Arte France Cinema Award and Prince Claus Fund Film Grant handed out at CineMart 2008 Closing Night Party

Arte France Cinema Award and Prince Claus Fund Film Grant handed out at CineMart 2008 Closing Night Party

During the CineMart 2008 Closing Night Party, Wednesday January 30, 2008 in Parkzicht (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), the Arte France Cinema Award went to CineMart 2008 Project The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology by Sophie Fiennes / Kasander (UK/The Netherlands).
The Prince Claus Fund Film Grant was awarded to CineMart 2008 Project In What City Does It Live? by Liew Seng Tat / Dahuang Pictures (Malaysia), also competing for one of the Tiger Awards for his Flower in the Pocket.

Arte France Cinema Awards
The Arte France Cinema Award (10,000 Euro) for the Best CineMart 2008 Project is given to The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology by Sophie Fiennes, a production of Kasander (UK/The Netherlands). The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology continues the acclaimed collaboration between philosopher and psychoanalyst Slavoj Zizek and filmmaker Sophie Fiennes, makers of The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006).

The Arte France Cinema Awards Jury consisted of Michel Reilhac (France, General Manager Arte France Cinéma) and Alexandre Mallet-Guy (France, Managing Director Memento Films). The Arte France Cinéma Award is in cash, given to the producer(s) towards financing the development of the awarded project. By introducing the Award, Arte France Cinéma and CineMart aim to further support and promote the development and production of independent filmmaking.

Prince Claus Fund Film Grant
The eighth Prince Claus Fund Film Grant of 15,000 Euro has been awarded to the CineMart 2008 Project In What City Does It Live? by Liew Seng Tat / Dahuang Pictures. His Flower in the Pocket is selected in VPRO Tiger Awards Competition 2008.

The Prince Claus Fund Film Grant aims at supporting the first creative phase of the development of a film production. Liew Seng Tats Flower in the Pocket is selected in the VPRO Tiger Awards Competition 2008.

The jury has chosen a project by a promising young filmmaker from the latest generation of Malaysian directors. In What City Does It Live? tells the story of a community in Malaysia that plans to shift an abandoned house. A Nigerian migrant, moves into the abandoned house. The villagers view his presence as that of a mysterious ghost, and believe that the house is haunted. The man’s shadowy existence in the house evokes a poetic image of the obscure world of migrant life in Malaysia.
Through a simple but universal story that appeals to the imagination, this film subtly discusses the social issues of the multicultural society. Located in the field of tension that exists between tradition, globalisation and migration, Liew Seng Tat argues that this film deals with the changing concept of “home” where - instead of implying the place where you live - it concerns the people who you live with. The jury characterises the film’s approach as modern, subtle and engaged. Its members have been particularly impressed by the story’s visual power and sense of contemporary involvement.

The Prince Claus Fund Film Grant is annually awarded in cooperation with CineMart to support the very first creative phase of the development of a film production. Every year, the Film Grant is presented to a CineMart project by a filmmaker from Africa, Asia, Latin America or the Caribbean, and selected for its excellent concept and innovative quality by an international expert jury.

The Jury of the 2008 Prince Claus Fund Film Grant consisted of: Karim Traïdia (The Netherlands, Jury Chairman, filmmaker and member of the Board of the Prince Claus Fund), Rene Mioch (The Netherlands, film expert and producer), Susanna Harutyunyan (Armenia, Artistic Director Golden Apricot Yerevan Internatuonal Film Festival), Garin Nugroho (Indonesia, filmmaker) and Simon Field (UK, International Artistic Director of the Dubai International Film Festival and film producer).

(end of press release)
Note to the editor:
Press Information IFFR:IFFR Press Office (Bert-Jan Zoet/Nancy van Oorschot)
Tel +31.10.890.90.90, email [email protected], www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com

For more information on Prince Claus Fund Film Grant: Iwana Chronis, Tel +31.70.427.43.03, [email protected]