The International Feature Conference

The International Feature Conference (IFC) is an annual noncompetitive event for radio creators and radio enthusiasts that provides a discussion platform as well as an opportunity to establish international cooperation. Founded in 1974 by Peter Leonhard Braun, Åke Blomström and Andries Poppe, the first edition of the IFC took place in 1975 in Berlin. The aim is not to compare the programmes and announce a winner but rather to enrich one another and create an atmosphere of support. The history of the IFC is inseparable from European history and, to some extent, even the world history of radio documentary production. This chapter addresses the conference in a great detail—in addition to the subchapter about the origins of the IFC and its changes over time, the reader can find also detailed descriptions of several ground-breaking editions of the conference. This chapter offers a unique testimony of Peter Leonhard Braun, the founder of the IFC, who describes the very beginnings of feature making in Europe. Even though the conference celebrated 50 years of its existence in 2024, this book is the first ever to describe it in such great detail.