MATTERHORN by Diederik Ebbinge Wins Audience Award at 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam

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MATTERHORN by Diederik Ebbinge took the UPC Audience Award and Haifaa Al Mansour’s WADJDA was awarded with the Dioraphte Award for best Hubert Bals Fund-supported film at the 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam. Both awards come with 10,000 Euro prize money.

MATTERHORN tells the tragicomical story of widower Fred (Ton Kas) who leads a lonely life after his wife passed away. His life takes an unexpected turn when a stranger (René van ’t Hof) calls at his doorstep.  MATTERHORN is the feature film debut of director Dutch director, Diederik Ebbinge.

The film WADJDA is the story of Wadjda who is 10 years old, lives in Saudi Arabia and wants a green bicycle. Her conservative surroundings think that a girl should not be on a bicycle, but she perseveres. Wadjda stands for many girls and women from Saudi Arabia. The drama offers a glimpse of a society that is otherwise closed, with universal and familiar themes such as hope, courage and perseverance. WADJDA is directed by "taboo-breaking" Haifaa Al Mansour, regarded as the first female filmmaker from Saudi Arabia. 

Mira Fornay, Daniel Hoesl and Mohammad Shirvani Win Hivos Tiger Awards at 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam

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My Dog Killer (Môj pes Killer) by Mira Fornay, Soldier Jane (Soldate Jeannette) by Daniel Hoesl, and Fat Shaker (Larzanandeye charbi) by Mohammad Shirvani were announced as the three-way winners of the Hivos Tiger Awards at the 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam, in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The directors win a prize of €15.000.

My Dog Killer (Môj pes Killer) by Mira Fornay (Slovakia/Czech Republic, 2013). An unflinching study of a troubled teen in small-town Slovakia, the film was praised by its jury for 'showing a very strong subject from the inside'

Soldier Jane (Soldate Jeannette) by Daniel Hoesl (Austria, 2012). A provocative portrait of two women from different ends of the social spectrum, Hoesl's debut feature was commended for it 'strong imagery and visual power.'

Fat Shaker (Larzanandeye charbi) by Mohammad Shirvani (Iran, 2013). Shirvani's drama about a stern patriarch was, the jury stated, 'a fascinating story with superb characters.'

What They Don't Talk About When They Talk About Love (Indonesia, 2013) is the winner of NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award 2013.

The other winners of 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam.

The international premiere of Stoker Starring Nicole Kidman to Close 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam

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The international premiere of Stoker, the English debut of South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy, Thirst, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), will close the 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam on Saturday February 2. 

Park has won many awards, including the Alfred Bauer Award of the Berlin film festival (for I'm a Cyborg) and the jury prize of the Cannes film festival (for Oldboy and Thirst).

The closing film is a psychological drama/thriller starring Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Jane Eyre), Matthew Goode (A Single Man, Watchmen) and Nicole Kidman (The Hours, The Others). Stoker is the script writing debut of actor Wentworth Miller (Prison Break).

Stoker is about the girl India (Wasikowska), whose father dies in an auto accident. Her Uncle Charlie (Goode), who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her emotionally unstable mother Evelyn (Kidman). Soon after his arrival, she comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives, but instead of feeling outrage or horror, this friendless girl becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

International Film Festival Rotterdam Announced The Nominees and Jury for 2013 Hivos Tiger Awards

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The International Film Festival Rotterdam announced the sixteen nominees and the jury of the Hivos Tiger Awards Competition. The three winners of the Hivos Tiger Awards will be chosen by a jury of five, among them artist Ai Weiwei.

The winning films will be selected by Iranian actress Fatemeh Motamedarya – who has been banned from acting in film, theatre and television for the past two years, by Russian screenwriter and filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa (The Revue, My Joy), Dutch director Kees Hin (Shadowland) and artistic director of the Seville European Film Festival José Luis Cienfuegos. Chinese visual artist and filmmaker Ai Weiwei (Fairytale, One Recluse) will not be able to attend the festival and will join the jury from his home in Beijing. 

The nominees 

First selections Announced for Bright Future and Spectrum Sections at 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam

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The first selections for the 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam's main sections Bright Future and Spectrum were released and among the many world and international premieres are new works by famous directors Bernardo Bertolucci, Ulrich Seidl, Olivier Assayas, Nakata Hideo and by numerous young talents. 

