Filmmakers and actors from around the globe gather in Rotterdam

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

PRESS RELEASE 22 January 2013

Filmmakers and actors from around the globe gather in Rotterdam

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) welcomes some 2,200 professional guests this year. Among the filmmakers expected to attend are Bernardo Bertolucci, Brothers Quay, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Jean-Claude Brisseau, György Pálfi, Park Chan-Wook, Sergei Loznitsa, Kobayashi Masahiro, Cristi Puiu, Marion Hänsel, Cate Shortland, Alexey Balabanov, Matteo Garrone, Hideo Nakata, Ben Wheatley and Mohsen Makhmalbaf as well as about 250 others. IFFR opens Wednesday 23 January and runs till 3 February.

German film and television director Dominik Graf and Finnish visual artist Mika Taanila, who are honoured with tribute programs, will also be attending. Unfortunately and due to unexpected family matters, Kira Muratova will be not be able to attend the screenings of the retrospective program of her work.

Actors expected to attend are, among others, Taiwanese actress Lu Yi-Ching (who played in several films by Tsai Ming-liang and can now be seen in David Verbeek’s HOW TO DESCRIBE A CLOUD); Chinese actress Lu Huang (who can be seen in both David Verbeek’s HOW TO DESCRIBE A CLOUD and in Conrad Clark’s A FALLIBLE GIRL); Isaka Sawadogo from Burkina Faso, who played in Nicolas Provost’s THE INVADER and can now be seen in both Frédérick Pelletier’s DIEGO STAR (Canada) and in Jaap van Heusden’s THE NEW WORLD; French actor Denis Lavant (LES AMANTS DU PONT-NEUF, HOLY MOTORS) who plays alongside Iggy Pop, Béatrice Dalle and Natacha Régnier in Sophie Blondy’s THE MORNING STAR (France); Hungarian actress Orsi Tóth (DELTA, WOMEN WITHOUT MEN) who plays in Ricky Rijneke’s SILENT ONES; actress Mina Özdem Sagdic and actor Oktay Cagla, who can be seen in Ayse Polat’s THE HEIRESS (Germany/Turkey); French actress Judith Chemla, who plays Snow White in Siegrid Alnoy’s MIRROR MY LOVE and the principal actors from Marion Hänsel’s TENDERNESS: French actress and filmmaker Marilyne Canto and Belgian actor Olivier Gourmet.

CineMart, IFFR’s co-production market that takes place 27 - 30 January, will be attended by some 700 delegates (sales agents, distributors and funding bodies) from seventy countries as well as by the filmmakers and producers from the thirty-four CineMart Projects 2012. Among the filmmakers presenting their projects are Lucrecia Martel, Alex van Warmerdam, Pablo Stoll Ward, Yorgos Lanthimos, Johannes Nyholm, visual artists Pierre Bismuth, Fiona Tan and Willie Doherty and Hivos Tiger Award winners Dominga Sotomayor and Sergio Caballero.

The IFFR’s festival program consists of three main sections: Bright Future - idiosyncratic and adventurous new work by novice makers, including the Tiger Awards Competitions -, Spectrum and Spectrum Shorts - new and recent work by experienced film makers and artists who provide, in the opinion of the IFFR, an essential contribution to international film culture -, and Signals, a series of thematic programs and retrospectives offering insight in topical as well as timeless ideas within cinema.

See the full festival program on www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com.

(End of press release)

Press information:
IFFR Press Office, Bert-Jan / Nancy van Oorschot
[email protected], +31 10 8909090