VPRO Tiger Awards in New York; Forget Africa films in Milan

International Film Festival Rotterdam

PRESS RELEASE March 3, 2010

· VPRO Tiger Awards Competition screens in New York
· Forget Africa-section travels to Milan

Twenty-eight films from the 39th International Film Festival Rotterdam will find larger audiences in New York and Milan. All fifteen films from the VPRO Tiger Awards Competition 2010 screen March 3-9 at the BAMCinématek in New York, USA. The thirteen commissioned films from IFFR’s Forget Africa-section screen March 15-21 within the African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival in Milan, Italy.

Rotterdam @ BAM
The seven-day showcase. Rotterdam @ BAM at BAMcinématek will mark the New York premieres of almost all of the films, with some also making their U.S. and North American premieres, directly after screening in official competition during the 39th IFFR. Rotterdam’s VPRO Tiger Awards Competition consists of new films by first- or second-time filmmakers. Many directors from the competition lineup will be present in New York for Q&A’s following the screenings. Rotterdam @ BAM marks the first transatlantic collaboration of its kind between a European festival and an American film venue. Rotterdam @ BAM also features a shorts program selected from this year’s Tiger Award shorts competition lineup.

‘Forget Africa’ in Milan
The 20th Festival del Cinema Africano, d’Asia e America Latina brings the national premiere of a selection of films from Rotterdam 2010’s ‘Where is Africa?’ programme. The showcase consists of the series provocatively called ‘Forget Africa’: thirteen new films commissioned by the International Film Festival Rotterdam and shot in Africa by Asian and Western directors working with local directors. The directors were asked to travel in an African country of their choice and make a film based on their first impressions.

‘Forget Africa’ consists of films by Filipino filmmaker Khavn De la Cruz (on Cameroon), Malaysian director Tan Chui Mui (on South Africa), US directors Kimi Takesue (on Uganda), Deborah Stratman (on Mali) and Kevin Jerome Everson (on Angola), Indian-American filmmaker Pia Sawhney (on Rwanda), German director Uli Schüppel and Singaporean artist Sherman Ong (on Tanzania), Beijing-resident Filipino director Joanna Arong Vasquez and Thai artist/director Jakrawal Nilthamrong (on Zambia), Indonesian filmmaker Edwin (on Kenya) and Austrian artist Ella Raidel (on Mozambique).

(End of press release)

Notes to the Editor, not for publication:

- Press information IFFR:
IFFR Press Office, Bert-Jan Zoet, [email protected], +31 10 8909090

- Press information BAMCinématek:
Gabriele Caroti, [email protected], + 1 718 6364125 x3
Aisling Yeoman, [email protected], + 1 718 6364125 x8

- Press information FCAAAL:
Studio Sottocorno, Lorena Borghi, [email protected], +39 2 20402142