Rotterdam Film Festival announces first selections in Bright Future and Spectrum

42nd International Film Festival Rotterdam
23 January – 3 February 2013

PRESS RELEASE 17 December 2012

Rotterdam Film Festival announces first selections in Bright Future and Spectrum

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) announces the first selections in its feature film main sections Bright Future (first and second films only) and Spectrum. Among the many world and international premieres are new works by famous directors Nakata Hideo, Cristi Puiu, Marion Hänsel and by numerous young talents.
By the second week of January, IFFR will announce the full lineups of Bright Future and Spectrum. The 42nd IFFR runs from 23 January to 3 February.

IFFR screens the world premiere of THE COMPLEX by Nakata Hideo, famous director of horror movies (a.o. The Ring) in which the supernatural plays an important role. Also from Japans comes JAPAN’S TRAGEDY by Kobayashi Masahiro, a family drama dedicated to the victims of the 2011 tsunami. Kobayashi was honoured with a tribute retrospective during IFFR 2008.

Indonesian director Garin Nugroho presents SOEGIJA, a large-scale historical drama that focuses on the life of the first native Indonesian bishop Soegijapranata. Also from Indonesia, Kusuma Widjaya Putu presents his first feature film ON MOTHER’S HEAD, picturing daily life on the island of Bali. His film was supported by the IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund.

Alicia Scherson, who’s second feature film TURISTAS was selected in the Hivos Tiger Awards Competition 2009, returns to Rotterdam with her latest movie IL FUTURO in which Rutger Hauer plays an elderly and lonely actor, who gets a visit from a young woman, also the main character of the film.

From France, IFFR will show, among others, UNE HISTOIRE D’AMOUR, feature debut by filmmaker and actress Hélène Fillières in which a banker (Benoît Poelvoorde) starts a sadomasochistic relation with a young woman (Laetitia Casta).

IFFR also screens several new Dutch films by young filmmakers. David Verbeek, whose films premiered in Cannes and Rotterdam, made HOW TO DESCRIBE A CLOUD, about a daughter and her mother - an excellent film on loss and imagination. Alex Pitstra’s DIE WELT is an intelligent and self-assured debut set in contemporary, post-revolutionary Tunisia. Richard Raaphorst presents FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY, a zombie film fully financed in the USA.

In Bright Future, IFFR presents idiosyncratic and adventurous new work by novice makers. The section consists of first or second feature films only. Spectrum shows new and recent feature length work by experienced film makers and artists who provide, in the opinion of the IFFR, an essential contribution to international film culture.


First selections IFFR 2013’s Bright Future: (full lineup to be announced 9 January)

World premieres
Fahrtwind - Aufzeichnungen einer Reisenden, Bernadette Weigel, Austria, World premiere
Foudre, Manuela Morgaine, France, World premiere
On Mother's Head, Kusuma Widjaya Putu, Indonesia, World premiere, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
Matterhorn, Diederik Ebbinge, Netherlands, World premiere
Dead Body Welcome, Kees Brienen, Netherlands, World premiere
Toegetakeld door de liefde, Ari Deelder, Netherlands, World premiere
Frankenstein's Army, Richard Raaphorst, Netherlands/Czech Republic/USA, World premiere
Of Good Report, Jahmil XT Qubeka, South Africa, World premiere
Towheads, Shannon Plumb, USA, World premiere

International premieres
Une histoire d'amour, Hélène Fillières, France, International premiere
A floresta de Jonathas, Sérgio Andrade, Brazil, International premiere
Ma belle gosse, Shalimar Preuss, France, International premiere, CineMart Project 2011
GFP Bunny, Tsuchiya Yutaka, Japan, International premiere
Big Boy, Shireen Seno, Philippines, International premiere
Sunshine Boys, Kim Tae-Gon, South Korea, International premiere

European premieres
De ontmaagding van Eva van End, Michiel ten Horn, Netherlands, European premiere
Four Ways to Die in My Hometown, Chai Chunya, China, European premiere
Ziba, Bani Khoshnoudi, Iran, France, European premiere
Die Welt, Alex Pitstra, Netherlands, European premiere
Poor Folk, Midi Z, Taiwan, Myanmar, European premiere, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film


First selections IFFR 2013’s Spectrum: (full lineup to be announced 6 January)

World premieres
La tendresse, Marion Hänsel, Belgium/France/Germany, World premiere
Rio Belongs to Us, Ricardo Pretti, Brazil, World premiere, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
The Harmonica's Howl, Bruno Safadi, Brazil, World premiere, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
One Day When the Rain Falls, Ifa Isfansyah, Indonesia, World premiere, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
The Complex, Nakata Hideo, Japan, World premiere
How to Describe a Cloud, David Verbeek, Netherlands, World premiere
Lee Towers: The Voice of Rotterdam, Hans Heijnen, Netherlands, World premiere
Hill of Pleasures, Maria Ramos, Netherlands/Brazil, World premiere
Touch, Shelly Silver, USA, World premiere

International premieres
Éden, Bruno Safadi, Brazil, International premiere
Avant que mon coeur bascule, Sébastien Rose, Canada, International pemiere
Le chat est sur la chaise, Cristi Puiu, Romania/France, International premiere
Le singe est sur la branche, Cristi Puiu, Romania/France, International premiere
La souris est sous la table, Cristi Puiu, Romania/France, International premiere
The Russian Novel, Shin Yeon-Shick, South Korea, International premiere

European premieres
Il futuro, Alicia Scherson, Chile, Germany/Italy/Spain, European premiere, CineMart Project 2007
Atambua 39° Celcius, Riri Riza, Indonesia, European premiere, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
Soegija, Garin Nugroho, Indonesia, European premiere
Japan's Tragedy, Kobayashi Masahiro, Japan, European premiere
Odayaka, Uchida Nobuteru, Japan/USA, European premiere
Lasting, Jacek Borcuch, Poland/Spain, European premiere
First Comes Love, Nina Davenport, USA, European premiere

(End of press release)

Note to the Editor:

Press information:
IFFR Press Office, Bert-Jan Zoet / Nancy van Oorschot, [email protected], 010-8909090