51st International Film Festival Rotterdam

26 January – 6 February 2022

Rotterdam, 28 October 2021

Marit van den Elshout announces her departure as IFFR Pro manager

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) announces that its industry manager, Marit van den Elshout, will step down following the upcoming edition of IFFR in 2022. Since 2006 she has been responsible for IFFR Pro, the festival’s industry section, which includes the co-production market CineMart and the Hubert Bals Fund. Everyone at IFFR wishes her the very best in seeking a new challenge worthy of the dedication she has shown the festival over her distinguished career.

Marit van den Elshout: “IFFR has been far more than a job to me for the past twenty years. Saying goodbye will not be easy, but I believe now is the right time, during this pandemic recovery, for the festival to evolve and to advance the work that I am so proud to have been a part of over all these years. CineMart and the Hubert Bals Fund continue to be pioneers in the industry that offer such valuable support and guidance to filmmaking talent across the world. With the support of the amazing IFFR Pro team and everyone else who makes the festival special, I have no doubt that the future will be bright.” 

Marit’s career at the festival began in 2000 as an intern for CineMart. By 2006 she had become its manager, and since then has developed IFFR’s industry platform immeasurably, striking a number of partnerships with festivals, markets and film institutions around the world, substantially growing the producer’s training programme Rotterdam Lab and launching Reality Check - the annual conference during the festival dedicated to discussing the most important issues facing the film industry. 

She worked as advisor and international liaison on the development of Durban FilmMart which had its inaugural edition in 2010, and acted as founding partner together with Realness Institute, EAVE and Sundance Institute in creating Creative Producer Indaba as a development programme from producers from the African continent. Under her leadership, IFFR Pro maintained and grew its position as a platform for the world’s best arthouse cinema, providing support to some of the most influential filmmakers working today.

Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic: “It is almost impossible to summarise Marit’s contribution to IFFR, as she has been instrumental over the last two decades in growing IFFR Pro into the world-leading industry platform it is today. Through her approach she shaped CineMart and the IFFR Pro Days into distinct events on the festival calendar, in which a tailored approach, informal atmosphere and familial feeling are key aspects. Even though we are sad to see her go after IFFR 2022, Marit will leave us in a firm position to grow and evolve. We thank Marit for her invaluable support and hope she can look on with pride as we move towards the future.” 

More information on the IFFR Pro team will be available shortly on IFFR.com.