 IFFR logo | |
| Location | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1972 |
| Founded by | Huub Bals |
| Most recent | 2024 |
| Awards | Tiger Award |
| Artistic director | Vanja Kaludjercic |
| Festival date | 30 January – 9 February |
| Website | www |
| International Film Festival Rotterdam chronology | |
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annualfilm festival held at the end of January in various locations inRotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, led by founderHuub Bals. IFFR also hosts CineMart and BoostNL, forfilm producers to seek funding.
The first festival, then called Film International, was organized in June 1972 under the leadership ofHuub Bals. The festival profiled itself as a promoter of alternative, innovative, and non-commercial films, with an emphasis on theFar East and developing countries. Around 1983, the festival founded CineMart to serve as a "regular film market", and later modified the business model to serve instead as a "co-production market",[1][2][3] which helps a selected number of film producers connect with possible co-producers and funders for their film projects.[4]
After the festival founder's sudden death in 1988, a fund was initiated and named after him (Hubert Bals Fund), used for supporting filmmakers from developing countries.[5][6]
The non-competitive character of the festival changed in 1995, when theVPRO Tiger Awards were introduced—three yearly prizes for young filmmakers making their first or second film.[citation needed]
In 1996 Simon Field, formerly cinema director at the LondonInstitute of Contemporary Arts, became director of the festival. In 2004 Sandra den Hamer took over as director of the festival, and from 2007 to 2015 the director was Rutger Wolfson. Film producerBero Beyer was the next director.[citation needed]
In 2020, Vanja Kaludjercic was appointed as the new director.[7]
Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental filmmaking by showcasing emerging talents and established auteurs. The festival also places a focus on presenting cutting edge media art andarthouse film, with most of the participants in theshort film program identified as artists or experimental filmmakers.[8][9] IFFR also hosts CineMart and BoostNL, for film producers to seek funding.[citation needed]
As of 2024[update], Vanja Kaludjercic is director of the festival.[10]
The IFFR logo is a stylized image of a tiger that is loosely based onLeo, the lion in theMGM logo.[11]
The IFFR screens films at multiple locations, including thePathé cinema atSchouwburgplein,De Doelen,Cinerama,WORM, Oude Luxor Theater,Rotterdamse Schouwburg, KINO, and LantarenVenster.[12]
The Tiger Award has had various sponsors over the years. In the years leading up to and including 2010 it was sponsored by theVPRO. In 2011 the award was presented by thePrins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and since 2012 byHivos.[13]
The short films have their own competition at IFFR. What differentiates it from theTiger Competition for feature-length films is the fact that it's not just for young and upcoming talents; all filmmakers have a chance at winning. Since 2005, The Tiger Short Competition[18] has had various sponsors over the years including Ammodo,[19] an institution in theNetherlands that supports the development of arts, architecture and science. In 2023, 24 shorts competed for three equal Tiger Short Awards, each worth €5,000.
| Year | Film | Original Title | Directors | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | A Metamorphosis | အသွင်ပြောင်းလဲမှုတစ်ခု | Lin Htet Aung |  Myanmar |
| Temo Re | თემო რე | Anka Gujabidze |  Georgia | |
| Merging Bodies | Adrian Paci |  Italy | ||
| 2024 | Crazy Lotus | Naween Noppakun, |  Thailand | |
| Few Can See | Frank Sweeney |  Ireland | ||
| Workers’ Wings | Ilir Hasanaj |  Kosovo | ||
| 2023 | Human Nature[20] | Natureza Humana | Mónica Lima |  Portugal |
| Tito[20] | Tito | Kervens Jimenez & Taylor McIntosh |  Haiti | |
| What the Soil Remembers[20] | What the Soil Remembers | José Cardoso |  South Africa | |
| 2022 | Becoming Male in the Middle Ages[20] | Tornar-se Homem na Idade Média | Pedro Neves Marques | Portugal |
| Nazarbazi[20] | Nazarbazi | Maryam Tafakory |  Iran | |
| Nosferasta: First Bite[20] | Nosferasta: First Bite | Bayley Sweitzer & Adam Khalil |  USA | |
| 2021 | Maat[20] | Maat | Foxy Maxy | USA |
| Sunsets, everyday[20] | Sunsets, everyday | Basir Mahmood | Italy | |
| Terranova[20] | Terranova | Alejandro Pérez Serrano & Alejandro Alonso Estrella |  Cuba | |
| 2020 | Apparition[20] | Apparition | Ismaïl Bahri |  France |
| Communicating Vessels[20] | Communicating Vessels | Maïder Fortuné & Annie MacDonell |  Canada | |
| Sun Dog[20] | Sun Dog | Dorian Jespers |  Belgium | |
| 2019 | Wong Ping's Fables 1[20] | Wong Ping's Fables 1 | Wong Ping |  Hong Kong |
| Ultramarine[20] | Ultramarine | Vincent Meessen | Belgium | |
| Freedom of Movement[20] | Freedom of Movement | Nina Fischer & Maroan el Sani |  Germany | |
| 2018 | Mountain Plain Mountain[20] | Mountain Plain Mountain | Araki Yu & Daniel Jacoby | Italy |
| Rose Gold[20] | Rose Gold | Sara Cwynar | USA | |
| With History in a Room Filled with People with Funny Names 4[20] | With History in a Room Filled with People with Funny Names 4 | Korakrit Arunanondchai | USA | |
| Year | Film | Original title | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Pebbles | PS Vinothraj |  India | |
| I Comete: A Corsican Summer | Pascal Tagnati |  Corsica | ||
| Looking for Venera | Norika Sefa | Kosovo | ||
| 2022 | Excess Will Save Us | Morgane Dziurla-Petit | France | |
| To Love Again | Gao Linyang |  China | ||
| 2023 | Munnel | மணல் | Visakesa Chandrasekaram |  Sri Lanka |
| New Strains | Artemis Shaw, Prashanth Kamalakanthan | United States | ||
| 2024 | Kiss Wagon | Midhun Murali | India | |
| Flathead | Jaydon Martin |  Australia | ||
| 2025 | L’arbre de l’authenticité | Sammy Baloji |  Congo | |
| Im Haus meiner Eltern | Tim Ellrich | Germany | ||
| Year | Film | Original title | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Quo Vadis, Aida? | Jasmila Žbanić |  Bosnia | |
| 2022 | Freaks Out | Gabriele Mainetti | Italy | |
| 2023 | Love According to Dalva | Emmanuelle Nicot | France | |
| 2024 | Green Border | Agnieszka Holland |  Poland | |
| 2025 | I'm Still Here | Ainda Estou Aqui | Walter Salles |  Brazil,France |
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