Producer Bero Beyer appointed general and artistic director of International Film Festival Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Summary

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) Supervisory Board confirmed its appointment of award-winning independent producer Bero Beyer as the new General and Artistic Director of IFFR. Beyer, who brings with him a wealth of international film expertise, on both the creative and industry side, formally joins IFFR on August 1st. He will be attending the Cannes Film Festival in his current capacity as Film Consultant for the Netherlands Film Fund and will be taking informal meetings in his new IFFR role. Beyer replaces Rutger Wolfson who stepped down from his role following IFFR 2015 after 8 years in the position.

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) Supervisory Board confirmed its appointment of award-winning independent producer Bero Beyer as the new General and Artistic Director of IFFR. Beyer, who brings with him a wealth of international film expertise, on both the creative and industry side, formally joins IFFR on August 1st. He will be attending the Cannes Film Festival in his current capacity as Film Consultant for the Netherlands Film Fund and will be taking informal meetings in his new IFFR role. Beyer replaces Rutger Wolfson who stepped down from his role following IFFR 2015 after 8 years in the position.

On confirmation of his appointment Beyer commented: “As the future of film production and the cinematic experience continues to evolve, it is vital that we continue to celebrate and support quality, artistic cinema and the creative talents behind it. A commitment to this support lies at the very heart of IFFR, providing much more than a platform for these films to be discovered by both the audience and the film industry. As a producer and film lover I hold a deep passion and respect for what IFFR represents and its place on the film industry calendar. I am committed to leading IFFR in supporting international and Dutch independent cinema as well as ensuring that in the rapidly changing cinematic landscape IFFR will continue and expand its proactive and leading role in exploring the challenges and opportunities that emerge.”

Chairman of the IFFR Supervisory Board, Pieter Broertjes added: “The board chose Bero because his passion for film, combined with his wealth of knowledge, expertise and reputation within the industry both in the Netherlands and internationally will be a huge asset to IFFR. We have no doubt Bero will not only maintain but strengthen IFFR’s reputation and position as a leading light for independent quality cinema.”

IFFR Managing Director, Janneke Staarink who will work with Beyer together with the existing management structure added: “I am confident we will make a great team and I look forward to working with Bero to increase IFFR's role in supporting filmmakers and presenting their films to a broad and dedicated audience.”

About Bero Beyer

Bero Beyer is currently a Film Consultant for the Dutch Film Fund, focussing on Arthouse films and International co-productions. His role, which he has been in for the past two and a half years includes development and production of feature films by established directors applying for selective funding from the Netherlands Film Fund’s Screen NL scheme and Minority Co-production programs. Beyer is also an established independent film producer and through his company Augustus Film, he produced a number of award winning, acclaimed films. Most recently Beyer produced the Moroccan set feature ATLANTIC. directed by Jan-Willem van Ewijk. It received its world premiere in Official Selection at the Toronto International Film Festival 2014 and was also part of the IFFR Live 2015. Through this event the film was simultaneously screened at the Festival and streamed live to cinemas across 40 countries throughout Europe. Amongst many others Beyer produced PARADISE NOW in 2005, the first Palestinian film to be Oscar® nominated, and RANA’S WEDDING, which premiered in Semaine de la Critique, Cannes 2002. From 2010-2012 Beyer was a member of the Film Commission of the Cultural Council (Raad voor Cultuur), the Dutch Government’s external advisory body on Cultural affairs. He has been a member of the European Film Academy since 2005. Beyer is a graduate of the Art Academy Rotterdam.

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) offers a high quality line-up of carefully selected fiction and documentary feature films, short films and media art. The festival's Tiger Awards Competitions, Bright Future, Spectrum and Limelight sections contain new work by auteurs from all over the world including many World Premieres. In the Signals section, IFFR presents retrospectives and themed programs. IFFR actively supports new and adventurous filmmaking talent through numerous industry initiatives including co-production market CineMart, its Hubert Bals Fund and Rotterdam Lab.

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