IFFR Pro Award winners

48th International Film Festival Rotterdam

23 January – 3 February 2019

Rotterdam, 30 January 2019

Wednesday 30 January 2019 marked the end of the IFFR Pro Days as well as the 36th edition of CineMart, the co-production market of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). During the awards ceremony, eight film projects were awarded IFFR Pro Awards: four CineMart awards, the first BoostNL Audience Award, the HeYou Media VR Award and the newly launched Dutch Post-production Awards.

Presented for the first time this edition, the Dutch Post-production Awards are a collaboration between the Hubert Bals Fund, the Netherlands Film Fund and the Netherlands Post production Alliance. Out of a selection of six nominations, a professional jury chose two winners who each receive an award worth €50,000, which is to be spent on post-production in the Netherlands, and an additional €5,000 in kind.

Winning projects: Days of Cannibalism by Teboho Edkins (France/South Africa) and Lotus Position by Liu Shu (Hong Kong/France/Netherlands)Jury report on Days of Cannibalism: “The jury was struck by this smart, funny, fascinating and innovative documentary, and impressed by the way director is creating a documentary using a fiction narrative to produce a film that goes beyond pretence.”

Jury report on Lotus Position: “Inspired by the tradition of the Hubert Bals Fund to support urgent and remarkable films, the jury was moved to use this prize where it could be most effective and make a real difference. In this case, we chose to support a courageous filmmaker to complete her film which without this support may not be realised.”

Jury members: Sandro Fiorin, Gurvinder Singh, Jane Williams

The Eurimages Co-production Development Award worth €20,000 is given to one of the selected CineMart projects that is, or will be, a European co-production.

Winning project: Stillborn by Olga Chajdas (Poland)

Jury report: “There was a very vivid discussion among the jury members, but in the end we unanimously chose a project which reflects on recent European history and is carried by a female character with a young and vibrant heart. A national story with an international impact. The director’s visual style, her determination and approach to the recent history of her nation makes the jury confident that this film will travel over many borders.”

Jury members: Majlinda Tafa, Constanza Arena, Frans van Gestel

This CineMart post-production award by Visual Effects & Post Production lab Filmmore comes with a €7,500 prize.

Winning project: A House in Jerusalem by Muayad Alayan (Palestine)

Jury report: “A House in Jerusalem sets out as an ordinary film about a girl who, after the death of her mother, longs for the happy past while facing a painful future. Soon the film is injected with supernatural elements. The loss of a doll sets in motion a search for the mother of a ghost. Present and past, realism and supernatural – A House in Jerusalem is a powerful story about universal human experiences, told through the innocent eyes of children.”

Jury members: Annamaria Lodato, Johannes Rexin, Anton Scholten

The ARTEKino International Prize is worth €6,000 and is given to the producer of the best CineMart project to support its financial development.

Winning project: La fiebre by Mateo Bendesky (Argentina)

Jury report: “The film is a tale of adolescence and discovery of personal freedom. It tells the story of a teenager oppressed by her strict and religious family who tries to escape this oppressive environment. This important contemporary subject is treated with an original and convincing artistic vision.”

Jury members: Annamaria Lodato, Johannes Rexin, Anton Scholten

This prize of €5,000 is awarded by CineMart in conjunction with the Wouter Barendrecht Film Foundation to a filmmaker under the age of 35 who has directed three or fewer films.

Winning project: La hija de todas las rabias by Laura Baumeister (Nicaragua/France)

Jury report: “The first feature in Nicaragua made by Nicaraguans. An at first sight totally depressing topic loses its heaviness by the general approach, written from the point of view of a young but resilient girl ready to turn dystopia into a manageable reality.”Jury members: Ellis Driessen, Nelleke Driessen

This new award is worth €1,000. The jury could choose among four VR project pitches presented at IFFR Pro x VR Days.

Winning project: Cosmos Within Us by Tupac Martir

Jury report: “The jury was impressed with this ambitious project – we cannot not be behind it. It is clearly pushing all boundaries, is very well thought through and tackles a difficult theme in a way that completely lends itself to VR.”

Jury members: Antoine Cardon, Barney Steel

For this new award worth €2,500, an audience jury of film fans picks a winner among the BoostNL projects presented during the BoostNL Spotlight event.

Winning project: When We Lost to the Germans by Guido van Driel (Netherlands)

Jury report: “We really want to emphasise that there has been quite a lot of back and forth while trying to make a decision. It was all very close! There were definitely several projects that really deserved to win, but in the end the three of us came to one project which was the one we talked about most. That’s what closed the deal.”

Jury members: Annelies Groot, Dorien Riswick-Keultjes, Loes van der Sande

A complete list of the 36th CineMart selection can be found here. Click here for an overview of the BoostNL 2018/2019 selection and click here for all nominations for the Dutch Post-production Awards.