46th International Film Festival Rotterdam

25 January – 5 February 2017

Rotterdam, 3 January 2017

International Film Festival Rotterdam unveils the full line up for the Hivos Tiger Competition 2017. This includes world premieres of new feature films by up and coming directors Niles Atallah, Pedro Aguilera and Hagar Ben Ashar, as well as début features by India's Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, American-Korean filmmaker kogonada and Dutch director Daan Bakker. This year's jury will comprise of Newsha Tavakolia, Diana Bustamante Escobar, Fien Troch, Michael Almereyda and Amir Mohammed.

The following films have been selected for the Hivos Tiger Competition:

Arábia - Brazil, 2017, Affonso Uchoa /João Dumans  

Life and death of a Brazilian factory worker.

The Burglar - Israel, 2017, Hagar Ben Asher  

A young woman becomes a burglar herself after her mother’s home isbroken into.

Columbus - USA, 2017, kogonada  

In the modernist town of Columbus two haunted souls find respite in one another and the architecture that surrounds them.

Demonios tus ojos - Spain / Colombia, 2017, Pedro Aguilera 

A filmmaker discovers an erotic clip of his younger half-sister on a sex site. He decides to visit her and soon becomes fascinated.

Light Thereafter - Bulgaria / Belgium, 2017, Konstantin Bojanov 

An emotionally unstable young man criss-crosses through Europe in search of his idol, the mysterious painter Arnaud.

Quality Time - Netherlands / Norway, 2017, Daan Bakker

A series of short narratives about quaint young men and theirconcerned parents.

Rey - Chile / France / Netherlands / Germany / Qatar, 2017, Niles Atallah

A French adventurer establishes a kingdom in 19th century Southern Chile.

Sexy Durga - India, 2017, Sanal Kumar Sasidharan 

During a nocturnal ride, a young woman and her lover are faced with a cross-section of Indian male society.

More information on the eight films can be found at the IFFR blog.Festival director Bero Beyer: "This years line-up of the Hivos Tiger Competition features bold and daring filmmakers that don’t shun the use of other media, alternative narrative structures and provocative and relevant themes. The nominees and their works deserve international recognition for their artistry. We are proud to present each of these eight films with a special spotlight on their own day, and bring them to a big audience throughout the festival."

Arábia, The Burglar, Columbus, Demonios tus ojos

The competition was founded in 1995 with the aim of discovering, raising the profile of and rewarding up-and-coming international film talent. The Hivos Tiger Award is accompanied by a €40,000 cash prize, to be shared between the director and producer of the winning film. A Special Jury Award worth €10,000 will also be presented for an exceptional artistic achievement within the competition. 

This year, the Tiger Award jury consists of the Iranian photographer and writer Newsha Tavakolia; Colombian film producer artistic director of Cartagena's IFF Diana Bustamante Escobar; award-winning Belgian director Fien Troch, who will present her latest film Home; filmmaker, author and publisher from Malaysia, Amir Muhammad, also with a new film in IFFR; and filmmaker, screenwriter and producer Michael Almereyda from the United States who will present his two latest films in Rotterdam.

Light Thereafter, Quality Time, Rey, Sexy Durga

Hivos has been IFFR’s main sponsor since 2013. By providing support to the Hubert Bals Fund and the Hivos Tiger Competition, this organisation contributes to the development of artistic film production as a means of expressing social criticism.

For four decades, IFFR has proudly developed and presented auteur cinema by helping filmmakers reach the broadest possible audiences. The festival is known around the world for its individual, innovative programming, with particular attention to talented new filmmakers. Quality films from all over the world are presented in Rotterdam to a large, international audience with the aim of inspiring and broadening horizons.