HEARTOF THETIGER photo: Ruud Jonkers
43rd International Film Festival Rotterdam #3 Saturday 25 January 2014
Domo de Europa Historio en Ekzilo
The good, the bad and the EU In a European election year and with support for the ‘European idea’ seemingly crumbling, IFFR includes three strands in its Signals programme that take a deep look at what Europe means to us today: what is ‘The State of Europe’? By Irina Trocan Walking through Thomas Bellinck’s exhibition ‘Domo de Europa Historio en Ekzilo’, all certainties about a prosperous European Union – maybe undergoing a recession, certainly doing its best to recover from one –slowly but surely begin to fade. Each room in this tour, which must be undertaken solo, is part of a museum looking back on what once seemed a plausible dream of peace and integration. The signs were already there – by 2017, even by 2008! – but everyone imagined they were living in a post-war world, when in fact it was the Second Interbellum. The exhibition accompanies this year’s Signals programme on ‘The State of Europe’. The films in the programme’s three sections – ‘Grand Tour’, ‘My Own Private Europe’ and ‘EU-29’ – can all be interpreted as sending ‘signals’ about pressing European concerns. However, they are not unvaryingly pessimistic, nor are they all primarily concerned with the EU as an institution; for some, it is more a distant backdrop, gaining clarity as the story progresses. House of Europe
“Rutger Wolfson had the idea for the State of Europe programme; he wanted it to be big, about fifty films.
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We started discussing it without necessarily agreeing on what we thought about the programme, or about Europe. But this isn’t necessary, I guess; if you build a building – a House of Europe – every film is a window”, says programmer Gerwin Tamsma (curator of the ‘Grand Tour’ section), paralleling what Henry James once said about the multi-perspective House of Fiction. The ‘Grand Tour’ takes its name from a tradition among upper-class European families in the 17th to 19th centuries; sending their young men on a trip around Europe as a means of completing their education. “For my section, I was interested in what cinema traditions are alive in Europe and the way filmmakers deal with European issues. The audience should understand these references intuitively, based on their experience as spectators – there are very few people who will see The Selfish Giant, for instance, who have never seen a Ken Loach film. Of course, I think all films in the programme work perfectly on their own, but by placing them here they pose questions about Europe and about European filmmaking traditions.” Asked whether it’s possible to talk of national schools in an era of globalization and ‘Euro pudding’ (European co-productions that take advantage of several countries’ fiscal peculiarities but have no clear cultural identity or ambition), Tamsma replies: “We include a film in the Rotterdam selection because it speaks to us – not strictly to its local audience. Personally, I don’t like films that are rootless. Even if films have national idiosyncrasies that don’t translate very well, I still want to see them.” He adds there is great potential for European co-productions if they’re in good hands, as Lars von Trier’s work may show.
Migrant cinema
The EU-29 section proposes an imaginary 29th European state, which programmer Gertjan Zuilhof describes as “a country of immigration and moving cinema.” “I guess I learned from the programme myself”, Zuilhof continues. “I started with the vague notion that at least part of our Europe programme should be devoted to the many non-European, nonlegal, non-rooted people in Europe. I started with a few films, like Les Apaches by Thierry de Peretti or Até ver a luz by Basil da Cunha; films that do not moralize and have a realism that is carved in stone. They are provocative because they don’t look away from criminal elements in migrant communities – not so long ago, it would have been seen as politically incorrect to do this. After these discoveries, I was more confident I could find interesting films for the programme; in fact I found more than I expected. I also found out that the migrant is a very interesting figure in cinema; maybe one day migrant cinema will be a beloved genre.” Archipelago
‘My Own Private Europe’, curated by Evgeny Gusyatinskiy, makes a statement in itself by discussing European citizenship as a matter of individual conscience. “Of course politics does influence our daily and even private lives, though sometimes we don’t feel or realize this. Even [Vlad Petri’s] Where are you, Bucharest? – the only film in the programme directly related to politics – is more about a diversity of individuals who can hardly be united by the ‘shared values’ they desperately crave. Now everyone tends to create their own private platform, their ‘island’. In this sense, contemporary Europe is more like an archipelago than a unitary mainland”, Gusyatinskiy explains. ‘My Own Private Europe’ also includes Joaquim Pinto’s What Now? Remind Me; Boris Lehman’s six-hour marathon Mes sept lieux, as well as some ostensibly intimate dramas. “I think the films included in this section can work as a puzzle, each being a single piece – a unique, personal, intimate, subjective vision of a part of Europe”, claims Vlad Petri. “Where are you, Bucharest? presents the stories of some people I met on the streets
