45th International Film Festival Rotterdam: 27 January – 7 February 2016

33rd CineMart: 31 January – 3 February 2016

Rotterdam, 3 February 2016

This evening, the CineMart 2016 awards were announced, marking the close of the 33rd edition of the co-production market. German production Berlin Alexanderplatz was awarded the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €20,000, which is given to a project presented by a European producer. Colombian production Birds of Passage was awarded the €6,000 ARTE International Prize and the Wouter Barendrecht Award went to Christopher Radcliff’s new project The Strange Ones. The prize of €5,000 is given by the Wouter Barendrecht Film Foundation. The jury for the ARTE and Eurimages awards is comprised of the Netherlands Film Fund’s Dorien van de Pas, producer Annamaria Lodato and Fabien Westerhoff, head of international licensing, production and finance company FFWD (formerly with Hanway and WestEnd). The Wouter Barendrecht Award is decided on by representatives of the Wouter Barendrecht Film Foundation, Nelleke and Ellis Driessen. 

CineMart selected 25 international projects to participate in the four day event which has been one of the most successful in recent years. Multiple conferences and panels covering topics ranging from “Making the most of a film festival” to “The Micro-Budget Talent Programmes” were held in front of packed audiences who were invited to be involved in the debates and receive advice. Mike S. Ryan (Greyshack Films), Michael Weber (The Match Factory), Winnie Lau (Jettone Films Ltd) and Bero Beyer (Director IFFR) discussing ‘The Creative Thunder of Cinema’ proved one of the highlights of IFFR 2016. 

On making the announcement, Head of Industry and CineMart, Marit van den Elshout commented: “This year’s line-up was exceptional and inspiring. I speak on behalf of the entire team when I say that we could not be more proud – we have seen so many great projects, and so many talented teams behind them, the winners really exemplify this. I am also pleased to say that we hosted multiple extremely well attended panels and conversations, discussing the current state and possible future of the cinema that we love and cherish in Rotterdam.” 

This year’s Eurimages Co-Production Development Award winner, Berlin Alexanderplatz by Burhan Qurbani (Germany) is a Sommerhaus Filmproduktion production. On the jury’s decision, Dorien van de Pas commented: “The project gives us a new and relevant view on a classic piece. The talented director has already made several films about urgent and relevant topics, that currently affect all our countries. Here he will combine elements of genre film with more political and emotional layers, which makes it accessible for a younger audience. The project leads to an ideal co-production scenario and the money of this award will be well employed for casting and further development.” 

The ARTE International Prize winner is Birds of Passage (Colombia) by Ciro Guerra, produced by Ciudad Lunar Producciones and Blond Indian Films. On presenting the award, Annemaria Lodato commented: “We decided to give the ARTE International Prize to a young South American filmmaker who has already produced a strong and convincing body of work. The project takes us into the heart of an indigenous community, a time and place never explored on screen.” 

The Wouter Barendrecht Award winner is The Strange Ones (USA), directed by Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein, produced by Sébastien Aubert. "Mysterious events surround the travels of two brothers as they make their way across a remote American landscape. On the surface all seems normal, but what appears to be a simple vacation soon gives way to something more complex, dark, and potentially deadly." On presenting the award Managing Director of Fortissimo Films, Nelleke Driessen commented: “The short film on which this film project is based, convinced the jury of the potential for the feature. We trust that the makers will succeed to translate this apparent simple story into an intriguing, multi layered psychological thriller.”

Next to these awards, IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund is proud to announce the first selection of its brand-new distribution scheme: HBF+Europe Distribution Support for International Co-productions. The scheme is designed to boost the distribution of internationally co-produced films from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe.

The HBF is pleased to announce that the first HBF+Europe Distribution grant of 20.000 Euro has been awarded to Heretic Outreach from Greece to support the distribution of BABAI by Visar Morina (Kosovo, Germany, Macedonia and France) in Greece, Bulgaria and Egypt.

• The Announcement- Mahmut Fazil Coskun - Turkey/Bulgaria - Filmotto Production/The Chouchkov Brothers

• Berlin Alexanderplatz- Burhan Qurbani - Germany - Sommerhaus Filmproduktion GmbH
• Birds of Passage- Ciro Guerra - Colombia - Ciudad Lunar/Blond Indian Films
• Bloody Marie- Guido van Driel - the Netherlands/Germany - Family Affair Films/Schiwago Film GmbH
• Bootlegger- Caroline Monnet - Canada - Microclimat Films
• Dark Room- Itamar Alcalay - Israel/Germany - Lama Films/Komplizen Film 
• The Devil Outside- Andrew Hulme - UK - Ipso Facto Productions
• Is this What You Were Born For?- Radu Jude - Romania - Hi Film Productions
• Jessica - Ninja Thyberg - Sweden - Plattform Produktion
• The Last Harem- Maryam Keshavarz - France/Portugal - Neon Productions/ Ítaca Films/MaraKesh Films (Art:Film) 
• The Notebooks- Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige - Lebanon/France - Abbout Productions
• Over the City - Emir Baigazin - Kazakhstan/Germany - Emir Baigazin Production/Augenschein Filmproduktion
• Pompei - John Shank, Anna Falguères - Belgium/Italy - Tarantula/Solaria Film
• Rafaël - Ben Sombogaart - the Netherlands/Italy/Belgium/Tunisia - Rinkel Film/Verdeoro/Entre Chien et Loup/Nomadis Images/Cinetelefilms
• Sick, Sick, Sick- Alice Furtado - Brazil - Estúdio Giz/Oceano
• Slam- Partho Sen-Gupta - Australia - Invisible Republic
• Sleep.- Jan-Willem van Ewijk - the Netherlands - Waterland Film/Propellor Film
• The Strange Ones- Christopher Radcliff, Lauren Wolkstein - France/USA - Adastra Films
• Teenage Jesus- Marie Grahtø - Denmark - Beofilm
• Under the Sun- Qiu Yang - France/China - House on Fire/Colorful Age Culture & Media
• Der Unschuldige- Simon Jaquemet - Switzerland - 8Horses
• Ursa Major- Benjamin Crotty - USA/France - AgX/Les Films du Bal
• Vikings - Daniel Hoesl - Austria - Ulrich Seidl Film Produktion GmbH
• Wild Princess- Ester Martin Bergsmark - Sweden - Garagefilm International(Art:Film) 
• What if Women Ruled the World? - Yael Bartana - UK - Jacqui Davies Limited

CineMart runs from 31 January to 3 February 2016 as part of International Film Festival Rotterdam which runs from 27 January to 7 February. CineMart was the first platform of its kind to offer filmmakers the opportunity to launch their projects to the international film industry and to connect with appropriate industry executives to secure financing. Launching 25 new projects in need of additional financing, CineMart also heralds an important start of 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.

Concurrent with CineMart, Rotterdam Lab takes place: a five-day training workshop for young and emerging producers. It is designed to build up their international network and provide skills and confidence to navigate the festival circuit, including international film financing, sales and distribution.

International Film Festival Rotterdam offers a high quality line-up of carefully selected fiction and documentary feature films, short films and media art. The festival's programme sections Bright Future, Voices, Deep Focus and Perspectives contain new work by auteurs from all over the world including many world premieres. IFFR actively supports new and adventurous filmmaking talent through numerous industry initiatives, including co-production market CineMart, Rotterdam Lab and its Hubert Bals Fund.