.