International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

held at the end of January in various locations in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, led by founder

Huub Bals Hubertus Bernardus "Huub" Bals (February 3, 1937 – July 13, 1988) was the first director and creator of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), formerly named Film International. IFFR started small in the Calypso cinema and film theatre ' ...

. IFFR also hosts CineMart and BoostNL, for film producers to seek funding.

History

The first festival, then called Film International, was organized in June 1972 under the leadership of

. The festival profiled itself as a promoter of alternative, innovative, and non-commercial films, with an emphasis on the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

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", which helps a selected number of film producers connect with possible co-producers and funders for their film projects. After the festival founder's sudden death in 1988, a fund was initiated and named after him (

Hubert Bals Fund Hubertus Bernardus "Huub" Bals (February 3, 1937 – July 13, 1988) was the first director and creator of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), formerly named Film International. IFFR started small in the Calypso cinema and film theatre ' ...

), used for supporting filmmakers from developing countries. The non-competitive character of the festival changed in 1995, when the ''

VPRO The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for ''Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep'', lit. 'Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcaster', nowadays known as ''Omroepvereniging VPRO'') is a Netherlands, Dutch Public broadcasting, public broadca ...

Tiger Awards'' were introduced—three yearly prizes for young filmmakers making their first or second film.

Directors

In 1996 Simon Field, formerly cinema director at the London

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

, 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 producer Bero Beyer was the next director. In 2020, Vanja Kaludjercic was appointed as the new director.

Description

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 and

arthouse An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

film, with most of the participants in the

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

program identified as artists or experimental filmmakers. IFFR also hosts CineMart and BoostNL, for film producers to seek funding. , Vanja Kaludjercic is director of the festival. The IFFR logo is a stylized image of a tiger that is loosely based on

Leo Leo is the Latin word for lion. It most often refers to: * Leo (constellation), a constellation of stars in the night sky * Leo (astrology), an astrological sign of the zodiac * Leo (given name), a given name in several languages, usually mas ...

, the lion in the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

logo.

Festival screening locations

The IFFR screens films at multiple locations, including the

Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

cinema at Schouwburgplein,

De Doelen De Doelen is a concert venue and convention centre in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was originally built in 1934 but then destroyed in 1940 during the German bombardment of Rotterdam in May 1940 at the outset of World War II. It was rebuilt in 19 ...

Cinerama Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35 mm movie film, 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, Subtended angle, subtending 146-degrees of arc. The trademarked pr ...

WORM Worms are many different distantly related bilateria, bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limb (anatomy), limbs, and usually no eyes. Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine ...

, Oude Luxor Theater,

Rotterdamse Schouwburg Rotterdamse Schouwburg is a theatre in Rotterdam in The Netherlands. The first theatre was constructed in 1773–1774. It was replaced by a second structure in stone in 1852.Theaters in Nederland sinds de zeventiende eeuw. Redactie Bob Logger, E ...

, KINO, and LantarenVenster.

Tiger Award winners

The Tiger Award has had various sponsors over the years. In the years leading up to and including 2010 it was sponsored by the

. In 2011 the award was presented by the

Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds The Cultuurfonds was founded by Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands in London in 1940 during World War II in order to buy war material for the British and Dutch Governments. It continued after the war as Stichting Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds aiming ...

and since 2012 by

Hivos Hivos (, Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation) is an international cooperation organization, with its global office in The Hague, The Netherlands. Hivos provides support to civil society organizations working in Africa, Latin America, th ...

Tiger Short Award Winners

The short films have their own competition at IFFR. What differentiates it from the Tiger 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 has had various sponsors over the years including Ammodo, an institution in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

that supports the development of arts, architecture and science. In 2023, 24 shorts competed for three equal Tiger Short Awards, each worth €5,000.

Special Jury Award

Audience Award

References

External links

* * *
Epiloog IFFR 2014
(Indebioskoop) {{Authority control Experimental film festivals Film festivals in the Netherlands Culture in Rotterdam Tourist attractions in Rotterdam Film markets Film festivals established in 1972 Annual events in Rotterdam 1972 establishments in the Netherlands