IFFR confirms twenty films and jury for Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films 2015

44th International Film Festival Rotterdam
21st January – 1st February, 2015

IFFR CONFIRMS TWENTY FILMS AND JURY FOR TIGER AWARDS COMPETITION FOR SHORT FILMS 2015
SIDEBAR ‘AS LONG AS IT TAKES’ FEATURES DEDICATED SECTIONS FOR BOTH SHORT AND MID-LENGTH FILMS

Rotterdam, 30 December 2014
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has completed the selection for its tenth Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films. The 2015 competition comprises an eclectic mix of twenty short fiction films, experimental films, and creative documentaries from all over the world. Nominated filmmakers include acclaimed director and 2009 Hivos Tiger Award nominee Ben Russell, who will also present a lecture at the Festival, and 2008 Tiger Award for Short Film winner Ben Rivers, as well as new and talented filmmakers from countries including Vietnam, Egypt, Norway, Singapore, Serbia and Austria. This competition boasts ten world premieres, of which four are from The Netherlands.

The jury for the Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films consists of British artist, filmmaker and two-time winner of this award Beatrice Gibson, Dutch programmer and curator Xander Karskens, and artistic director of Image Forum Festival Koyo Yamashita from Japan. Each of the three equal Canon Tiger Awards for Short Films comes with 3,000 Euro plus a professional digital video camera provided by Canon. The awards ceremony will take place on Sunday January 25th at 9 pm at festival venue LantarenVenster. The jury also nominates one film that will compete in the short film category of the annual European Film Awards (EFA).

IFFR reserves a prominent role for short and mid-length (45 to 65 minutes) films, and now features two dedicated sections under the header As Long As It Takes. This is one of the largest programmes of its kind in Europe, bringing numerous short film professionals to Rotterdam. The full programme with 157 short and ten mid-length films from 41 countries will be screened from Thursday January 22nd through Monday January 26th at LantarenVenster. As Long As It Takes also includes four Short Special events highlighting the work of outstanding filmmakers, and the late-night Mind The Gap Nights with film and live music.

The series of four Short Specials kicks off on Friday January 23rd, with a screening of Barbara den Uyl’s documentary THE UNIVERSE OF JAAP PIETERS and a selection of Pieters’ most recent Super8 films. The following night Romanian multi-media artist Irina Botea shows her latest works, in which she recasts historical events offering alternate views of reality to those produced by mainstream media. The event on January 25th reveals how Switzerland-based Egyptian artist Basim Magdy, also nominated for a Tiger Award for Short Films, combines various art forms to explore the space between reality and fiction. The last Short Special on Monday January 26th features IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO SAY SORRY! by Dutch filmmaker Marieke van der Lippe. The World Premiere of this documentary on a special art project created by artists Elmgreen & Dragset is complimented by a book launch and an interview with the artists.

Now in it’s third year, the late-night Mind The Gap Nights presented by IFFR and Gonzo (circus) magazine returns to Rotterdam’s WORM venue from January 22nd to 25th. Mind The Gap features unique collaborations between musicians, video artists and filmmakers, and a Gonzo DJ in the café every night. The exciting line-up includes artists from Canada, France, Germany, The Netherlands and United Kingdom. More information and tickets

Full line-up Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films 2015
BIBLE by Tommy Hartung (USA)
BLINDER by Tim Leyendekker (The Netherlands, Brazil)
LA FIEVRE by Safia Benhaim (France)
GREETINGS TO THE ANCESTORS by Ben Russell (USA, South Africa, United Kingdom)
THE LIVING NEED LIGHT, THE DEAD NEED MUSIC by The Propeller Group (Vietnam)
MAINSQUEEZE by Jon Rafman (Canada)
THE MANY COLORS OF THE SKY RADIATE FORGETFULNESS by Basim Magdy (Egypt)
MOON BLINK by Rainer Kohlberger (Austria)
NIGHT SOIL – FAKE PARADISE by Melanie Bonajo (USA, The Netherlands)
OUR BODY by Dane Komljen (Serbia, Germany)
PANCHROME I, II, III by T. Marie (USA)
QUIET ZONE by Karl Lemieux (Canada)
RAKING LIGHT by James Richards (Germany)
RAYMOND by Nina Yuen (USA)
SWIMMING IN YOUR SKIN AGAIN by Terence Nance (USA)
THINGS by Ben Rivers (United Kingdom)
TIJD EN PLAATS, EEN GESPREK MET MIJN MOEDER by Martijn Veldhoen (The Netherlands)
UNTITLED (THE CITY AT NIGHT) by Ane Hjort Guttu (Norway)
VOICE-OVER by Roy Villevoye (The Netherlands)
YOU’RE DEAD TO ME by Min-Wei Ting (Singapore)

As Long As It Takes brings films between one and 65 minutes long together in compilation programmes or screened ahead of features. The shorts programme is compiled by IFFR’s short film editorial committee, consisting of Erwin van ‘t Hart, Theus Zwakhals, Joke Ballintijn and Peter Taylor, assisted by Fay Breeman and Julian Ross, and headed by IFFR programmer Peter van Hoof. The mid-length section is compiled by Peter van Hoof, together with programmers Edwin Carels and Gerwin Tamsma. The complete programme is available on IFFR.com from Wednesday January 14th, 2015.

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 programmes. 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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