Catalogue – 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam 2017 Catalogue 46th 25 January – 5 February 2017 Contents 2 Foreword 4 Sections & Programmes IFFR 2017 6 Juries & Awards 11 Bright Future 13 Hivos Tiger Competition 21 Tiger Competition for Short Films 29 Bright Future Main Programme 56 Bright Future Mid-length 61 Bright Future Short 89 Voices 91 Big Screen Competition 95 Voices Main Programme 111 Limelight 129 IFFR Live 132 Scopitone 137 Voices Short 147 Deep Focus 149 Signatures 156 Signatures: Frameworks 160 Jan Němec 176 Joost Rekveld 181 Regained 198 Nuts & Bolts 212 Deep Focus Short 217 Perspectives 219 Parallax Views 221 Black Rebels 236 A Band Apart 243 Criss-Cross 252 Picture Palestine 259 And More… 265 About the Festival 266 The Supportive Festival 270 Catalogue Crew & Festival Staff 272 Thanks to 274 Partners & Sponsors 277 Search Tools 279 Index Films & Compilation Programmes 284 Index Directors 286 Film List by Country FOREWOrd Foreword Bero Beyer photo: Jan de Groen There is something very special about the movie-going experience. We take our seats with a diverse group of people, switch off our phones, the light dims, and for a moment we wait in silent darkness for what is to come. If we do so without prejudice, without distraction and with an open heart, we can be entertained or confused, rattled or soothed, shaken or stirred by what is presented to us by the filmmakers. We experience their unique points of view, visions of the human universe that can move us emotionally and intellectually in many different ways. This open state of mind is embodied by Planet IFFR. It is a vibrant, slightly chaotic, creative place, where filmmakers and audiences, professionals and amateurs celebrate the experience of cinema. Now in its 46th edition, IFFR again brings a wealth of cinematic art in its diverse, adventurous and challenging line-up of features and shorts, documentaries and fiction, art and music, and peripheral programming giving context to the films through masterclasses, debates and performances. The festival programme is divided into four distinctive sections, each with its own character, colour and tone. The Bright Future section presents filmmakers whose innovative works break new ground in fresh, original ways. These are mostly the premieres of a filmmaker’s first or second film. The main competition is the Hivos Tiger Competition, featuring eight distinctive works nominated for the €40,000 Tiger Award, which is decided upon by a five-member jury of filmmakers and professionals. Next to this, filmmakers with a feature film debut world premiering in this section are eligible for the €10,000 Impact Cinema Bright Future Award. Future classics of independent cinema are highlighted in Voices, which presents new films by mostly established filmmakers with a distinctive voice. Here, too, a special selection of eight films is premiering at IFFR. These are part of the Big Screen Competition, where an audience jury of film lovers picks the winner of an award worth €30,000, including a distribution and TV deal. Also part of Voices is a continuing project called IFFR Live, in which IFFR directly streams the festival experience, including six films, interactive Q&As, performances and more, to over fifty theatres in Europe and beyond. Deep Focus is perhaps the most cinephilic section, as it looks at cinema itself and its history, for instance through retrospectives, 2 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam FOREWOrd which this year include a grand overview of the works of the maverick Czech master filmmaker Jan Němec, and works by the artist Joost Rekveld. A selection of distinctive works by masters, veterans and continuously innovative artists make up the Signatures programme, which this year includes a selection of films called Frameworks that can thrive both in cinemas and in art galleries. In Perspectives, IFFR examines polarisation in contemporary society. In this pivotal year of political momentum, we are faced with deep fault lines of inclusion and exclusion dividing us into opposing groups with different points of view. Parallax Views is IFFR’s agenda-setting platformphoto: whereJan de Groen filmmakers, artists, thinkers, journalists and the public are invited to discuss current shifts and fractures as these are represented in films featured throughout the festival programme. Four special themed programmes function as concrete examples of these fault lines: A Band Apart features the controversial filmNocturama and other films depicting an anarchistic, punky reaction to an apparently rotten system. Black Rebels brings works by Moonlight director Barry Jenkins, Charles Burnett and many others, showing how black cinema has dealt with exclusion, racism and confident self-expression. Picture Palestine presents a visual journey through Palestinian cinema that depicts the tragedies, dreams, absurdity and hope that have been tied to the Palestinian plight since 1917. Finally, Criss-Cross comprises an action-packed selection of contemporary thrillers from France, including the world premiere of Le serpent aux mille