international film festival rotterdam
two years ago while taking part in the biggest protest after the 1989 Revolution. It is a film about Romania now, but also about Europe in a larger sense. The rise of nationalism and the extreme right, the need and search for alternative political solutions, the antiIMF and anti-capitalist messages are just some of the issues addressed in the film; issues that people in other European countries are also confronted by. One of my aims is to make films that can trigger debates and discussions, and it seems that IFFR is one of the best places for this, since it combines film screenings with discussion and debate.” Enlightenment
The burning question posed by the ‘State of Europe’ programme is how deeply and in what way these films can impact the audience. According to Gerwin Tamsma: “This is a very post-modern problem – we expose ourselves willingly to the gritty realities of those less privileged than us, but in the end we realise that, even if we care, this doesn’t directly help them. Yet what I expect of the whole ‘State of Europe’ programme is that it may provide the audience with a little bit of enlightenment.” He concludes modestly: “The good part about seeing films is that it’s not bad.”
Grand Talk IFFR has invited a unique selection of European thinkers to shed light on the state of the continent and European themes that occupy them and us during four ‘Grand Talks’. Stimulating, challenging and unpredictable, accompanying the screening of a European classic. Today, the first of these Grand Talks features director Claire Simon and film journalist Jean-Michel Frodon, with the screening of Simon’s documentary Géographie humaine. See Signals: The State of Europe, 15:45-18:00, Cinerama 1. €11, €8 with discount.
Lab launches Today sees the start of Rotterdam Lab, an initiative organised each year by IFFR’s CineMart to help new producers acquire hands-on experience of navigating the challenging and ever-evolving production market. Founded in 2001 as the CineMart International Trainee Project, the Rotterdam Lab is dedicated to fostering the next generation of fi lm producers. This year, fi fty-seven young producers will be taking part in the Lab’s fourteenth edition, which includes panel discussions on topics such as co-production, development, post-production and audience-engagement and ‘speed-dating sessions’ at which the participants can meet industry delegates in person and receive advice on their projects. Participants apply through one of the partnering organisations with which the Rotterdam Lab is closely affi liated. Excitingly, while a transglobal financial crisis looks to exacerbate certain pressures on fi lm production in the coming years,
PRESS & INDUSTRY SCREENINGS SATURDAY 25 JANUARY Admission with P&I accreditation only
Rotterdam Lab has in fact secured four new partner organisations for this year’s edition, all of whom join an international range of returning partners. Says Rotterdam Lab and CineMart coordinator Nienke Poelsma: “The aim of the Rotterdam Lab is to give emerging producers the possibility to get acquainted with the daily routine at an international fi lm festival and a co-production market, but also allow them to acquire as much information as possible and enlarge their international network with acclaimed members of the international fi lm industry.” Recent Rotterdam Lab successes include Ritesh Batra and Guneet Monga, whose collaboration on The Lunchbox began at the 2011 edition, and Sol Bondy of One Two Films (Germany), who returns to IFFR this year with the international premiere of Die Frau hinter der Wand after participating in Rotterdam Lab 2012. Michael Pattison
de Doelen Jurriaanse Zaal
22:15 R100 [ep]
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11:00 It’s Us [ep]
Games can be dangerous. Director Matsumoto (Dainipponjin/Symbol) has certainly proven he can go further with Japanese absurdism, but can he stay unflappable when the game gets out of control? Find out that SM involves more than latex and whips. Nominated for The Big Screen Award.
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Nick Reding, Kenya, 2013, DCP, 92 min, Swahili, e.s.
Convincing proof that an educational, political film made in Africa (Kenya) can also be good fun. Even comical. A nonchalant mix of film and theatre, inspired by the election riots of 2007: on mistrust in a fragile community. Nominated for The Big Screen Award.
