47st International Film Festival Rotterdam

24 January- 4 February 2018

Rotterdam, 18 December 2017

Ammodo, an organisation supporting art and science, is the new partner for the Tiger Short Competition of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) for the coming three years. The festival also presents two new awards. The Found Footage Award, supported by the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, is an achievement award for short or feature films using archival materials in interesting ways. The Voices Short Audience Award is awarded to the best narrative short film, as voted for by festival audiences.

IFFR’s short film programme emphasises the merging of disciplines such as art, film, video art, performance art and film essays. The short films are often experimental in nature and with formats ranging from 35mm to 3D and VR. Ammodo’s director Juliette de Wijkerslooth: “We stimulate artistic quality, experimentation and the development of both makers and art forms. Through the Tiger Short Competition, we wish to support the crosspollination of film and art, and give extra visibility to an interdisciplinary approach to images.”

Each of the three Ammodo Tiger Short Awards is worth €5,000. The jury also selects a short film to enter the short film competition of the annual European Film Awards (EFA). Festival Director Bero Beyer: “With the Tiger Shorts, IFFR tries to bridge the gap between the ‘black box’ and the ‘white cube’. We’re thrilled to have found a partner in Ammodo to support us in providing an experimental platform for makers and audiences.”

Found Footage Award

The new Found Footage Award, also worth €2,500, is supported by the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision. A special jury will pick a filmmaker who has made outstanding use of archive material. This year, the jury consists of John Goff, film specialist for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; Nicole Brenez, professor of cinema at the Université Sorbonne-Nouvelle in Paris; and Maarten Brinkerink, project manager Research and Development at Sound and Vision.

“As an institute for media culture, we want to draw attention to the wealth of footage in our archive collections and wish to inspire and stimulate creators to reuse it”, says interim director Tom De Smet from Sound and Vision.

Festival Director Bero Beyer: “For decades, IFFR has served as a platform for filmmakers who work with various source materials like found footage. The new award in collaboration with Sound and Vision is a good way to highlight this innovative method.” 

Voices Short Audience Award

The new Voices Short Audience Award puts the spotlight on the less experimental and more narrative-driven short films from the festival’s Voices section. IFFR 2018 will screen five different Voices Short compilations, totalling over 20 films from 18 countries. The audience will choose the winner (prize money €2,500) using voting cards after each screening.

The Ammodo Tiger Short Awards will be presented on Sunday 28 January 2018. Both the Found Footage Award and the Voices Short Audience Award will be presented on Friday 2 February.