The festival will screen the world premiere of The Complex by Nakata Hideo, director of horror movies (The Ring). Also from Japan comes Japan's Tragedy by Kobayashi Masahiro, a family drama dedicated to the victims of the 2011 tsunami. Indonesian director Garin Nugroho presents Soegija, a large-scale historical drama that focuses on the life of the first native Indonesian bishop Soegijapranata. Also from Indonesia, Kusuma Widjaja Putu presents his first feature film On Mother's Head, picturing daily life on the island of Bali. 

Dutch Film The Resurrection of a Bastard to Open 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam

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The world premiere of De wederopstanding van een klootzak (The Resurrection of a Bastard) by Guido van Driel will open the 42nd International Film Festival Rotterdam on Wednesday 23 January. The film stars Yorick van Wageningen (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Juda Goslinga and Goua Robert Grovogui. Recently deceased Dutch actor Jeroen Willems plays in one of the smaller roles. 

The Resurrection of a Bastard, Van Driel's fiction feature début, is also selected for the festival's Hivos Tiger Awards Competition.

Canadian Film MONSIEUR LAZHAR Wins UPC Audience Award of the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012

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The UPC Audience Award of the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012 was awarded to Philippe Falardeau’s MONSIEUR LAZHAR (Canada, 2011).

The Dioraphte Award for the highest-scoring film in the audience poll among the seventeen festival films made with support from the Hubert Bals Fund was won by GOODBYE by Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof.

The winner of the UPC Audience Award, MONSIEUR LAZHAR, is a film in the spirit of ÊTRE ET AVOIR, in which the Algerian immigrant Lazhar helps a primary school class come to terms with a tragic loss, while benefitting himself from the innocence of the schoolchildren. MONSIEUR LAZHAR, which also took the award for Best Canadian feature film at the Toronto film festival and is in the running for an Oscar for best foreign film, will be given a Dutch theatrical release on 22 March 2012 by Imagine Nederland.

In the Dioraphte Award winner GOODBYE, a young female lawyer tries to leave Iran. This personal, gripping film by Rasoulof, who himself has been the subject of legal persecution in Iran for his films, was made thanks to a contribution from the Hubert Bals Fund.
Other films scoring highly in the audience award poll included Martin Scorsese’s HUGO, DIE UNSICHTBARE by Christian Schwochow (Germany) and the topical documentary BACK TO THE SQUARE by Petr Lom (Norway).

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Films from Serbia, Chile and China Win 2012 IFFR Hivos Tiger Awards

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The winning films of the 41st International Film Festival Rotterdam were announced at the IFFR 2012 Awards Ceremony. The three Hivos Tiger Awards were granted to feature débuts EGG AND STONE by Huang Ji (China), THURSDAY TILL SUNDAY by Dominga Sotomayor (Chile/Netherlands) and CLIP by Maja Miloš (Serbia), which also took the KNF Award of the Dutch film critics.

NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil) took the FIPRESCI Award and Chinese film SENTIMENTAL ANIMAL by Wu Quan was awarded by the NETPAC Jury.

The three winners of the equal Hivos Tiger Awards 2012 are:

KLIP (CLIP) by Maja Miloš (Serbia, 2012)
‘A vigorous, rebellious, authentic, honest and revealing film using modern means to depict in a punchy way the mobile generation, who capture their lives through images recorded on their phones. An emotionally disturbed main character in a fractured family, within a broken society. KLIP provokes many questions and gives no answers.’

DE JUEVES A DOMINGO (THURSDAY TILL SUNDAY) by Dominga Sotomayor (Chile/Netherlands, 2012)
‘In focus, this film is a very precise and gentle depiction of the intimate space of a family. We are captured in a journey seen through a child’s perspective, and recall the moments of our own childhood, at the same time experiencing and understanding all the complexities that adult life entails. The minimalistic story is revealed through the fresh angles of the camerawork. A gentle piece, rich with sensitive observations.’

JIDAN HE SHITOU (EGG AND STONE) by Huang Ji (China, 2012)
‘The director creates a sensation by telling the private story of a girl who unwillingly becomes trapped in a life in the margins. The taboo present in the film is broken by means of poetic language. The director does so with a convincing author’s approach and sensitive direction of non-professional actors. The beautifully framed, conscious choice of camerawork is relevant to storytelling, and unveils human secrets.’

NETPAC Award
The NETPAC Jury (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) awards the best Asian film in IFFR 2012 Official Selection.

The winner of the NETPAC Award 2012 is:

SENTIMENTAL ANIMAL by Wu Quan (China, 2011)
‘For employing innovative visual and narrative construction to cultivate a poignant cinematic style, thereby creating a subtle metonymy about the power structure and tension-ridden human relationships in Chinese society today.’