coupures. All of the above are works that by their very nature attempt to bridge the cultural and political divide through entertaining and enlightening stories. But there is much, much more. Masterclasses and presentations by filmmakers such as Andrea Arnold, who presents her filmAmerican Honey; Olivier Assayas, speaking about his oeuvre and his latest film, Personal Shopper, starring Kristen Stewart; Béla Tarr, the veteran filmmaker with an inspiring and hugely influential body of work. There are several installations, such as in the Nuts & Bolts exhibition in Het Atelier, located just around the corner from our new (and old) IFFR venue, KINO Rotterdam. Here, we journey into the material, tactile experience of the film apparatus itself, and its effect on the cinematic creative process. At V2_, Institute for the Unstable Media, artists Tirzo Martha and Keith Piper are exhibiting their works, while works by other IFFR makers can be found at several more places and galleries in Rotterdam. Most of the professional activities and events can be found in the festival centre ‘de Doelen’, including the Film Office, the CineMart meetings and daily panels, case studies and presentations of, for instance, our collaboration with VR Days. Also presented here is IFFR’s collaboration with the EFM (the European Film Market), CPH:DOX (the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival) and Cinemathon, a platform to foster experimentation and innovation of the cinematic experience in a film tech hub called Propellor. IFFR is all about presenting diverse views and visions in a place of openness, respect and colourful creative energy, a feast of film. In full recognition of the socially and politically challenging times we find ourselves in, IFFR strives to create a time and place to reflect, to enjoy cinema, to question our own stance and views and to be inspired by films and works of art by talented filmmakers from all around our globe who we welcome in the city of Rotterdam. We hope you have an inspiring, adventurous and enriching experience on Planet IFFR. Enjoy IFFR 2017! 25 January – 5 February 2017 3 SEctiONS & PROgrammES IFFR 2017 Bright Future Voices IFFR’s programme dedicated to Films driven by powerful young and emerging film talent stories, captivating subjects with their own style and vision, and important themes. Each film often presenting their films for brings a distinct viewpoint on the first time to the international the world, by filmmakers with a film scene. confident voice. TG Hivos Tiger Competition VO Voices IFFR’s most prestigious A harvest of outstanding competition celebrates the features, the future classics innovative spirit of up-and- of arthouse cinema. With the coming filmmakers from all eight nominees for the VPRO over the world. Big Screen Award. TS Tiger Competition LL Limelight for Short Films Avant-premieres of some of The power of short. Twen- the cinematic highlights of the ty-three films from the short year: international award-win- film selection compete for one ners and festival favourites of three equal awards. that will be released in Dutch cinemas after IFFR. BF Bright Future A selection of discoveries LV IFFR Live for the future. Emerging A unique live cinema event: talent with original subject six films with simultaneous matter and an individual style. premieres and live Q&As in Includes the Bright Future cinemas throughout Europe. Award Competition for first feature films. SC Scopitone Every night a different music ML Bright Future Mid-length genre is explored in a unique Not short, not long: just as setting with live extras. What long as it takes. IFFR puts links these documentaries the mid-length film in the is their attention to social spotlight. backgrounds. SH Bright Future Short SH Voices Short Bright Future Short focuses on Voices Short consists of experimental short films and narrative-driven short stories, features the sound//vision presented in compilation programme in club WORM programmes or in conjunction with live A/V performances. with feature films. 4 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam SEctiONS & PROgrammES IFFR 2017 Deep Focus Perspectives Explores the world of cinema The section where IFFR’s with compilations, retrospec- main thematic programme tives and various other formats. is presented and relevant Film art is cultivated in all its social and political issues are variety. investigated in cinema. SI Signatures PV Parallax Views Familiar faces from the world Agenda-setting platform of film: new work from estab- where, in IFFR’s programme, lished filmmakers, auteurs and filmmakers, artists, thinkers, festival veterans. Including journalists and the public a selection of feature-length discuss the current shifts and films by visual artists. fractures in our polarised society. JN Jan Němec Extensive retrospective of the BR Black Rebels work of filmmaker Jan Němec, Films about and predominant- enfant terrible of the Czecho- ly by black people from the slovak New Wave of the 1960s African diaspora, challenging and key figure in European or reinventing social and cul- avant-garde cinema.