Windspiel by Peyman Ghalambor

47st International Film Festival Rotterdam

24 January- 4 February 2018

Rotterdam, 14 December 2017

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) presents the first series of titles in its Bright Future Main Programme, the festival’s home for up-and-coming filmmakers with a unique style and vision. The 2018 selection boasts new films by striking talents who have emerged this year. IFFR also announces the first titles eligible for the Bright Future Award, for world and international premieres by first-time filmmakers.

Among these are the world premieres of The Return by Malene Choi Jensen, a story of two Danish-Korean adoptees who visit their country of birth, partly based on the filmmaker’s own experiences; Windspiel by German filmmaker Peyman Ghalambor, about a 13-year-old kid who makes his escape from a children’s home in Brandenburg; and My Friend the Polish Girl by Ewa Banaszkiewicz andMateusz Dymek, a cinematic culture clash between an American filmmaker starting out in London and a Polish actress.

From Belgium, IFFR has selected two completely different, but very promising first features: as previously announced Ruben Desiere's La fleurière/The Flower Shop, as well as the international premiere of Christina Vandekerckhove's documentary Rabot, the story of a social housing block on the brink of demolition, and winner of the audience award at Film Fest Gent.

The winner of the Bright Future Award is chosen by a jury consisting of three film professionals and receives €10,000 to be spent on the development ofa new film project.

The Nothing Factory by Pedro Pinho (left), Cocote by Nelson Carlo De Los Santos (right)

Bright Future Main Programme also contains exciting sophomore feature-length films, marking a first venture into fiction. This is the case for the astute Ordinary Time by Susana Nobre, for example, which scrutinises the calm rhythm of daily life of young parents by zooming in on many moments that are, well, completely ordinary. The world premiere of Azougue Nazaré/Azougue Nazareth by Tiago Melo dives deep into the mysterious and colourful sugarcane universe of rural Brazil.

Selections also include celebrated films such as The Nothing Factory by Pedro Pinho, Soldiers. Story from Ferentari by Ivana Mladenovic, Drift by Helena Wittmann and Cocote by Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias.

For an overview of all Bright Future selections so far, click here.The full selection will be announced at the beginning of January.