Rotterdam
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38th IFFR opens with The Hungry Ghosts |
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Written by Leo Bankersen
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Friday, 23 January 2009 09:06 |
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There is no escaping the restyled tiger logo of the Rotterdam Film Festival. Crisp and clear, in bold black and white, it looks you confidently in the eye all over the Netherlands. Likewise, the new director Rutger Wolfson, who stayed after being appointed on an interim basis in 2007, has announced a restyling of the festival too. To make the sometimes wildly expanding programme more transparant he decided to divide it into three main sections. |
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IFFR 2009 - A small mystery solved |
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Written by Leo Bankersen
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Wednesday, 28 January 2009 10:22 |
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A Rotterdam regular is the Argentinian filmmaker Lisandro Alonso. This year he is at the festival to present his latest production Liverpool, made with support of the Rotterdam-based Hubert Bals Fund. Again, it's a typical Alonso-story, not as the title suggests situated in the British harbour, but in the snow covered region of Tierra del Fuego in the southernmost part of Argentine. |
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IFFR 2009 - Scratching the surface |
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Written by Leo Bankersen
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Thursday, 29 January 2009 09:01 |
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Today will be my last full day at the Rotterdam festival and, as usual, there is the feeling I've only been able to scratch the surface. It makes it almost impossible to give some general evaluation, especially because up to now I've seen little of the Tiger Competion for new discoveries. This year I'm taking part in a jury of Dutch flm journalists, whose prize serves as a recommendation for distribution in the Netherlands. While the Tigers are already scrutinized by two other juries, we chose another selection of films to judge. |
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IFFR 2009 - The really big screen |
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Written by Leo Bankersen
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Saturday, 24 January 2009 10:24 |
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Looking up at one of the high office buildings in the center of Rotterdam you're in for a surprise. On the flat front a huge face is projected by a powerful beam. Looking more carefully, you'll notice it's not a picture but a film. Dutch filmmaker Nanouk Leopold had the three subjects of her seven-hour video Close Up (realised in co-operation with Daan Emmen) sit up straight before the camera for a long time, registering small changes in their expression, due to their becoming tired or bored, or by reactions provoked by the filmmaker. |
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IFFR 2009 - Dutch surprise |
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Written by Leo Bankersen
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Monday, 26 January 2009 08:13 |
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The Rotterdam festival is usually not the first place to go for an overview of Dutch cinema, but this year some interesting new and highly personal works can be found. Two of them, Kan door huid heen (literally: Goes Through Skin) by Esther Rots and Winter Silence by Sonja Wyss will be presented more prominently later in the Forum section of Berlin. |
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