International Film Festival Rotterdam creates four sections of film experience 

Festival continues contextualisation, boosts clarity of programming 

Rotterdam, 12 November 2015

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has grouped its various programme elements and created four new programme sections. During the upcoming festival, visitors will be able to choose their cinematic experiences in the following sections: Bright Future, Voices, Deep Focus and Perspectives.

In the expanding film landscape, with more cinematographic works appearing every year and ever-increasing numbers of screens in cinemas, in living rooms and in people’s pockets, the importance of selection, curated choices and added context for films is greater than ever. Each year, IFFR programmes a few hundred of the many thousands of film productions produced annually worldwide. The festival presents itself as a platform for individual, artistic, independent, relevant cinema.

IFFR festival director Bero Beyer: “In recent years, IFFR has found a good balance between the number of films shown and the breadth of the cinematic spectrum. Every festival has to strike the right balance to deliver quality programming and generate the right kind of attention for each film it shows, long or short. Our task now is to provide more context and clarity for visitors to the festival. The four clear sections we have created each have their own atmosphere, style, colour and tone. This allows visitors and film professionals alike to better decide how they want to be surprised, entertained or challenged.”

The four programme sections are:

Bright Future

The Bright Future section is for films by makers who enrich the cinematographic landscape with highly individual, innovative work. These are often talented, young, up-and-coming directors who are developing their own style and vision, which involves taking risks with original, often daring work. The festival’s flagship Hivos Tiger Awards Competition is part of Bright Future.

Confirmed films: Of Shadows (Yi Cui); NUTS! The Brinkley Story (Penny Lane)

Voices

The Voices section is for films distinguished by mature quality and powerful, relevant content. Voices consists of new works of mostly established filmmakers with distinctive voices, presenting inspirational films. In Limelight, part of Voices, IFFR works with Dutch distributors to support the release of a selection of approximately thirty films.

Confirmed films: 11 Minutes (Jerzy Skolimowski); Heart of a Dog (Laurie Anderson)

Deep Focus

The Deep Focus section takes an in-depth look at the work of filmmakers who have an extensive oeuvre; at individual and collected works by film auteurs who through their work build bridges between the old and the new. Deep Focus creates contrast, also by screening retrospectives and offering masterclasses. Regained is part of Deep Focus, which gives interpretation and context to historical works, by for example rediscovering classics.

Confirmed films: The Event (Sergei Loznitsa); Malgré la nuit (Philippe Grandrieux)

Perspectives

In its Perspectives section, IFFR examines itself and the conventions of film in terms of content, criticism, geography, portal or form, seen from different perspectives. Here the interzones where visual art, games, installations and other forms of media influence cinema are scrutinised and shown. Critics’ Choice, in which film journalists select films they consider essential at IFFR and provide their own context and criticism to these, is part of Perspectives.

Confirmed films: Aaaaaaaah! (Steve Oram); Francofonia (Alexander Sokurov)

The thematic progams Signals are represented throughout the new sections. Signals provide an umbrella narrative running through the festival programme, making contributions to social, artistic or political issues. This year’s Signals theme will be announced shortly.

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) – one of the largest cultural events in the Netherlands, and one of the biggest audience-oriented film festivals in the world – takes place this year from Wednesday 27 January through Sunday 7 February. For twelve days, Rotterdam will again be transformed into an exciting, global film metropolis by the latest feature films, documentaries, short films, exhibitions, performances and talkshows. Festival hub ‘de Doelen’ is the place to meet during the festival for food and drinks, as well as live performances, debates and Q&As with filmmakers and actors. Every evening is rounded off by a scintillating party in the Rotterdamse Schouwburg. For more information, see IFFR.com. Official ticket sales start on Friday 22 January.