Cinerama 6
14:45 Something Must Break [ip]
11:00 Tres D [wp]
16:45 To Kill a Man [ep]
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Why and for whom do filmmakers make their films? Ruiz weaves a charming love story around this crucial question. Also an intelligent pamphlet on and a critical ode to the love of film, shot at the small Cosquin film festival in Argentina. 13:00 Rhymes for Young Ghouls [ip]
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Jeff Barnaby, Canada, 2013, DCP, 88 min, English/Mi’kmaq, e.s.
SP
Young Aila is the drug queen of the Red Crow Mi’gmaq reservation. After years of terrorization by law enforcers, she decides to take revenge - after all, the Mi’gmaq don’t flee. They fight. A gripping story of violence and discrimination against native Canadians, fabulously told in a powerful visual style.
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Alejandro Fernández Almendras, Chile/ France, 2013, DCP, 82 min, Spanish, e.s.
In their poor neighbourhood, hardworking, well-intentioned Jorge and his family are terrorised by local criminal Kalule’s clan. Exciting, disturbing film confronts viewers with universal questions of vigilantism and the value of a life. Nominated for The Big Screen Award. 22:45 Jacky au royaume des filles [wp]
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Rosendo Ruiz, Argentina, 2014, DCP, 87 min, Spanish, e.s.
TG
‘It should smell of strong emotions’, Bergsmark has said of his debut. And it does, this love story set in Stockholm in summer, between androgynous Sebastian (who likes to dress as ‘superwoman’ Ellie) and Andreas, who is not gay. Together against the smoothed-over, blunted IKEA society.
14:45 Istintobrass
RG
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Massimiliano Zanin, Italy, 2013, DCP, 103 min, Italian/English, e.s.
BF
Exciting documentary about Italian director Tinto Brass, who for years has been a thorn in the side of the international film world. Brass made his name with bottom-focused soft porn and Caligula, but started his career with anarchistic, disruptive films that are ripe for rediscovery.
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Riad Sattouf, France, 2014, DCP, 87 min, French, e.s.
In the Kingdom of Bubunne, women are in power while men wear veils and do domestic tasks. Jacky, a lovely young man who dreams of marrying the Colonelle (Charlotte Gainsbourg) has to struggle like a Cinderella to realize his dreams. Delightful satire on gender, power and veggies. Nominated for The Big Screen Award.
Cinerama 7
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09:00 After the Tone [wp]
SP
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Digna Sinke, Netherlands, 2014, DCP, 85 min, Dutch/English/German, e.s.
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09:30 Viktoria [ep]
Protagonist is Onno’s answering machine. Onno is not available. Lots of friends and relatives leave a message, but Onno doesn’t ring back. We see what the callers see. But we don’t see Onno. Clear and precise film about a man who had everything but didn’t want it anymore.
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Maya Vitkova, Bulgaria/Romania, 2014, DCP, 155 min, Bulgarian, e.s.
For anyone attending IFFR, the programming is surely an embarrassment of riches. With the number of titles available and the frequency of clashing screenings, it often becomes difficult to navigate one’s way around the schedule and, occasionally, a fi lm even gets left by the wayside. The Video Library at the festival is a solution to all these problems – and more. Located on the fourth floor of the De Doelen complex, the Library contains a plethora of titles available for the viewing convenience of any accredited guest. It is open from 09:00 to 23:00 every day, and you can just walk in and use any viewing system that’s free. For the fastidious, the Library also offers the option of booking, up to 24 hours in advance. If facing qualms about the quality of the experience, fret not: the Library offers users a wide range of quality levels for viewing, going all the way up to 1080p high definition. Rob Duyser of the Video Library: “Around 30% of the content we have is available in high definition. And what’s not in HD is still in a quality much better than standard definition.” For IFFR delegates attending CineMart, the Video Library is an extremely nifty resource. In keeping up with the state-of-the-art nature of the facilities at the festival, the Library has also gone Wi-Fi, offering delegates on the move the option of streaming any title in its database. The database itself has grown exponentially over the past couple of years. Duyser has an explanation for this: “Directors have noted the hectic schedule of journalists and realize their fi lm only benefits if there are more channels to view it. Thus, we are getting more submissions every year.” Laya Maheshwari
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A couple who have grown apart meet a young female French artist who wants to make it in the New York art world. They all face difficult decisions. Dreamy indie, at times funny, at times melancholic, saying a lot about problems we can all relate to.
