46th International Film Festival Rotterdam

25 January - 5 February 2017

Rotterdam, 13 December 2016

International Film Festival Rotterdam’s (IFFR) co-production market CineMart has completed its line-up for the upcoming 2017 edition. The selected projects are from award-winning filmmakers from around the world, including Brazil, Nepal, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Ecuador and China. The selection also includes two Art:Film projects. 

Filmmakers selected this year include award-winning Gabriel Mascaro, whose highly acclaimed film Neon Bull won special prizes in 2015 at the International film festivals of Venice and Toronto. Mascaro will present his new feature project Centre of the Earth. Nepalese Director Deepak Rauniyar, whose film White Sun won the Interfilm Award in Venice this year and will be screened at IFFR 2017, is to introduce his new film A King. Eva Husson’s new project,  Les Filles du Soleil – her next feature after festival favourite Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story) in 2016 – is also presented.

Besides the two Art:film projects, by former Tiger Award for Short Film winner Ben Rivers and Greek artist Stefan Tsivopoulos, a wide range of artistic projects have been selected. Independent animator Lei Lei will present his new project, Ningdu. His unique style blends design, music and drawing, with other multimedia elements. There is also a very special novel adaptation by filmmaker and graphic designer Edwin. The former Hivos Tiger Awards competition jury member will present the adaptation of Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash by the acclaimed author Eka Kurniawan. Martyrs’ lane is the second feature film by former actress Ruth Platt. This psychological horror about a young girl's deepest fear is violent, dark and terrifying yet also a deeply personal story of love and loss. 

Selected titles qualify for three awards:

-              Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €20,000;

-              ARTE International Prize of €6,000;

-              Wouter Barendrecht Award of €5,000. 

Marit van den Elshout, Head of IFFR PRO and CineMart, on the selection for CineMart 2017: “Having received more applications than in the last years (over 450) proved to us that our responsibility of making a focused selection, is bigger than ever. The format of bringing talent together with their potential financiers still works, however in order for the industry to adapt to the world today and to stay realistic, we have to look carefully at the projects we present. Once made into films, what kind of life will these projects have, rather than them being 'just nice festival films'. With this selection I feel we manage to present a very diverse line up of story tellers and projects which are solid in their setup and teams presenting them.” 

There are three projects with Dutch involvement. De Omweg brings Klaartje Quirijns, whose film Peace versus Justice screened at IFFR in 2012, back to Rotterdam. September Film will co-produce a new project by German filmmaker Anne Zorah Berrached, called Die Frau des Piloten. With Goeree, director Peter Hoogendoorn brings together production company Circe Film from the Netherlands and Belgian CZAR.     

Full selection list for CineMart 2017: 

(Art:Film) After London - Ben Rivers - UK - Rook Films

Almost in Love - Leonardo Brzezicki - Argentina - Ruda Cine

Aquilo que arde - Oliver Laxe - Spain - Miramemira

Asia - Ruthy Pribar - Israel - Gum Films

Centre of the Earth - Gabriel Mascaro - Brazil - Desvia

Death on the Streets - Johan Carlsen - Denmark, USA - MakroramaFear Eats the Soul - Maria Eriksson - Sweden - Anagram Film & TVLes Filles du Soleil - Eva Husson - France - MANEKI FILMS

Die Frau des Piloten - Anne Zorah Berrached - Germany - Razor Film Produktion GmbH

Goeree - Peter Hoogendoorn - The Netherlands - Circe Film

Iniciales SG - Rania Attieh / Daniel Garcia - Argentina - Frutacine

January - Andrey Paounov - Bulgaria - Portokal

Jumpman - Ivan I. Tverdovsky - France, Russia - New People Film Company(Art:Film) 

Kindness - Stefan Tsivopoulos - Greece - HOME Artist Film (UK)

A King - Deepak Rauniyar - Nepal - Aadi Production

Martin Eden - Pietro Marcello - Italy - Avventurosa

Martyr’s Lane - Ruth Platt - United Kingdom - Ipso Facto Productions

Ningdu - Lei Lei - China - Chinese Shadows (Hong Kong)

De Omweg - Klaartje Quirijns - The Netherlands - Submarine Film

La Piel Pulpo - Ana Cristina Barragán - Ecuador - Caleidoscopio Cine

Poissonsexe - Olivier Babinet - France - COMME DES CINÉMAS

A Spectacle - Michael O'Shea - USA/UK - Pierpoline Films

Sticks and Stones - Martin Skovbjerg - Denmark - Snowglobe

Three Sisters of Cukurca - Emin Alper - Turkey - Liman Film

Vaca que canto una cancion sobre el futuro - Francisca Alegria - Italy, Chile - Jirafa

Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash – Edwin - Indonesia – Palari Films 

This year, the CineMart selection is expanded with the BoostNL projects, which have been presented at the Holland Film Meeting during the Dutch Film Festival this fall. In addition, a first selection of VR projects will be presented as part of the new collaboration with VR days. 

CineMart runs from 29 January to 1 February 2017 as part of IFFR PRO Days, which take place from 28 January to 3 February 2017. CineMart was the first platform of its kind to offer filmmakers the opportunity to launch their projects to the international film industry and connect with industry executives to secure financing. Launching 26 new projects in need of additional finance, CineMart also heralds an important start to the film year. Every year, CineMart invites a select number of directors/producers to present their film projects to co-producers, bankers, funds, sales agents, distributors, TV stations and other potential financiers.

Rotterdam Lab, a five-day training workshop for young and emerging producers, runs concurrently with CineMart. This is designed to build up their international networks and provide skills and confidence to navigate the festival circuit, including international film finance, sales and distribution.