Completed line-up of IFFR Live confirmed with World Premiere of THE SKY ABOVE US

44th International Film Festival Rotterdam
21 January - 1 February 2015

Rotterdam, 15 December 2014

Completed line-up of IFFR Live confirmed with World Premiere of THE SKY ABOVE US as IFFR announce participating countries and exhibitors

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has confirmed THE SKY ABOVE US will receive its World Premiere as part of IFFR Live, completing the line-up for the inaugural simultaneous live screening event. Directed by first time feature film director Marinus Groothof, THE SKY ABOVE US tells the story of three Serbian nationals living in fear during the 1999 Nato bombing of Belgrade. THE SKY ABOVE US is represented by sales agent Doc & Film and produced by CTM Pictures.

IFFR Live will beam a series of five film premieres during the festival simultaneously to more than 34 cinemas and VoD platforms across Europe in territories now confirmed as the UK, Italy, Spain, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia and the Netherlands. As previously announced ATLANTIC. by Jan-Willem van Ewijk (The Netherlands), ERBARME DICH – MATTHÄUS PASSION STORIES by Ramón Gieling (The Netherlands), SPEED WALKING by Niels Arden Oplev (Denmark) and MELODY by Bernard Bellefroid (Belgium) for IFFR Live. Simultaneously to the World Premiere of THE SKY ABOVE US at the festival on Wednesday January 28th, Dutch telecom provider KPN will stream the film live on Interactive TV in The Netherlands and offer its subscribers the opportunity to view the film and participate in a live Q&A session via Twitter free of charge. After the premiere the film is accessible on KPN’s VoD platform during the festival.

On making the announcement Festival Director, Rutger Wolfson commented: “THE SKY ABOVE US was part of the co-production market at CineMart in 2011, so we are thrilled that following its development at IFFR the film is now returning to make its World Premiere here. In addition, it will be part of one of the most exciting initiatives of the last few years here at IFFR – IFFR Live and we know audiences across Europe will love the film.”

Marinus Groothof, director of THE SKY ABOVE said: “I was deeply touched by the story of a Serbian friend, who told me about her experiences during the NATO bombings in Belgrade. For the first time ever I felt connected to someone who had lived through this. Based on her story I made my short film SUNSET FROM A ROOFTOP in 2009, but felt I was not yet finished with this subject. The way people managed to mentally survive that period kept fascinating me. THE SKY ABOVE US studies the way ordinary people maintain their daily routines, while imprisoned in a violent and absurd situation. I am very proud that my film will have its World Premiere at IFFR and to be part of such a great initiative as IFFR Live!”

THE SKY ABOVE US is an authentic, contemporary drama revolving around the bombing of Belgrade in 1999. Every day Ana (Nada Šargin), Sloba (Boris Isakovic) and Bojan (Nikola Rakocevic) put their lives at great risk, simply by going to work. Their jobs are in or next to the national television building in Belgrade, which has become a strategic target for NATO bombings owing to the ongoing civil war. All three face their fears the fear, in order to hold on to their ordinary lives. But “ordinary” has ceased to exist some time ago.

Director Marinus Groothof’s short film SUNSET FROM A ROOFTOP was awarded Best Short Film at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2009, and was the Dutch entry to the Academy Awards that year. THE SKY ABOVE US is his first feature film.

Full Programme IFFR Live:

Saturday, January 24th, 16.00 hrs CET: ATLANTIC. (Jan-Willem van Ewijk)
Sunday, January 25th, 16.00 hrs CET: ERBARME DICH - MATTHÄUS PASSION STORIES (Ramón Gieling)
Monday, January 26th, 19.00 hrs CET: MELODY (Bernard Bellefroid)
Tuesday, January 27th, 19.00 hrs CET: SPEED WALKING (Niels Arden Oplev)
Wednesday, January 28th, 19.00 hrs CET: THE SKY ABOVE US (Marinus Groothof)
Currently confirmed locations IFFR Live:
During IFFR: De Rotterdamse Schouwburg.
UK: Eden Court (Inverness), Dundee Contemporary Arts, Glasgow Film Theatre, Phoenix (Leicester), Watershed (Bristol).
Italy: Zenith (Perugia).
Poland: Kino Nowe Horyzonty (Wroclaw), Kino Muza (Poznan), Kino Swiatowid (Katowice), Kino Forum (Bialystok), Kino Muranow (Warsaw).
Serbia: Cinema Fontana (Belgrade), Eurocinema Subotica, Kupina Bioskop (Nis).
Slovenia: Kinodvor (Ljubljana).
Spain: Zum Zeig (Barcelona).
The Netherlands: Verkadefabriek (’s-Hertogenbosch), Filmhuis Lumen (Delft), Rialto (Amsterdam), Groninger Forum, Filmhuis Bussum, Chassé Cinema (Breda), Filmhuis Movie-W (Wageningen), Concordia Film Theater en Expositie (Enschede), Filmtheater Hilversum, Filmhuis Den Haag, Filmtheater ’t Hoogt (Utrecht), LUX Nijmegen, Filmhuis de Keizer (Deventer), Slieker Film (Leeuwarden), Filmtheater Lumière (Maastricht), Focus Filmtheater Arnhem, Natlab_door_plaza_futura (Eindhoven).

About IFFR Live
IFFR Live will give the audience the opportunity to experience the unique thrill of being part of a major international film festival. In addition to watching the film in theatres and online in countries ranging from the UK to Spain and Poland, audiences will be able to see the director and film team attend the premiere in Rotterdam and participate in a live Q&A session via Twitter. IFFR Live is designed to celebrate, enhance and expand the live festival experience, of watching a film in the presence of the filmmaker and cast, through the use of new technologies and social media. It will maximise the potential of an innovative form of simultaneous release and cultivate collaboration between the film festival, sales agents, distributors and exhibitors helping bring high-quality artistic film to new audiences in a way that has never been done before.
IFFR Live established in partnership with Fortissimo Films, TrustNordisk and Doc & Film, and is supported by the European Commission, enhancing the circulation of European films in the digital era.

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.


More information
IFFR Press Office, Nancy van Oorschot / Isabelle de Klein,
[email protected], +31 (0)10-8909090