Ester Martin Bergsmark, Sweden, 2014, DCP, 90 min, Swedish, e.s.
Expanding library
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Lola Bessis/Ruben Amar, USA/France, 2013, DCP, 96 min, English/French, e.s.
Filmmaker Tatjana Bo ic grew up in Croatia before the Balkan War. She roamed in different relationships through different countries before settling in Holland. For the film and to save her present relationship, the girl with the red hair follows her tragicomic way back to her past love affairs.
Pathé 3
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09:00 Swim Little Fish Swim [ep]
TG
Tatjana Bo ic, Croatia/Netherlands, 2014, DCP, 83 min, Dutch/ Croatian/Russian/English, e.s.
Die Frau hinter der Wand
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Matsumoto Hitoshi, Japan, 2013, DCP, 100 min, Japanese, e.s.
BF
13:00 Happily Ever After [wp]
SP
Viktoria is an unusual child, born against the will of her mother who didn’t want to have a baby in socialist Bulgaria. She dreamed of the West. After having a daughter, her dream of freedom becomes even more impossible. Incredible, highly visual epic about dramatic paradoxes of motherhood and motherland. Based on a true story.
Cinerama 4
10:45 Legend of China Doll [ip]
09:00 Not at Home [ip]
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Shahrbanoo Sadat/Katja Adomeit, Denmark/ Afghanistan/Germany, 2013, DCP, 65 min, Dari/German/Swahili/Arabic/Russian, e.s.
11:00 The Liar’s Dice [ep]
SP
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12:30 Remote Control [ep]
In Kabul, tensions within a family keep on increasing as tradition and reality clash. In Germany, an Afghan girl waits in a desolate refugee centre. Not at Home closely follows two parallel stories of alienation and living in uncertainty.
BF
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Byamba Sakhya, Mongolia/Germany, 2013, DCP, 90 min, Mongolian, e.s.
A country boy growing up in a loveless environment arrives in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, where he finds accommodation on a flat roof. Obsessed by a beautiful young woman in the apartment opposite, his imagination runs away with him.
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Geethu Mohan Das, India, 2013, DCP, 98 min, Hindi, e.s.
20:00 Darkness by Day [ep]
A headstrong, beautiful woman from a picturesque village at Indian-Tibetan border sets out on a hazardous journey with her small daughter and a goat to find her husband in Delhi. A rough army fugitive runs to their aid. Poetic, dramatic road movie.
BF
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Martín Desalvo, Argentina, 2013, DCP, 76 min, Spanish, e.s.
SP
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Prasanna Jayakody, Sri Lanka, 2014, DCP, 98 min, Sinhalese (Sinhala), e.s.
Poetic travelogue in breathtaking countryside of Sri Lanka counterpointed with the journey of two simple men and a mysterious coffin heading towards a village where embarrassing rumours about the deceased woman have already spread. Meditative and thoughtprovoking.
LantarenVenster 2
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10:00 DINAMO P&I Screenings 2
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Verzamelprogramma, 79 min
DINAMO (Distribution Network of Artists’ Moving Image Organizations) distributors show recently acquired work. These titles can also be seen in IFFR’s video library during the festival.
LantarenVenster 4 09:30 Spies & Glistrup
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Christoffer Boe, Denmark, 2013, DCP, 110 min, Danish
Spies and Glistrup really existed - their wild adventures and extravagant ideas are thus based on fact. This bio-pic is satisfyingly unclassifiable. A free-thinking travel entrepreneur and an ugly lawyer with radical tax plans become friends in the 1960s. With a Big Talk on Tue 28/1.Please note, all public screenings of this film will be with Dutch subtitling only. 12:00 The Selfish Giant
GT
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Clio Barnard, United Kingdom, 2013, DCP, 93 min, English
Young teenager and his best friend are kicked out of school and start a career in scrap metal. Realistic, heart-breaking look at the British underclass, stylishly made by debut filmmaker with young actors who could only be found in England. Multiple award-winner. 14:00 Ida
GT
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Pawel Pawlikowski, Poland, 2013, DCP, 80 min, Polish
Poland, early 1970s. Devout novice Ida visits her sole family member, having been warned by the Mother Superior. The chain-smoking, cynical Wanda reveals dark family secrets to her. Pawlikowski (My Summer of Love) confirms his talent in stunning black-and-white. Please note, all public screenings of this film will be with Dutch subtitling only.