SENTIMENTAL ANIMAL had its international premiere in the Bright Future-section for first or second time filmmakers of the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012.

FIPRESCI Award
The Jury of the international association of film critics FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) awards the best film in the Tiger Awards Competition.

The winner of the Rotterdam FIPRESCI Award 2012 is:

O SOM AO REDOR (NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS) by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil, 2012)
‘For evoking an atmosphere of paranoia and menace through a highly ambitious use of sound and cinematography the winner is NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS.’

KNF Award
The Jury of the Circle of Dutch film journalists KNF (Kring van Nederlandse Filmjournalisten) awards the best film from a selection of IFFR 2012-titles that have not yet been acquired for Dutch distribution.

From the selected films, the KNF Jury nominated three films: NANA by Valérie Massadian (France) from Bright Future and the competing films KLIP by Maja Miloš (Serbia) and SUDOESTE by Eduardo Nunes (Brazil).

The winner of the KNF Award 2012 is:

KLIP (CLIP) by Maja Miloš (Serbia, 2012)
‘The winning film is a daring and stunning debut, portraying an abandoned Serbian post-war generation. Its talented young director succeeds in constructing a brutal portrait using the pervasive and uninhibited visual language of the cell phone generation. It shows teens obsessively identifying with video clips, glorifying sex and violence and turning themselves into victims of pornofication. Though confronting, disturbing and explicit, KLIP skilfully succeeds in avoiding the trap of exploitation.
We really hope a Dutch distributor will show the same courage as Maja Miloš did in making this film.’

KLIP saw its world premiere in the Tiger Awards Competition 2012.

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ARTE France Cinéma and Eurimages Awards for Best CineMart Projects handed out for 2012 International Film Festival Rotterdam

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DUNCHARON by Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greece, ATTENBERG and producer of DOGTOOTH and ALPS) wins the ARTE France Cinéma Award and first feature project HUMIDITY by Nikola Ljuca (Serbia) - one of the five projects in the BOOST!-program, a collaboration of CineMart, the Hubert Bals Fund and Binger Filmlab - takes the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award at the 29th CineMart, co-production market of the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The Jury gave a Special Mention to Indian-American co-production THE LUNCHBOX by Ritesh Batra (India).

The winners and the Jury statements are:

‘First of all we were all very happy to meet with all the filmmakers of these projects.
To see and feel how much energy and creativity they brought to these stories was very inspiring. This year’s CineMart projects were very diverse and all the projects had their own uniqueness. We are giving three awards.’

ARTE France Cinéma Award
The ARTE France Cinéma Award (10,000 Euro) for the Best CineMart 2012 Project is given to DUNCHARON by Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greece), a co-production of Haos Films and Faliro House Productions (Greece), Maharaja Films (France) and The Match Factory GmbH (Germany).

‘A project that is close to science fiction but finally speaks much more about the European sub-consciousness in an original way.’

Eurimages Co-Production Development Award
The Eurimages Co-Production Development Award (30,000 Euro) for the Best CineMart 2012 Project with a European partner is given to HUMIDITY by Nikola Ljuca (Serbia), a co-production of Dart Film (Serbia) and zischlermann filmproduktion GmbH (Germany)

HUMIDITY is one of the five CineMart 2012 Projects in the BOOST!-program, a collaboration with the Hubert Bals Fund and Binger Filmlab. Spring 2011, Nikola Ljuca’s project received Hubert Bals Fund support for script and project development. Subsequently, he participated in the Binger Filmlab On Demand Programme and has been selected for CineMart 2012.

‘A project where through an intimate story about the post-war generation in Serbia, the filmmaker shows that despite gaining the image of economical success, one has forgotten the meaning of love, past and oneself.’

Special Mention
In addition to the Awards, the Jury gave a Special Mention to THE LUNCHBOX by Ritesh Batra (India), a co-production by Anurag Kashyap Productions Pvt Ltd (India) and Cine Mosaic (USA).

‘A special mention to a project that shows us that if you by chance get the wrong mail delivered it may change your life. This project shows that nothing is for granted. A mistake can also be a chance if you’re willing to take it.’

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Andrew Haigh’s WEEKEND Wins MovieSquad Award at 2012 International Film Festival Rotterdam

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British film WEEKEND by Andrew Haigh (UK, 2011), about a relationship between two gay men, has won the MovieSquad IFFR Award.

In their statement about WEEKEND the jury said:
“Realistic and subtle, two words that describe this love story best. The wonderful acting, great use of light and beautiful conversations made it very pure and fascinating to watch, even the sexual scenes. The ending was just right!”

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