46th International Film Festival Rotterdam

25 January - 5 February 2017

Rotterdam, 14 December 2016

For the third time, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) presents the exciting live cinema experience IFFR Live. Six films will premiere simultaneously in more than fifty cinemas across the world during the 46th edition of the festival. For the first time, audiences outside of Europe can take part in the live event.

The third edition of the groundbreaking IFFR Live event brings films and related events from Rotterdam to all corners of the world, creating the largest simultaneous film festival screenings in the world. The viewers – in a cinema in the Netherlands, Poland, Spain or elsewhere – can all participate in the Q&A session following the film by using #livecinema on social media, and experience the Rotterdam festival feeling from a distance. The number of participating cinemas has increased for the upcoming edition, and also countries outside of Europe will connect with IFFR during the events.

Melissa van der Schoor, Head of IFFR Distribution: “Continuing to develop IFFR Live as the first of its kind and probably one of the largest simultaneous film festival screenings in the world is something truly exciting. With our expanding network of collaborating cinemas we are also venturing outside of Europe for the first time and we look forward to welcoming audiences from new participating cities such as Tel Aviv and Singapore. With a strong lineup, more events, more performances and a strong sense of communal experience at its very core, we hope to establish a new mode of distribution for these quality European films.”

The third edition of IFFR Live takes place from Friday 27 January to Sunday 29 January and features the following films:

Friday 27 January 2017 - 19:00 hours CET - Mister Universo

Friday 27 January 2017 - 22:30 hours CET - Title to be announced

Saturday 28 January 2017 - 16:00 hours CET - The Man (Mesteren)

Saturday 28 January 2017 - 20:00 hours CET - Home

Sunday 29 January 2017 - 16:00 hours CET - A Wedding (Noces)

Sunday 29 January 2017 - 20:00 hours CET - The Giant

Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel, Austria/Italy, 2016, 90 min.

Lion tamer Tairo seeks new happiness and is in this quest driven by rational and irrational forces. A warm, humane work on life on the margins in an Italian circus, mangled by an economy no one has any control over.

Attending IFFR Live: filmmakers Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel

Charlotte Sieling, Denmark, 2017, 93 min.

The Man has it's world premiere at IFFR 2017

Danish drama The Man is set in the international art world in Copenhagen, where a father and son – who happen both to be artists – meet for the first time. The tension mounts when the father, an established artist, doesn’t seem to place any value on being a parent and the son seems more focused on his own rapidly advancing career. The film is directed by Charlotte Sieling, the lead roles are played by Søren Malling and Jakob Oftebro.

Fien Troch, Belgium, 2016, 103 min.

Where and with whom do you feel at home? This is the theme the teenage friends and their families grapple with in Fien Troch’s latest drama. Who can you truly trust when you have nowhere left to turn? The tension is always palpable, partly thanks to Johnny Jewel’s seamlessly fitting soundtrack.

Attending IFFR Live: filmmaker Fien Troch, cast Mistral Guidotti and Sebastian van Dun.

Stephan Streker, Belgium/France/Luxembourg/Pakistan, 2016, 95 min.

The strong bond between Zahira and her parents is tested when an arranged marriage with a Pakistani man is set up as tradition decrees. She faces a heart-rending dilemma. Convincing portrait of the conundrums facing second generation immigrants that unfolds like a Greek tragedy in contemporary Brussels.

Attending IFFR Live: filmmaker Stephan Streker, cast Lina El Arabi and Sébastien Houbani.

Johannes Nyholm, Sweden/Denmark, 2016, 86 min.

He might be handicapped, but Rikard Boberg has set his sights on winning an important pétanque championship. He thinks he will then be reunited with his mother. Particularly with the help of the giant from his imaginative fantasies. A Western-like soundtrack accompanies the modern fable of cowboy Rikard and his remarkable quest.

Attending IFFR Live: filmmaker Johannes Nyholm, cast Christian Andrén and Johan Kylén.

The sixth IFFR Live title will be announced shortly.

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IFFR Live is made possible by Creative Europe Media Programme of the European Union and is a coproduction between International Film Festival Rotterdam, Be For Films, SF Studios, Doc & Film International, Jour2Fête and Indie Sales. IFFR Live events will screen simultaneously in some twenty countries within and outside of Europe. This makes them to be amongst the largest film festival screenings in the world. Partly thanks to the use of new technologies, social media and making the films available through a range of online platforms, we are striving to ensure the greatest possible reach for festival films.