BF
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Elise DuRant, USA/Mexico, 2014, DCP, 95 min, English/Spanish, e.s.
The young Filipino director was once given a dark, political scenario for his birthday by the famous Lav Diaz. Only years later did he get round to filming it. A journalist investigates a woman with the name of China Doll. Knowledge, however, turns out to be dangerous here.
BF
22:45 28 [wp]
16:00 Edén [wp]
Adolfo B. Alix Jr., Philippines, 2013, DCP, 85 min, Filipino, e.s.
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Anabel’s behaviour grows evermore restless. Outside, their fathers stand guard with wooden spears. Adroit, mysterious drama in which day and night blur, and repressed tensions rise.
Virginia receives a visit from her cousin Anabel. In the old house, situated in a dark wood,
A young woman tries to unravel the puzzle of the past spent with her open-minded father until society cruelly expelled them. She returns to the Mexican locations of her childhood observations and fears. Memories and identity slowly converge. A sensitive, personal drama. 18:00 Hard to Be a God
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Alexei German, Russia, 2013, DCP, 177 min, Russian, e.s.
The planet Arkanar looks like a medieval hell ruled by totalitarian evil. A messenger from Earth has a mission to introduce humanitarian ideas, unaware that they don’t always work. A stunning black-and-white fresco of a world that lost its chance to be saved. A farewell from one of the greatest Russian filmmakers. 21:30 Zanj Revolution
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Tariq Teguia, Algeria, 2013, DCP, 136 min, Arabic, e.s.
Journalist Battuta uncovers the traces of forgotten uprisings in 9th-century Iraq: the Zanj Revolution. He tries to map out this hidden history in Beirut, where a patchwork of political Arab stories comes together. A unique film about revolution and resistance against oppression.
PRESS & INDUSTRY SCREENINGS SATURDAY 25 JANUARY Admission with P&I accreditation only 09.00
10.00
11.00 11:00
de Doelen Jurriaanse Zaal
13.00 13:00
BF 92’
09:30
Pathé 3
Viktoria Maya Vitkova
14.00
Happily Ever After Tatjana Božić
14:45
TG 83’
15.00
16.00
Something Must Break Ester Martin Bergsmark
16:45
TG 90’
17.00
18.00
To Kill a Man Alejandro Fernández Almendras
19.00
20.00
21.00
22.00 22:45
SP 82’
23.00
24.00
Jacky au royaume des filles Riad Sattouf
BF 87’
TG 155’
Not at Home BF Cinerama 4 Shahrbanoo Sadat, Katja Adomeit 65’ 09:00
11:00
Swim Little Fish Swim Cinerama 6 Lola Bessis, Ruben Amar After the Tone Cinerama 7 Digna Sinke 09:00
10:00
LantarenVenster 2
The Liar’s Dice Geethu Mohan Das
22:15
BF
R100 Matsumoto Hitoshi
SP
98’
09:00
SP
11:00
BF
Tres D Rosendo Ruiz
96’
10:45 85’
87’
Legend of China Doll Adolfo B. Alix Jr.
DINAMO P&I Screenings 2
SP
12:30
100’
13:00
BF
Rhymes for Young Ghouls Jeff Barnaby
Remote Control Byamba Sakhya
BF 14:45
Istintobrass Massimiliano Zanin
88’
RG 103’
20:00
BF
85’
Darkness by Day Martín Desalvo
90’
22:45
BF
28 Prasanna Jayakody
SP
76’
98’
SH 91’
09:30
LantarenVenster 4
12.00
It’s Us Nick Reding
Spies & Glistrup Christoffer Boe
12:00
GT 110’
The Selfish Giant Clio Barnard
14:00
GT 93’
Ida Pawel Pawlikowski
16:00
GT 80’
Edén Elise DuRant
18:00
BF 95’
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM
Hard to Be a God Alexei German
21:30
SP 177’
Zanj Revolution Tariq Teguia
SP 136’
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