52nd International Film Festival Rotterdam

Rotterdam, 14 April 2022

52nd Edition of the Festival to Take Place 25 January – 5 February 2023

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has set the dates for the upcoming 52nd edition, which will take place from 25 January to 5 February 2023. The festival is planning a fully in-person return, circumstances permitting, for the first time since 2019. Under the leadership of Festival Director Vanja Kaludjercic and Managing Director Marjan van der Haar, the organisation is entering a new phase in its half century-long history – restructuring the team with a refined focus for the future.

Vanja Kaludjercic, Festival Director at IFFR said: “We have a deep respect for our team which has been able in these past two challenging years to engage the audience and support our filmmakers in innovative new ways – and we are proud to have managed to continue learning, sharing knowledge and collaborating with partners in a rapidly changing environment. Our goal is to create a leading cultural platform accessible to all that champions compelling cinema and audio-visual art.”

Marjan van der Haar, Managing Director at IFFR added: “Like many organisations, the reduction in business has impacted us financially, and changes in both audience behaviour and the industry landscape have meant that we emerge into a different world as we begin planning for the 2023 edition and beyond – one which demands more than ever before a focussed vision, and a team driven to deliver it. The creation of a new staffing set-up is anchored to our updated programming structure and engineered to enable audience growth, increased impact, and revenue stream diversity – allowing us to become both more sustainable and dynamic. This is vital in order to ensure the future of IFFR.”

As part of the restructure IFFR will be reducing its core team by 15% and realigning the remaining staff members under five divisions: Content, Communication and Audience Reach, Funding and Business Growth, Business Affairs, and Operations. This will be overseen by the IFFR board of directors. The new team line-up will be announced during the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, where IFFR will introduce the new organisation structure in full.

In 2023, IFFR recorded 283,506 visits (incl. 8,871 online visits) and more than 2,500 attending film professionals; this makes IFFR one of the largest audience and industry-driven film festivals in the world. The festival’s official selection generally includes more than 400 feature, mid-length, and short films from over 90 countries and also offers a high-quality line-up of exhibitions, performances, masterclasses and talks.